Examining the Levels of the Faculty of Education Students’ Possession of the Values in the European Living Values Education Program: Yildiz Technical University Case

ATHENS JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, cilt.13, sa.3, ss.511-532, 2026 (Scopus)

The socialisation process that starts in the family continues with educational

institutions. As individuals remain in education, they gain social values and

contribute to social continuity. Thus, the individual becomes a member of that

society. Social values are formed through the filter of a long life. Values are not

preferred according to taste but principles of life that provide a more or less

definite and systematic vital order that enables the individual to interact with their

environment. As its operators, the school and the teacher play an essential role in

adopting these values. Due to the social role of the teaching profession and its

power over the individual, teachers are expected to know and possess the national

and universal living values that are valid in that society. As the centre of deliberate

acculturation, the school equips children from different socio-economic and

educational backgrounds with socially approved knowledge, skills, habits, attitudes,

and values. It equips them with the requirements of social life. While educating

individuals, educational institutions also contribute to social continuity and cultural

richness. This research examines the level of Yildiz Technical University (YTU),

Faculty of Education students’ possession of the twelve (12) values in the

European Living Values Education Programme. In this respect, the research is a

quantitative study of survey type and was conducted with 474 undergraduate

students who agreed to participate in the study. According to the statistical

analysis of the data obtained from the research, students assessed their level of

value based on their perceptions. The findings revealed significant differences in

the total value scores among YTU, Faculty of Education students. Specifically,

female students were found to have higher value scores compared to male

students. Students in the Science Teaching and Turkish Language Teaching

departments had higher value scores than those in other departments.