An Evaluation of Old and New 5th Grade Social Studies Textbooks in Terms of Cultural Heritage Elements

The aim of this study is to examine how cultural heritage elements are addressed in the 5th grade Social Studies textbook used in the 2023–2024 academic year and in the textbook prepared in line with the Türkiye Century Maarif Model and implemented in the 2024–2025 academic year. The study adopts a qualitative research approach, and document analysis was used as the data collection method. The documents of the study consist of 5th grade Social Studies textbooks prepared according to these two different curricula. The data were analyzed by examining the texts, visuals, activities, and assessment sections included in the textbooks within the framework of tangible and intangible cultural heritage elements. The obtained data were evaluated using the descriptive analysis method. The results of the study indicate that cultural heritage elements are included in both textbooks; however, the distribution of these elements across the units differs. In the 2023–2024 textbook, cultural heritage elements are concentrated in certain units, while they are addressed to a limited extent in some others. In contrast, in the 2024–2025 textbook prepared within the scope of the Türkiye Century Maarif Model, cultural heritage elements are presented with a more holistic approach and in a more systematic manner in terms of both visual and content organization.