The Educational Value in the Content of Arabic Language Textbooks at Elementary Stage

Abstract

The current study aims at identifying a list of educational values within three domains, (patriotic, social and economic), that should be included in the Arabic language textbooks of the elementary schools, in the State of Kuwait.

To achieve the objectives of this study two tools were used; the first is a list of the educational values, to decide on the values that should be included in those books, and the second was a content analysis form to analyze the contents of the Arabic language textbooks of the elementary schools, in the State of Kuwait. The study offered the following conclusions:

In identifying the educational values within the three domains, (patriotic, social and economic), that should be included in the Arabic language textbooks of the elementary schools, in the State of Kuwait, 30 educational values were identified.

The total frequency of the educational values within these three domains, was (703). The social values most prevalent (frequency 284, representing 40.4% of the total), followed by the patriotic values (frequency 242, 34.4%). In third position was the economic values, (frequency 177, 25.2%).

The patriotic value with the highest frequency in the Arabic language text books of the elementary schools is (pride in home country) (frequency 53, 21.9%), while the value with the least frequency is (respect of covenants and decisions) (frequency of 5, 2.1%). The social value with the highest frequency is the value of (taking initiatives) (frequency 53, 7.18%): the least frequent value is (respect for the law) (frequency of 13, 4.6%). The economic value with the highest frequency, in the Arabic language text books of the elementary schools, is (dedication to work) (frequency 52), 29.4%), while the value of fighting economic corruption was not found in the contents of Arabic language text books.

The Arabic language text books with the highest content of social values are the third grade books with a total frequency of 77, (a frequency percentage of 27.1%), while the fourth grade books come with the lowest content of social values, with a total frequency of 43, (15.2%).

The Arabic language text books with the highest content of economic values are the third grade books, with a total frequency of 53, while the first grade books come last, with a total frequency of 14.

Some educational values are infrequently found in the Arabic language text books of the elementary schools: among these are (respect of covenants) with a total frequency of 5, (2.1%), the value of (social justice) (frequency 8, 3.3%) and (appreciation of the economic role of the country) (8, 4.5%), while the value of fighting economic corruption was not found in the contents of the five Arabic language text books.