Comparative review of life science course curricula in the Turkic states

Education plays a critical role in the development of societies and is among the important criteria that indicate the level of development of countries. In this context, in order to develop and enrich their education systems, countries examine the curricula and textbooks of different nations and integrate their positive aspects into their own education systems. Improving the quality of education contributes significantly to raising the general welfare of society. It is clear that education and teaching programs have a decisive impact on the desired human profile. Therefore, countries strive to achieve the desired characteristics through the education and teaching programs they develop in their own education systems. The programs developed influence students and guide them towards their next stages of education. Programs developed in elementary school are among those that shape individuals' lives. Elementary school is the first step where students acquire basic knowledge, skills, and national and universal values. The life science course at this stage aims to impart the vast majority of these characteristics. The life science course consists of natural sciences and social sciences, while also emphasizing values, thought, and art. It also helps individuals acquire basic skills along with personal qualities. This enables individuals to make sense of events in life. The purpose of the study is to examine the skills, trends, literacy, values, and concepts included in the life science course curricula of Turkic states and to identify similarities and differences between the programs. In this regard, case study, one of the qualitative research methods, was adopted, and the research data were subjected to document analysis. The data sources for the research consist of the life sicence and equivalent courses' curricula provided by the ministries of education and found on the official websites of Turkey, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus [TRNC]. In this study, the data were examined in line with the purpose of the research, and answers were sought to the questions included in the problems and sub-problems. The findings obtained as a result of the document review were tabulated and interpreted. Some important findings from the study are as follows: It was determined that the life science curricula in Türkiye and Kazakhstan include 18 skills each, while Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Kyrgyzstan include 17 skills each, Uzbekistan includes 15, and the TRNC includes 19 skills. A great diversity is observed in the tendency approach of the life science curricula. The TRNC stands out significantly from other countries in terms of including tendencies and holds a leading position in this regard. Moreover, the TRNC appears a total of 504 times across all examined tendencies, accounting for more than half (53.5%) of the total 941 occurrences across the seven countries. The life science course curricula of Turkic states exhibit a series of common and distinct priorities in the literacy areas targeted for student acquisition. Information literacy (106) has the highest prevalence across all programs, indicating that fundamental skills such as acquiring, processing, and utilizing information constitute a common focus area in the curricula of Turkic states. Among the life science curricula of the seven countries, Kyrgyzstan (143) was identified as the country placing the greatest emphasis on the values dimension. It is followed, respectively, by the curricula of Azerbaijan (136), Turkmenistan (135), and Türkiye (132). The TRNC (122), Kazakhstan (101), and Uzbekistan (103) curricula, in contrast, have the lowest total number of values compared to the other countries. When all curricula are examined on a common basis, the value of responsibility (138) emerges as the most prominent, surpassing all other values. This is followed by the values of patriotism (101) and healthy living (79), which also appear at relatively high frequencies. Significant differences are observed between the seven Turkic states in terms of concepts in their life science curricula. The Turkmenistan curriculum focuses heavily on the concept of "health" (58), while the Uzbekistan curriculum focuses on the concept of "nature" (28). When the curricula of all countries are evaluated together, it is found that the concepts "health" (100), 'safety' (84), and "nature" (76) are most frequently included in the curricula. In future studies, the life science curricula of Turkic states can be compared in terms of other elements of the curriculum, such as learning areas, learning outcomes, and assessment approaches.