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1. 2018
Educational Science
Editor
Oğuz KUTLU
ONLİNE SİPARİŞ
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2018
Educational
Science
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SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHES BOOK

2. ACADEMICIAN PUBLISHER
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHES BOOK
2018
EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES
Editor
Oğuz KUTLU

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4. - iii -
PREFACE
The directors of Academician Publishing House, have been conducting their com-
mercial activities for a long time by transferring their 30 years of broadcasting ex-
perience to their legal entities. In the said period, it was proud to publish 750 books,
particularly health and social sciences, cultural and artistic topics. The Academician,
that defines the platform of being an international publishing house, is in the pursuit
of creating a global brand in addition to broadcasting in Turkish and foreign langu-
ages.
The books, which are considered as permanent documents of scientific and intel-
lectual studies, are the witnesses of hundreds of years as an information recording
platform. The future of the book, which has built on a solid basis with the in-
vention of the printing press, will certainly have a place in our lives for a long
period of time, even though it has moved into orbit of new inventions.
Academician Publishing House has started the process of publishing books in
international quality and quantity with its own name of “Scientific Research Book”
series in Turkish and English. The publication process, which will take place in Mar-
ch and September every year, will continue with thematic sub titles. We owe to our
thanks to all of our researchers who supported this process, which was starting with
about 30 books, and to everyone in the background.
Academician Publishing House Inc.

6. CONTENTS
Chapter 1 “You Have Rights Children” Project As An Active
Learning-Based Teaching Approach...................................................................1
Süleyman DOST
Ömer ÇELİKKOL
Rumeysa PEKTAŞ
Chapter 2 Investigating Prospective Teachers’ Conceptions Of The Child
Through Metaphor Analysis.................................................................................11
Fehime Nihal KUYUMCU
Chapter 3 Active Learning Methods Used In Preschool Education..................................19
Serpil PEKDOĞAN
Chapter 4 Opinions Of Pre-Service English Language Teachers On An
Intercultural Training Integrated Oral Communication Skills Course..........31
Defne ERDEM METE
Chapter 5 The Effects Of Portfolios In Providing Connections Between Daily
Life And Laboratory Experiences For Meaningful Learning And
Pupils’ Views On Such Portfolios ........................................................................51
Harun BERTİZ
Chapter 6 An Evaluation Of Secondary Education Geography Curriculum
And Coursebooks..................................................................................................63
Vedat ŞAHİN
Chapter 7 Corticolous Myxomycetes; Life-Cycle, Taxonomic Order And
Laboratory Culture................................................................................................75
Fatima TOURAY
C. Cem ERGÜL
Chapter 8 Chemical Properties And Utilization Of Tree Barks ........................................91
Halil Turgut ŞAHİN
Chapter 9 What Should Be The Position Of The State In Religious Education?
-An Example From Turkey- .................................................................................107
Muhammet Fatih GENÇ
Chapter 10Teaching Other Religions In Religious Culture And Moral
Knowledge Course Programs And Textbooks In The
Context Of Values Of Respect And Tolerance...................................................115
Ramazan GÜREL
- v -

7. Chapter 6
AN EVALUATION OF SECONDARY EDUCATION GEOGRAPHY
CURRICULUM AND COURSEBOOKS
Vedat ŞAHİN1
Introductıon
Course books are the main tools used for teaching the curriculum in
secondary education institutions in Turkey. It is the primary learning material and
the first resource for the students. The course books are the guides that are
available to the students and teachers for the implementation of the curriculum.
The course books are used every day in classrooms as a teaching material
and are important tools in supporting quality education (Horsley, 2007). The
course books are one of the most important educational inputs and also the their
texts reflect the main aspects of national culture. The information contained in
the books are organized and arranged by the state to prepare the new generations
to the life. The lessons contribute to the improvement of the self-esteem of the
students and also show the borders of the society. The geography course books
are especially important in this regard, as we learn why, how and where we live.
In addition to being the first source of information, the course books also
contribute to the development of critical thinking, reading, rational thinking and
evaluation skills (Pingel, 2010). Well-designed course books enable teachers to
improvise and adapt, as well as they can strengthen the student's interaction with
the course (White, 2017). Therefore, a good course book contributes to effective
classroom practice (Yuda, 2015). In this respect, geography courses, geography
course curriculum and geography course books hold great importance.
The majority of course books use pictures and texts to transfer meaning.
This is a sensitive issue that the necessary attention must be paid; the texts,
visual elements, especially maps should be organised in a very clear manner in
geography course books. The maps are used as a second language to translate
meaning in geography education (Lucas, 2007). In this respect, the geography
course books are the main part and component of the implementation of the
curriculum.
Knowing the subject and teaching the subject are two different things. If a
person masters the subject and if he/she knowingly apply the teaching methods,
it means he/she implements the teaching of the course (Güngördü, 2012). In this
regard, the preparation of geography course books is very important. The
geography lessons should include visual materials and the text should be easy to
understand to support learning process. Furthermore, the course books contribute
greatly to the teacher’s implementation of education programme. In this respect,
1 Namık Kemal University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Geography,
Tekirdağ, v.sahin29@hotmail.com
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8. it is very important that the geography course books are prepared according to
the needs of the student.
Methods
In the study, the development process of geography curriculum in several
countries have been reviewed and associated with the standards of geography
course books. Hereof, the standards of the geography course books of several
countries have been examined and their curriculum development processes have
been studied. A literature review on the geography course books and standards
in Turkey has been carried out and the resources related to curriculums and
curriculum development works of past years have been studied. Furthermore,
the changes in curriculum in Turkey and in UK, USA, New Zealand, and Japan
have been examined and the relationship between geography curriculum and
course books have been discussed in the framework of development process of
the curriculum and conclusions were drawn.
Findings
The geography curriculum have been renewed throughout the history of the
Turkish Republic, some sections were added or removed. The First Turkish
Geography Congress was held in 1941 and was very important in terms of
constructing the bases of geography education and specifying the aims and
targets of geography education in Turkey (Taş, 2005). During the First
Geography Congress, held in 1941, the geography curriculum and lecture hours
were discussed and determined for primary schools, high schools and vocational
schools. Besides, the geographical terms, the geographical regions of Turkey and
the geographical course books were also discussed and explained in the
congress. In addition, in 1929, Commission for Terminology of Education Board
published a brochure about the writing and reading of geographical terms and
made various suggestions (Maarif Vekilliği, 1942).
The geography curriculum of the high schools, which was prepared by the
Turkish Geography Congress Program Committee in 1941, maintained its
general existence with small changes until the implementation of the modern
programs in 1973. (Engin, Akbaş, Gençtürk, 2003). However, it is also
important that in 1971, the geography teaching programme was placed under the
title of necessary tools and equipment, although it was added to all other
programmes previously. The main significant feature of the "Modern Program"
of 1973 is that it was not only specified the objectives for general geography
education but also had determined the objectives for each course separately
(Geçit, 2008).
The military coup of 1980 deeply affected the Turkish Education System
and the geography lessons were also influenced from it. Immediately after the
military coup, the geography curriculum, which had been in operation for about
eight years, was abolished and replaced with a new curriculum (Taş, 2005). It is
important that the topography maps were included in the changing curriculum in
the 1980s and various practices were placed to show that geography is not just a
theory. The most important change in the 1982 Geography Teaching Provisional
64

9. Program is that the aims for each lesson were not specified, instead 9 general
aims were accepted. The 1982 Provisional Curriculum was revised after one year
and the aims consist of 9 articles in the provisional program were widened to
cover 13 articles (Geçit, 2008).
With the new curriculum implemented in the academic year of 1987-1988,
the geography lessons in the high schools were reduced significantly. Starting
from 1991-1992 academic year, ‘course-credit system’ was introduced. The
most striking feature of this period was the unbalanced distribution of geography
courses in our high schools. Since 1995-1996, the credit system was switched to
previous ‘course-pass system again (Yılmaz, Zeybek, 1997).
The most radical and comprehensive changes in the new geography
curriculum made in 2005 (Koç, Aksoy, 2010). This program’s strengths and
innovations include its student-centred structure, definition of vision and
principles and the activities and explanations associated with learning outcome at
each class level. Furthermore, it is important that each learning outcome was
structured based on skills and the new applications were used for the assessment
and evaluation process (Taş, Kızılçaoğlu, 2014). Highly detailed 2005 program
included the general objectives of teaching geography lessons as well as the
explanations for the implementation of geography program. In this context, it is
stated that the geography lessons should assist the students to use the knowledge
and skills they have gained in lessons in solving everyday problems and to
develop critical thinking skills. The program included land-studies and the use of
observation skills and aimed to develop the comprehension power of the student,
rather than rote learning. It was emphasized that many visual and written
materials should be used in the lessons (MEB, 2005).
The 2005 Program has been revised twice, on 17 February 2009 and on 10
September 2011. As a result of the revisions, the number of learning outcomes
was changed, some of them were completely removed and some were
simplified in terms of language and content. The 2011 program was based on the
learning outcomes and it gave the teachers more freedom (Çomak, Güncegörü,
2012).
Ministry of National Education, Board of Education and Discipline issued
regulations in January 2014, titled as ‘the criteria to be used for examining and
evaluating the draft course books’. The regulations included the guidelines for
evaluating course books for formal and non-formal education institutions of the
Ministry of National Education. In this framework, the criteria were set to be
used by the book review commissions during the examination of course books.
The Ministry of National Education set four criteria for the examination and
assessment of course books. These are;
a. The content should comply with the Constitution and related laws,
b. The content should be scientifically sufficient.
c. The content should be sufficient enough to realise the learning outcomes
of the education and training program,
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10. ç. The content and the design of visual elements should support the learning
and appropriate to the developmental characteristics of students (Ministry of
Education, Course Books and Educational Tools Regulation, 2013)
The geography teaching curriculum prepared by the Ministry of National
Education, Board of Education and Discipline in January 2017 has included
many itemised issues related to geography teaching. Also, this draft included
section for ‘Important points to consider when writing a course book’ (MEB,
2017). It is important that some criteria were set for course books, which are
concrete part of the curriculum and have direct reflections on students. Besides,
there are many other previous studies on the assessment of geography course
books which specify the criteria for the geography course books (Kızılçaoğlu,
2003; Gümüş, 2004; Doğanay, 2002; Cunningsworth, 1995; www.mofa.go.jp,
2017). Therefore, those who carry out field work in Turkey or in the world are
familiar to the book standards for the geography course book and have
knowledge about many main criteria. Furthermore, it is also important that the
criteria for reviewing and evaluation of draft course books for all courses set in
2014, included assessment in the context of geography education.
‘Assessment of Course Books Workshop’ was held on the 8th-9th March
2016 in several provinces in order to evaluate the course books. In addition,
Ministry of National Education Evaluation of Training Program was held in
Antalya on the 20-24 February 2017 and the final decision was made by 51
separate commissions. (https://ttkb.meb.gov.tr, 2017).
The draft copy of ‘Important points to consider when writing a course
book’ for the secondary education geography courses consist of 10 articles and
published in January 2017 in Turkey. Various matters were presented in those
articles, such as: The course book and its content should be prepared considering
the latest scientific developments that have been globally accepted;
Scientifically accepted common terminology should be used; The controversial
issues should not be included; The content should be prepared in plain
language, starting from simple to the more complicated subjects in order to allow
the students to study on his/her own time. Also, it was stated that the course
books should include universal values and human rights issues as well as the
sections to help students to adapt national moral and cultural values and carry
them to the future. It has also been emphasised that the texts, reading pieces and
activities should include these subjects. Furthermore, it was underlined that those
subject should be linked with the materials used in geography course books such
as tables, graphics, figures and maps. It has been stated that the materials used in
the geography course book should be original and appropriate to the purposes of
the subject, and it should include accurate and up-to-date statistical data taken
from official institutions, the content of the books should match with the
learning outcomes and the incomplete or exaggerated expressions should be
avoided. Moreover, it was defined that the summary of the subjects should be
given at the at the end of each unit and the end-of-unit assessment sections
should be supported with visual elements (pictures, photographs, graphics,
tables etc.) and should include open-ended (short or long answer) questions to
improve the thinking skills together with multiple choice questions. In this
context, it was emphasized that the questions should be structured to allow the
66

11. student to draw conclusions and the necessary attention should be given to the
learning outcomes in accordance with the skill level (MEB Secondary Education
Geography Curriculum, 2017).
In this regard, ‘Important points to consider when writing a course book’
published by Ministry of National Education can be widened with various
explanations. Also, new suggestions can contribute to the study area.
Similar development process of the geography course books and curriculum
was also experienced in Australia, New Zealand, USA, Japan and the UK. Until
1975, the main researchers for geography education were only from few
countries such as USA, UK and Germany. However, when it came to 1995, this
number increased considerably and geography education studies have been
conducted in many countries and at various levels. Many studies have been
carried out and are still being made on geography education teaching methods,
curriculum development, international perspectives and policy development in
geography education (Gerber & Lidstone,1996). However, Australia, Great
Britain, New Zealand, Japan and the United States have a distinctive significance
in this respect.
Geography is a part of the Australian humanities and social sciences
teaching curriculum (www.asiaeducation.edu.au, 2017). In Australia, course
books are prepared separately in each state. However, some criteria are set at the
federal level and the states prepare course books within this framework. These
standards are defined by the Department for Education and Training. However,
some of the states set their own standards. The Australian and New Zealand
geography education curriculum is traditionally integrated with education in the
United States. Nevertheless, in 1996, the USA redirected the geography
education by introducing a contemporary learning and thinking system with a
new understanding and a new curriculum approach. New Zealand has started its
own new curriculum studies and a national curriculum has been developed
through school-based education authorities and local education providers. In
Australia, education is part of the federal system and the states and district
governments are responsible for conducting their own educational activities. In
1993, Australia and New Zealand purpose to shape their curriculum in general in
line with new requirements and they tried to define general aims in 1999.
Furthermore, in the years following the identification of the national goals for the
schools in 1999, the studies continued to produce fruitful results and in 2005 an
important milestone was reached with the acceptance of the national curriculum.
Geographical education and training standards were directly influenced by this
situation (Robertson & Ferguson, 2006).
In Australia, the oldest geography course books were prepared by
geographers, school inspectors, or geologists who worked in universities (Biddle,
1996). In the United Kingdom, prior to the curriculum development project of
the Schools Council in the 1970s, the most of the geography teachers made their
own lesson plans by deciding what to teach and in what order. This issue was
discussed later and different opinions were raised on how to prepare the
curriculum (Roberts, 2003).
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12. In 1877, a geography course book called ‘General Keys for Geography’
was prepared according to the education programme instructions issued by the
Ministry of Education. However, for a long time, the framework of geography
education in the schools was continued to be structured by natural zones. As a
matter of fact, in 1905, this approach was confirmed and resumed with the
publication of some articles. In fact, the areas were generally divided by climate
regions, and the boundaries were identified after the analysis and synthesis of the
four world maps. The content was comprised of formal structure, precipitation,
temperature and plants. When it came to the 1924, it was stated that the
geography curriculum should emphasis the natural territories, but also was added
that it should include the environmental determinism on a philosophical basis.
After World War II, the importance of geography in the international arena has
increased and put forward in secondary school curriculum. However, when it
came to the 1960s, the concept of geography started to change in the world and
the importance of regional geography was decreased. This was also seen in
Australia and New Zealand in the 1960s. Research on curriculum theory and
development was introduced by the university lecturers in Australia in the early
1960s and later in England in the late 1960s. However, the biggest change was
seen in England in the 1970s. The development of geography curriculum in 1995
led to flexible geography teaching programs, due to the introduction of
curriculum theory and practice, major advances in geographical research,
improvements in teacher training quality and the ability of teachers to use in
modern technology, the growth of geographic information systems nationally and
internationally (Biddle, 1996).
In England, the geography curriculum has always been strong, but it was
not obligatory to all students before the 1980s (Conolly, 1996). The school
curriculum were re-structured and modified in the UK, just as in many other
countries. Intensive studies were carried out to document the geography
curriculum in the UK in the 1980s and 1990s. Similarly, the studies on
geography curriculum have been carried out in the United States as the targets
have been identified in line with the "2000 Objectives" and according to the
current needs and the purposes of the twenty-first century (Gerber & Lidstone,
1996: 1-15).
The Department of Education and Skills (DfES) was responsible for
education and curriculum development during 2001-2007 in the UK. Then,
Department for Education was reorganized in 2010 and divided into two separate
institutions. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority-QCA is responsible
for developing and monitoring the national curriculum, related assessments, tests
and exams in the UK (www.qca.org.uk, 2017). In this context, the geography
curriculum are constantly being updated and the developments in geography area
are reflected in the secondary education curriculum. For example, the 1980
education plans were focused on in-depth knowledge and understanding at the
Advanced Level (A-Level). However, in 2000, the content of the curriculum
was revised and physical geography subjects were decreased. Besides, the
importance of skills were increased and it was aimed to enhance the knowledge
and understanding of the students in a wider range (QCA, 2004). In general, in
the UK, the volume of physical geography in the curriculum was decreased
68

13. between 2001 and 2010 but the volume of human geography was increased.
Along with the content change in geography, it was more focused on problems
and their effects (Ofqual, 2012).
In the USA, the content and format of the course books have undergone a
major transformation over the last century, and the changes in the geography and
technological field have been reflected in the geography course books.
Especially, the physical geography course books have changed considerably in
the last century. However, in general, these changes were mostly the innovations
to improve the pedagogical usability of course books (Jennings, 2006).
In Japan, the government established a national education system through
the Education Regulation in 1872 and Education Instructions in 1879. This is the
first educational reform in Japan. With this curriculum system, geography
(together with history) became independent and compulsory. The second radical
educational reform was made in 1947, using the US education system as a
reference. The old geography curriculum in Japan was based on regional
geography. However, in 1998, subject-focused lessons were prepared and an
approach similar to "case studies" was adopted, influenced by the English
geography education system. The publication of the curriculum reform of
2008/2009 has been welcomed and accepted as geographically-focused by many
geography teachers (Ida & Shimura, 2015). In Japan, the latest national
curriculum innovations were gradually introduced, first at the primary schools in
early 2011 and then at the secondary schools in 2012, and at the high schools in
2013. All course books have been developed by private publishers. MEXT
checks the course books to ensure that they are written according to the National
Education Standards, and only approved course books are published and
distributed to students free of charge (Yuda, 2015).
The School Education Law came into force in 1947 and the current course
book approval system was established. In this system, non-governmental
publishers prepare course books and send them to the ministry of education for
official review and approval. These books have to meet the requirements of the
curriculum. Beyond that, publishers have the freedom to incorporate their own
learning methods and ideas into the material. The course book preparation and
approval process has few steps. First, a team of academics and school teachers
will gather and prepare the course book. After the book is complete, the
publisher sends an example to the Japanese Ministry of Education. Then the
course book is submitted to the Approval Research Board and according to the
course book control standards. If the book is not accepted, it is returned to the
publisher. If the decision allow publication only on condition, it will be sent to
the publishing house for revision and correction. The revision does not mean
refusal, the books can be published after reductions were made. The approved
course book is sent to the education ministry for final approval. Course books
approved by the Ministry of Education are displayed at the facilities of local
communities, so public can examine them. This process usually takes at least
three years for most course book projects, from the beginning of the work of
writing committee and to the actual use of course books (www.mofa.go.jp,
2017).
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14. Discussion
The course books and curriculums are very important in secondary schools
geography education. The geography curriculum and course books must be
constantly updated. Issues related to geography in the world of science should be
reflected in the curriculum. The contents of the course books should be updated
to avoid using the old data. Because, many subjects in the geography curriculum,
such as the population, the borders of the countries, the governments of the
countries, migration movements, refugees, products produced and commercial
relations, issues related to political geography, distribution and amount of energy
resources are changing rapidly. Therefore, to transfer the correct and current data
to the students is only possible by renewing the course books.
The geography course books are prepared in the context of geography
curriculum in line with the goals and learning outcomes of the curriculum
program. In this framework, it is necessary to prepare course books that match
with the basic principles and methods of geography teaching so the education
reach its purpose of teaching rapidly (Ünlü, 2014). In this respect, geography
course books, should be prepared from physical to non-physical, from close to
far, from known to unknown and in line with life principles. The methods used in
geography teaching, such as active learning, expedition-observation, experiment,
problem-based learning, discussion, narration and question and answer methods,
should be suitable to be used in the classrooms (Aydın and Güngördü, 2015).
Because a course book prepared for appropriate to the implementation of the
course will enable the student to be active in the classroom. This will help
students to learn and use what they learn.
Teaching of main subjects of geography should include sampling,
grouping, comparison and explanation but also should avoid the vague
expressions. Important information should be put forward and be reinforced
with questions (Girgin and Ertürk, 2004). Preparation of a course book based on
rote-learning system will cause a problem. Also, the preparation of a course
book by gathering encyclopaedic information will be wrong as well, because of
the level of comprehension of secondary school students. It is important that the
subjects are supported with explanatory texts so that the student can get a grasp
of them. A low number of pages does not mean that topics will be learned better.
On the contrary, it can lead to rote learning makes it harder for the students to
understand the subjects. As Ibni Haldun stated in his Mukaddime (2004),
‘Summarizing the science subjects excessively makes the learning process more
difficult. If the students who do not see necessary explanations, their skills will
be incomplete’. Therefore, decreasing the number of the pages of geography
course books and summarizing the information is also a wrong approach.
The most important issue to take into account when preparing a geography
course book is to question if it has an “instructive” approach. In this respect, the
course book should widely include the subjects stated as the "purposes" in the
geography curriculum and give less emphasis to the remaining topics. In this
way, it would be easier to reach the determined targets in geography education.
Thus, students would not waste their time studying secondary subjects. When
discussing subjects in geography course books, especially the understanding and
70

15. comprehension should be taken as basis and the topics should be presented to the
students to allow them to think. In this way, the rote-learning can be prevented
and the development of innovative skills can be enhanced. The study by Şahin
(2014) included the opinions of the teachers about the course books and stated
that the course books should include necessary explanations for the geography
education instead of short summaries, in order to enable effective learning.
Geography course books should not have messy appearance and the
subjects should be linked to each other like a lace. It is also wrong that the
topics to have very long explanations or persistent repetitions. Therefore, the
level of students and the importance of the subject should be taken into
consideration. For example, if there is a unit about countries, an original country
should be chosen and targeted geographical information should be presented.
Describing a country does not mean all statistical data and encyclopaedic
information should be included. Thus, students should easily reach the target
information and should not confused with other various data.
The geography course books should be prepared appropriate to the use of
internet and information technologies. The research students should be able to
conduct research with the help of information technology and they should be
provided with opportunities for self-learning. In this way, the students will not be
bound to the course books and they will be able to learn many other subjects
which are not included in the course books, using the knowledge and methods
they gained during geography courses. So the course books should develop the
researcher and questioning character of the students.
Furthermore, the visual elements of the course books should be
thoughtfully chosen. Elements such as maps, pictures, photographs, drawings,
tables and figures should be compatible with the subject and be instructive. In
this respect, the correct selection of visual elements will increase the level of
interest and knowledge. On the other side, the best way to educate mind is to do
the things on our own. For example, we understand better if we study how to
read a map on our own the best way to understand is to do it (Kant, 2006). In
this respect, geography course books should include practice applications.
The geography course books should contain sufficient activities and
questions in order to ensure better understanding of the students. The different
types of questions should lead students to think on the topics discussed in texts.
This can attract the students’ interest and provide students with the opportunity
to question their knowledge levels. Thus, the activity and the questions should be
about learning different subjects and geographical features.
The course books should not be prepared in a dull and soulless manner
(Cunningsworth, 1995). Visual elements should be organized to assist the
understanding and comprehension of the subjects. Visual elements should be
presented to display target information rather than containing multiple, complex
elements. Course books should make learning easier and more pleasant.
Geography textbooks must be prepared as a multi-dimensional and should
improve the quality of citizenship (Demirkaya, 2003). As can consider the local
71

16. scale, also it should be multi-layered to the development of individuals who can
evaluate the issues on a global scale.
Conclusions and Recommendations
The students receive necessary knowledge, skills, and perceptions through
courses. The course learning process consist of the explanations of the teacher,
group discussions and exercises (www.tdk.gov.tr/). The course books are the
main elements of the learning process and therefore, the preparation of course
books is very important. The course books should have some specific
qualifications and if the necessary specifications were met, it would be easier for
students to learn. In this way, it would also be easier for the teacher to
implement the course, explain the subjects and make them understood by the
students. Several issues, such as length of the sentences, size of the letters, and
intelligibility of the text should be carefully considered when preparing
geography course books.
The targets, principles, method, tools and equipment of the geographical
education should be specified (Doğanay, Zaman, 2002). In this respect, the
authors of the geography books and the members of the Book Review
Commission of the Ministry of Education Board of Education and Discipline
should have extensive knowledge about the objectives of geography education
and opinions about how to achieve those objectives. On the other hand, it will be
a useful to examine the standards of secondary education geography course
books of leading countries and approach them considering the conditions in
Turkey and reflect the necessary elements to the geography course books.
The question of what the basic criteria should be when preparing the course
book is important. In this regard, the issues presented in the draft text of
Geography Lesson Teaching Program, which the published in January 2017, is
significant but can be developed further. In addition, the standards of the
geography course books should be reflected correctly in the new course books.
In this respect, the Ministry of Education's Board of Education and Discipline
Book Review Commission hold considerable responsibility. Therefore, the
members of the Book Review Commission should be subjected to an
examination on geographical knowledge and course book standards. The
teachers who assigned to this commission may be lacking knowledge in the field
and/or they may not have sufficient knowledge about course book standards.
Such an examination is needed in order to select and assign appropriate members
to the commissions.
Geography textbooks; provide teachers with up-to-date, accurate, relevant
and comprehensive information (Demirkaya, Tomal, 2002). Although, it is
important to prepare the quality course books in accordance learning process, the
main element of geography education is the teacher, who will use the course
book in the classroom and guide the student. Geography teachers are one of the
most important elements in educating students as knowledgeable and skilled
(Artvinli, 2012). For this reason, it is important that the teachers should be
trained well to gain necessary qualities to teach the geography lesson.
Professional success of geography teachers also means the success of geography
education.
72

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