Identifying the Attitudes and Views of Social Sciences Teachers toward Values Education in Turkey

Abstract

Values are the foundation of culture. The aim of values education is to help learners improve their social tendenciesby adopting social and universal values, support character development, raise good citizens, and enhance academicefforts and achievement. In Turkey, values education is offered in the teaching-learning process of all coursesthrough formal curricula in primary and secondary schools. However, it is “social sciences” course that directlyrelates to values education and intends to teach at least one value in every chapter. This study aimed at identifyingsocial sciences teachers' attitudes toward values education, analyse difference in attitudes based on diverse variablesand examine teacher views on values education practices in social sciences course. It is a mixed method study thatwas conducted using triangulation method. The study group comprised 135 social sciences teachers who participatedin the study on quantitative level and 45 social sciences teachers on qualitative level. Results of the study indicatedthat the teachers held positive and high attitudes toward values education, there was no significant variation inattitudes toward values education based on gender, but attitudes differed based on professional experience while theteachers held positive views concerning values education practices implemented in social sciences class, consideringthem important. They stated that “being responsible” is the least adopted value among students.