Evaluation of Material Use in Early Childhood Religious Education, Türkiye: Qur'an Courses for 4-6-Year-Old Students

Abstract

Early childhood is a critical period in which religious and moral foundations are established, and the materials used in this process directly influence the quality of learning. In T & uuml;rkiye, institutional religious education for early childhood is provided through Qur'an courses for children aged 4-6 years, affiliated with the Presidency of Religious Affairs. This study examines the attitudes of instructors working in these courses toward material use and the types of materials preferred in the educational process. Designed within a quantitative research approach using a survey model, the study aimed to collect data from instructors working in Qur'an courses for 4-6-year-old children during the 2023-2024 academic year in T & uuml;rkiye. Based on voluntary participation, 363 instructors took part in the study. Data were collected through the Material Use Questionnaire and the Attitude Scale Toward Material Use in the Classroom Environment questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS 22.0. Due to the non-normal distribution of the data, the Kruskal-Wallis H test and the Mann-Whitney U test were applied. The findings show that instructors have positive attitudes toward the use of instructional materials and that printed and auditory materials are the most frequently used in the educational process.