Examination of the Postgraduate Theses on Teachers’ Views of Values Education in Turkey: A Meta Synthesis Study

This research study carried out to examine the postgraduate theses on teachers’ views of the values education in Turkey was designed as a meta synthesis study. Postgraduate theses were obtained from the National Thesis Center of the Council of Higher Education. During the research process, these steps were followed;(1) determining the research subject, (2) selecting the studies to be included in the study, (3) picking and presenting the data, (4) ensuring validity and reliability and (5) analyzing the data and explaining the synthesis. Content analysis was used in the analysis of the data. The qualitative findings of the 24 theses included in the study were examined singly and as a result of the examination three main themes were determined; Applications practiced to gain values education and problems encountered, The values that should be gained by the students according to the teachers and the factors effective in gaining these values, The problems that the values education can deliver solution and the behavioral changes observed in the students after the values education practices. From the findings of the research, it was concluded that the teachers mostly used the drama method to gain of values education, that there were problems experienced caused by the family in practice, and that the practices could solve the problem of injustice the most.


INTRODUCTION
With the developing science and technology, the characteristics expected from the individual have also changed, and in line with this differentiation, the ability to live in harmony, to be sensitive, to take responsibility, to be fair, to share, to produce original solutions to problems and many similar values have gained importance. Therefore, values education has become an essential part of education.
The concept of value is defined by Ulusoy and Dilmaç (2015) as "Abstract measure determining importance in something, return, preciousness, high and useful quality", Özkan (2010) defined the concept of value as "social behavior patterns that guarantee individuals' life in society and facilitate their lives" in one of his studies. Similarly, the concept of value was expressed by Kaşkaya and Duran (2017) as a whole of rules and norms that exist in all areas of life. While Halstead (1996) defines the concept of value as the standards and principles we use in making correct decisions, according to Arthur (2003), value is defined as a set of interrelated personal principles that lead a person to take an action. Also Lockwood (2009) expressed the concept of value as the criteria a person uses when making a decision about an object, person or action. Although the definitions seem to be expressed in different ways, in fact there are basic points that they have in common, which is just like the universality of values. Based on the common points in all these definitions, the concept of value can be defined as a set of certain principles or behavior patterns that build a bridge between the individual and life and affect the individual in making decisions and in practice. Considering that the priority and importance of the society in which the individual lived in gaining these patterns is effective, it can be concluded that the values differ, and these differences cause different classifications. When the classification of values is examined, it is observed that the value classifications of Spranger, Rokeach and Schwartz are mostly the ones taken part in the literature. While Spranger classified values under six headings as scientific, economic, aesthetic, social, political and religious (Hermans and Oles, 1994), Rokeach divided values into two as ends and means. He stated the ends goals as individual life goals (inner harmony, comfortable life, mature love etc.) and as social goals (world peace, equality, national security etc.) on the other hand, he defined the means goals as personal characteristics or behavior syndromes (ambitious, independent, loyal, responsible etc.) (Mueller and Wornhoff, 1990). Schwartz who defines the concept of value as the changing and desired transition goals that serve as the guiding principles in a person's life classified values personally and culturally and he revealed ten motivational values from this classification; achievement, helpfulness, compliance, hedonism, strength, security, self-direction, stimulation, tradition and universalism (Devos, Spini and Schwartz, 2002;Schwartz, 1994;Spini, 2003).
Considering that education plays an important role in the formation of these principles, it can be said that the emergence of the concept of "value education" is inevitable. This concept can be expressed as a design that enables a person to develop social, moral, aesthetic and spiritual aspects, and teaches to protect and transfer our cultural values (Venkataiah, 2007;Genc & Eryaman, 2008). It is a known fact that this design is carried out first in the family and then in schools. Halstead and Taylor (2000) also emphasize that the school has two important roles; to enable children to think and make sense of their own developing values and to support these values.
Studies on values education in Turkey were put into practice with the values education directive issued by the Board of Education in 2010 and with this directive, practices of values education in all primary and secondary schools started (MEB, 2010). In 2017, a statement on "On Our Studies for Renewal and Change in the Curriculum" was published by the Board of Education and ten main values were identified, namely justice, friendship, honesty, self-control, patience, respect, love, responsibility, patriotism, and helpfulness (Topal, 2019). An effective value education application in schools may bring solution for many problems that may arise in the education system. For example, in a study conducted by Cafoğlu and Somuncuoğlu (2000), it was determined that students' dishonesty, impatience and violent behavior decreased as a result of the implementation of a program developed for values education. Osterman (2000) determined that at the end of the values education program he applied, students' negative behaviors related to inability to express themselves, violence and non-communication changed in a positive way. Kunduroğlu (2010) found that students exhibit positive behaviors of scientific value as a result of the values education program implemented in a study he conducted. In the studies conducted by Aladağ (2009), Aydemir Özbay (2019), Dilmaç (2007 and Hayta Önal (2005), positive developments were observed in students' responsibility behaviors. Another study in which positive results were revealed in gaining the value of being fair with the practice of values education was carried out by Izgar (2013) andİpekçi (2018). Also, it was concluded that the classroom activities conducted by Öğretici (2011) regarding the values of sensitivity and responsibility provided the students with the gains regarding these values. In this context, it is thought that taking teachers' opinions in order to improve values education practices and make them more effective and efficient will contribute to the functioning of the researcher. Therefore, the main purpose of the research was determined as the examination of the postgraduate theses conducted on teacher views regarding the values education in Turkey by meta synthesis approach and the following questions were sought:

METHOD Research Model
The research is designed as a meta synthesis study. Meta synthesis is a research approach that includes the analysis, method and findings of qualitative research done on a subject (Paterson, Thorne, Canam, & Jillings, 2001). This approach shows how data from qualitatively conducted studies can be brought together and summarized effectively and their results can be revealed with a more holistic view (Major & Savin-Baden, 2010). Starting from this, postgraduate theses on teachers' views on values education between the years 1999-2020 in Turkey were examined in this study. The theses were accessed from the Higher Education Council National Thesis Center.

Research Process
When literature on meta-synthesis and studies designed with meta-synthesis are examined, it is seen that the research process follows similar steps with small differences (Denner, Campe, & Werner, 2019;Lachal, Revay-Levy, Orri, Morro, 2017;Paterson, Thorne, Canam and Jillings, 2001;Tannenbaum and others, 2015). Therefore, the following steps were followed in the research process of this study:

Determination of the research subject:
In determining the research subject, firstly the literature on education of values was examined and the subjects in which the studies were concentrated were determined. In applied studies, it was determined that there are studies about examining the values often contained in textbooks, reflections of values education on education programs, determining the effectiveness of applied values education programs and receiving teacher and student opinions on values education. Then, the postgraduate theses on values education in Turkey were examined and it was determined that 291 theses were written in total. Of these theses, 226 are at master's level and 65 are at doctoral level. When the distribution of the theses by years is examined, it is determined that the least number of theses were made in 1999, 2007 and 2009, with 2 theses each. The highest number of theses on the subject belongs to 2019 (104), and the number of master theses made this year is 96 and the number of doctoral theses is 8.

Selecting the Studies to be included in the Study:
In the research, studies particularly involving teachers' opinions were included. Because it is thought that values education program can best evaluated by the teachers as practitioners. For this purpose, in order to determine the theses to be included in the study, two keywords were determined; values education and teachers' opinions. Each study was examined one by one, they were checked whether they had the specified keywords, and whether the methods and data analysis sections of the theses were explained in detail. As a result of the examination, it was determined that there were 40 theses in which teachers' opinions on values education were examined. When the determined 40 theses were examined, it was seen that a total of 5 mixed studies were conducted, one in 2013, 2016 and 2017, and 2 in 2019. When the distribution of studies conducted by quantitative method by years is considered, it was determined that a total of 9 studies were conducted, one in 2008,2010,2016,2015,2

Picking and Presenting the Data:
Due to the purpose and nature of meta-synthesis studies, 26 postgraduate theses in which teachers' views on values education where qualitative data are collected were re-examined and since the opinions of the teachers who participated in a project on education of values in two theses were evaluated, these theses were sorted out and 24 theses were examined in the research. 24 theses included in the study were coded as T1, T2, T3, T4… starting from thesis 1 and classified in terms of their subjects. According to the classification; it was determined that there are 4 theses (T1, T13, T18 and T22) in which opinions on applications were received, 2 theses (T12 and T14)in which the opinions about the teaching materials produced and used were received, 5 theses (T2, T10, T16, T19 and T20) in which general opinions are examined, 3 theses (T4, T5 and T11) in which opinions on values education and practices are discussed together, 3 theses (T15, T17 and T21) about the examination of values education in the textbook and 7 theses (T3, T6, T7, T8, T9, T23 and T24) related to values education in the curriculum. In the findings of the participants in these studies, it was determined that the opinions of preschool (4) teachers, then social studies teachers (2), elementary school teachers (2) and Quran course teachers (2) were consulted the most. The branches from which at least (1) opinion were taken are Geography, science, visual arts, primary school, secondary school, English and high school teachers. As data collection tools for receiving opinion, it was determined that semi-structured interview form was used in 18 of the theses, semi-structured interview form and document analysis form were used in 5 of the theses and semistructured interview form and observation form were used together in 1 of them. Content analysis (14), descriptive analysis (9), descriptive and content analysis techniques (1) were used in the analysis of the data obtained from these theses, respectively.

Validity and Reliability:
An external evaluator was used to ensure reliability in the findings (Smart, 2004). The external evaluator examined a total of 7 theses selected from the research sample, one for each year. The collected data were coded and themed independently by the external evaluator and the author and rearranged İn order to ensure the reliability of the study. In calculating the reliability, the reliability formula R (reliability) = Na (consensus) / Na (consensus) + Nd (disagreement) suggested by Miles and Huberman (1994) was used and the reliability of the research was determined as 0.72 as a result of the calculation. Since the reliability calculations found to be above 70% are considered reliable for the research (Miles & Huberman, 1994), the result obtained was considered reliable for the research. As stated by Yıldırım and Şimşek (2005), in order to ensure the validity of the results, the research questions were clearly stated, detailed information about the analyzed data was presented and direct quotations were included in the interpretations of the findings obtained from the theses.

Analysis of Data and Explanation of Synthesis:
Content analysis technique was used in the analysis of the data obtained from the research. Content analysis enables the findings to be brought together within the framework of certain concepts and themes that are similar to each other, and organized and interpreted in a way that the reader can understand (Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2005). The qualitative findings of the 24 theses included in the study were examined singly and as a result of the examination three main themes were determined; Applications practiced to gain values education and problems encountered, The values that should be gained by the students according to the teachers and the factors effective in gaining these values, The problems that the values education can deliver solution and the behavioral changes observed in the students after the values education practices. The results of the synthesis were presented in the form of comments in tables in the findings section of the research, and the citations made from the examined theses were given directly.

FINDINGS
In this part of the research, the findings related to the three themes obtained from the qualitative data of 24 graduate theses examined are presented in the form of comments and direct quotations under the title of research questions. Page numbers of theses are also given in direct quotations.

Findings Regarding Applications practiced to gain values education and problems encountered
In line with the first question of the study, the theses were examined and two themes were determined; the practices of teachers in teaching values education and the problems encountered in these practices. Regarding the first theme, it was observed that in the acquisition of values education, firstly drama (15), then a case study (11) and storytelling (10) about values education were practiced. Besides these, it was determined that educational games about the value to be gained (9), art activities such as music, painting, film and theater (9), project work (7), billboard preparation (7), narration (6), discussion (6), writing an essay about the subject (5), travel-observation activities (5), family visits (4), role modeling (4), Science and nature activities (3) (2), examining social experiments (2) and reading books (2) applications were practiced. Some quotations from the thesis examined regarding these findings are presented below.
"Animating events or concepts we encounter in daily life in the classroom, that is, drama, will enable students to realize the importance of values" (T7, p.72 (T8, p.206). "I use all methods such as case study, discussion, brainstorming, narration. I mostly use the case study method" (T15, p.92). "I make the students perceive the value based on something they are curious about during the lesson or the case study that happened at that moment" (T20, p.60). "… We read story books. We have resource books, we plan activities" (T9, p.90).
When the theme of the problems encountered in practice has been examined, it was determined that families do not contribute to the process in the first place (14). The problems following come after this problem; having a low number of variety of activities and materials in the values education program (13), crowded classes (10), presence of negative examples presented by mass media such as social media, television series, television programs, YouTube phenomena, internet, etc.(10), the concepts being abstract (10), unsuitability of the physical environment (9), incompatibility of family values and universal values (9), insufficient teaching hours (9), insufficient in-service teacher training (8), the families not being conscious (8),teacher's being a wrong role model (6), priority to teaching over education (5), self-centered preschool students (4), behavioral differences among teachers (3) and unclear course outcomes (3) . Some quotations from the thesis examined regarding these findings are presented below. (T14, p.72)." "Timeless, improper, unconscious consumption of mass media, social media, TV programs, besides their misuse, the fact that they make programs that corrupt our values causes serious damage on values (T8, p.203)."

Findings regarding the values that should be acquired by students according to teachers and the factors effective in gaining these values
In line with the second question of the research, the theses were examined and 2 themes were determined, namely, what values should be gained according to the teacher's opinions and the factors that are effective in gaining these values. In the first theme, for the values that should be given to students according to teachers, it was determined that first comes respect (14), in the second place it's honesty (13), and in the third place it is responsibility (12) and love (12). Helping each other (11), tolerance (10), justice (9), empathy (8), patriotism (7), sharing (7), self-confidence (7), patience (6), conscience (3), cooperation (2) and equality (2) follow these values respectively. Among the theses examined regarding these findings, the value of respect takes the first place in the theses coded T3, T10, T15 and T20 and the quotations regarding this value are as follows: "First of all, respect must be gained. Respect is essential for the development of a children's sense of self-confidence, for getting along well with their friends, and most importantly, for them to become characterful people in their future life (T3, p.56)." "First of all, we need to teach to be respectful at the ages of secondary school… .. (T10, p.72)." Honesty value came out as the second most important value that should be gained to students also in the thesis coded T11. The opinion of a teacher on this subject is as follows: "Personally, my most important value is not lying, honesty; I attach great importance to it…" (p.52). When codes in order of priority in teaching values in theses with T8 and T11, T16 and T17 codes were examined, it was found that responsibility and love values ranked third. Some opinions about these values are expressed as follows: "… A sense of responsibility should be given. Individuals who are aware of their responsibilities do their duties properly. Value of responsibility should be given. There is no information or school for a student who does not know what and why… (T19, p.58)." "Since people live together, I put the value of responsibility and sensitivity first…. (T20, p.44)." When the second theme of the factors that are effective in providing values education is examined, it was determined that in the first place, it is the family's necessity to be the right role model (5). This factor is followed by these; the teacher's being the right role model (3), family consistency (3), school culture (3), social media, television, etc. mass media (3), consciousness level of the family (2), family-teacher cooperation (2), universities, municipalities, health institutions, nongovernmental organizations etc., private and public institutions (2), the support of the guidance service (1). Some of the opinions expressed by the teachers regarding these factors are given below.
"… I think the most important factor is family. After, it is an important factor that students fall into the exam rush brought by the system…. and…. The family factor is particularly effective(T19, p.56)." "I try to set an example to teach the values education outcomes, not as if to explain the subject of a lesson, but to teach the subjects of values education with my behavior when necessary… .. (T1, p.44)." "Since there are violent elements in the computer games, I observe that the child resorts to violence to get something. Likewise, the presence of elements of violence on TV also makes it difficult for the child to learn values (T3, p.71)."

Findings of teachers' opinions about the problems that values education can solve and the behavioral changes observed in students after values education practices
In line with the third question of the research, the theses were examined and two themes were obtained: the problems that values education can solve and the behavioral changes observed in the students after the applications.
Regarding the first theme, it was determined that the teachers think that values education can bring a solution to the problem of injustice (5) the most. After that they indicated that it would be a solution to physical and psychological violence (4), lying (4), disrespect (3), lack of love for homeland, nation and flag (3), impatience (3), communication problems (3), failure (3), being judgmental (2) and not being able to express oneself (2). Some quotations regarding the views of teachers in theses where the problems that values education can solve are presented below: "First of all, I believe that values education will solve the problems of violence, fighting, failure and discipline in schools… .. (T5, p.77)." "I think that violence can be solved with an effective values education. The student should use it in social activities in their spare time. Sports areas should be created to spend their energy. I think that violence can be solved if these values education is started to be given to the students at all hands; on the street, in the family, in the media (T1, 108)." "I think it can contribute to the solution of the problems such as violence, disrespect, inability and inequality that are increasing in our society (T2, p.29)." When the opinions of teachers in the second theme regarding the behavioral changes observed in students after the values education applications are examined, it was found that respectively the behaviors of being respectful (7), sharing (6) and helping each other (5) were positively changed. These behavior changes are followed by those; being responsible (4), being self-confident (4), paying attention to cleanliness (3), finding solutions to problems (3), being patient (3), being tolerant (3), empathizing (3), showing love to all living things (3), not lying (3), less violent tendency (3) and fairness (2). Some quotations obtained from the views in the theses examined regarding these findings are as follows: "Students are more respectful to each other and to adults after values education (T10, p.67)." "We also see that feelings of cooperation develop….. At school, we have students who are helpful to disabled students, share what they have with the others, have a habit of reading books, participate in artistic activities and respect diversity (T10, 71)." "After our practices for values education, I can say that there are some changes in students and I could observe them. For example, students who share their food with the ones who don't have food, students who give their notebooks to others who couldn't write the text on the board, students who confess their fault a result of misbehavior in the classroom, not lying etc. (T5, p.64)."

CONCLUSION, DISCUSSION AND SUGGESTIONS
3 themes were created from the qualitative data of 24 postgraduate theses examined; Applications practiced to gain values education and problems encountered, The values that should be gained by the students according to the teachers and the factors effective in gaining these values, The problems that the values education can deliver solution and the behavioral changes observed in the students after the values education practices.
In the studies in which the opinions were taken in values education, it was found that mostly the opinions of the teachers were taken. However, it is thought that taking the opinions of the academic staff in higher education institutions, especially in teacher training institutions, on this issue will be beneficial in developing the programs. Therefore, first it is recommended to evaluate the existing situation also from the point of view of the student and the lecturer, in order to improve the curriculum of the education faculties further. Also, considering the subjects of the postgraduate studies examined, it was determined that a limited number of studies were conducted on the views on teaching materials used and produced in values education. Thus, it is recommended to conduct more studies in which opinions are taken in order to improve the teaching materials and technologies used in values education.
According to the synthesis obtained as a result of the research, teachers stated that in values education practices, primarily drama was used and then case study and storytelling. It was stated that the least common practice was reading poems and books on values. It was determined that the least common activity was reading poems and books about values. Also in different studies where teachers' opinions about the application of values education were taken, it was determined that drama method is used in the first place in gaining values and that its use is effective in gaining values, embodies the learning process and provides a fun learning environment (Akıtürk and Bağçeli Kahraman, 2019;Akpınar and Özdaş, 2013;Balcı and Yanpar Yelken, 2013;Can Aran and Demirel, 2013;Çelik and Buluç, 2018;Gür et al., 2015;Kaya and Antepli, 2018;Kaya, Günay and Aydın, 2016;Kılıç, 2017;Meydan and Bahçe, 2010;Uzun and Köse, 2017). However, it should not be forgotten that teaching oral and written works at schools in addition to drama is important in cultural transfer. Especially literary texts are beneficial in terms of value explanation, value analysis, making a moral judgment and cultural transfer (Özdemir and İdi Tulumcu, 2017). On the other hand students can be gained values by making use of activities such as fairy tales, proverbs, folk songs and poems. It was stated that fairy tales are important in terms of the transmission, teaching and adoption of our traditions, national and sentimental values from generation to generation (Kahramanoğlu, 2019). For these reasons, it is recommended to examine the reflections of the poems of national and universal poets on the values education, and to read the books that include the life stories / achievements of the thinkers in value acquisition practices.
When the results regarding the problems encountered in values education applications are examined; it was observed that the fact that families do not contribute to the process is in the first place. The low number and variety of activities and materials in the values education program, crowded classes, negative examples presented by mass media, etc. problems follow this problem. In parallel with these findings, similar results have emerged in many studies in which problems encountered in values education practices were determined (Ağgül Yalçın & Yalçın, 2018;Çelikkaya & Filoğlu, 2014;Ergin & Karataş, 2016;Erkuş & Yazar, 2013;Gömleksiz & Kılınç, 2015;Kurtulmuş, Tösten, & Gündaş, 2014;Thornberg and Oğuz, 2013;Zurawsky, 2003). Based on the problem of the low number and variety of activities and materials, it is recommended to carry out studies to increase the effectiveness and variety of materials related to values education, and to evaluate and improve the results. At the same time, it is thought that giving regular seminars on values education to families and implementing practices that can involve the family may minimize the problem of family not contributing to the process.
According to teachers, it was determined that in the ranking of values that should be gained to students, the first place is respect, the second is honesty, and the third is responsibility and love. These values are followed by those values respectively; solidarity, tolerance, justice, empathy, patriotism, sharing, self-confidence, patience, conscience, solidarity and equality. In different studies about the values that should be gained according to teachers, especially the values of respect, responsibility and love were focused on. In different studies about the values that should be gained according to teachers, especially the values of respect, responsibility and love were focused on Gömleksiz and Kılınç, 2015;Gür et al., 2015;Ogelman & Erten Sarıkaya, 2015;Oğuz, 2012;Yiğittir & Öcal, 2011). When these values are examined in an international context, it is observed that common values such as freedom, honesty, reliability and responsibility are included; however the values such as self-control, compassion, conscience and character education are less included (Bilici, 2018;Brady, 2008;Klaus Ruhmer, 1990). However, in the postgraduate theses examined, teachers did not include the value of self-control among the values that should be gained. In fact, the self-control value includes many values such as controlling thoughts, emotions and behaviors, awareness and empathy. For this reason, it is recommended to make practices that provide self-control value and evaluate their results. It was seen that the family should be the right role model in the first place in the results of the factors that are effective in providing values education. This factor is followed by these factors; teacher's being the right model, the family's being consistent, school culture and mass media etc. In a study conducted by Özmen, Er, and Gürgil (2012), teachers stated that the approach of being a role model in the teaching of values is the most important and they use that. In a qualitative study conducted by Akpınar and Özdaş (2013), it was concluded that the school and the media, as well as the family, are an important factor in value education. Anderson et al. (2003) indicated that violent programs on various television and social media increased the tendency towards violent behavior among young people. In a study conducted by Yörük, Koçyiğit, and Turan (2015), TV series and computer games were grouped as violent and non-violent, and the drawings of secondary school students about TV series and computer games were analyzed within this framework. At the end of the analysis, it was determined that knives, guns, bullets, blood, dead and injured people were drawn in the pictures involving violence. Considering that factors such as social media, television series, television programs, YouTube phenomena, internet create serious problems in gaining values, it is recommended to increase the supervision of social media and mass media, and especially to organize and develop the contents of programs, series and cartoons in accordance with values education. For this, it is recommended to include an applied course in which participation can be provided to the curriculum, apart from the theoretical course, and where evaluations can be made by watching cartoons, short films and theaters. In addition, taking into consideration the positive results (Albayrak & Kartal, 2020;Coşkunserçe, 2020;Fariyatul Fayhuni and Bandono, 2017;Karakuş, 2015;Kutlucan, Çakır and Ünal, 2019;Menendez-Ferreira et al., 2019;Rathore and Mishra, 2016;Yürük & Atıl, 2017), of the use of digital stories, animations, cartoons and video blogs on values education, it is recommended to frequently include such controlled practices.
As a result of the research, the teachers stated that they were of the opinion that values education could bring solution to injustice the most and then violence, lying and disrespect. At the same time, they expressed that they think that students' behaviors of being respectful, sharing and helping each other change positively with the values education provided in schools. Also in an experimental study conducted by Dereli İman (2014) in which the effects of the values education program on the psycho-social development of children were tested, it was determined that students who received values education developed the skills of controlling their anger behaviors, adapting to changes and self-control etc. In the two studies conducted by Dilmaç (2007), Tahiroğlu, Yıldırım and Çetin (2010), it was found that as a result of the practices of values education, it was concluded that the students' sensitivity towards the environment increased, their aggression tendency decreased and human values such as responsibility, respect, tolerance and honesty were gained. With the help of results and as the teachers mentioned, it is seen that the values education applications are effective to set aright students' habits and gaining the target values. With addition to these applications, it is advice to diversify values in terms of self-control and self-regulation, to review gains and prepare more effective instructional designs in between student-parents-teachers triangle with the help of guidance service.