Values Education at Sıbyan Schools and Pre-School’s Curriculum

Abstract

This study aims to address values education at Sıbyan schools and pre-school departments and to provide a comprehensive and comparative assessment to the reader after looking at the related works. The methodology, within the context of article aim, is historical method. The main method here is document review. In this regard, we started the study by giving insights about the education and training programs of Sıbyan schools. Then, the moral classes and the leaflets about them have been examined which started to be included at the syllabus of these schools along with Tanzimat Reform Era in the Ottoman Empire. In order to figure out which moral values are taught at Sıbyan schools, we have transcribed seven moral leaflets from Ottoman Turkish to modern Turkish and some of the moral values obtained from these booklets were extensively scanned at this study. On the other hand, the information about the methods used at Sıbyan schools while teaching them and about when it is the best time to give moral values to the students was presented when we assessed the content and forms of these moral booklets. Secondly, with reference to pre-school education programs which prepared and applied until today, we gradually studied how the values education appeared at pre-school education since the proclamation of the Turkish republic and what kind of works conducted regarding values education.Besides that, we evaluated how values education affected teacher education graduate programs, what kind of skills the teachers at these programs gained through values education effects and in practice what problems do the teachers face whilst teaching the values and what to do to overcome these difficulties. Therefore, this study tries to shed a light on today, through comparatively investigating how values
education given before the Turkish Republic, which values came into prominence to prevent the social deterioration at those times and how values education took part at preschool programs since the Republic. According to the results of the study, it is observed that there is an intense value transfer in sıbyan schools and in the early times, pre-school education programs are not included in the value
education and in the following programs a limited number of values are given. Besides, behaviors that should be avoided in sıbyan schools were also included