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Journals / Dil Eğitimi ve Araştırmaları Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 12 Sayı: 1

Promised Future, Silent Pages: Tracing Sustainability in Turkish Secondary School English Curriculum

Vaat edilmiş gelecek, sessiz sayfalar: Türkiye Ortaokul İngilizce Müfredatında Sürdürülebilirliğin İzleri

Pelin Derinalp(GAZIANTEP UNIVERSITY, GAZİANTEP FACULTY OF EDUCATION)0000-0003-0537-2244
Pages
531–550
Publication Date
2026-04-30
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

First, the overall structure of the curriculum was examined, followed by a content analysis of the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade textbooks.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:This study investigates the extent to which environment and sustainability themes are incorporated into Turkey’s secondary school English curricula.
📊
Key Findings & Data:First, the overall structure of the curriculum was examined, followed by a content analysis of the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade textbooks.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:Therefore, it is recommended that curriculum goals be more clearly reflected in teaching materials and that sustainability issues be integrated more holistically across all grade levels.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:çevre eğitimi · sürdürülebilirlik · İngilizce öğretimi

Abstract

This study investigates the extent to which environment and sustainability themes are incorporated into Turkey’s secondary school English curricula. First, the overall structure of the curriculum was examined, followed by a content analysis of the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade textbooks. Findings indicate that the curriculum employs an eclectic pedagogical approach aiming to foster students’ communicative competence and support real-life language use. However, textbook analysis reveals a significant gap between the curriculum’s vision and its implementation. In the 5th grade textbooks, environmental and sustainability themes are completely absent. In the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades, these themes appear only once, limited to a single unit per textbook. Such minimal representation is a critical shortcoming, as it restricts opportunities to cultivate students’ environmental awareness. Therefore, it is recommended that curriculum goals be more clearly reflected in teaching materials and that sustainability issues be integrated more holistically across all grade levels.

Özet

Bu çalışma, çevre ve sürdürülebilirlik temalarının Türkiye’deki ortaokul İngilizce müfredatına ne ölçüde dahil edildiğini incelemektedir. Öncelikle müfredatın genel yapısı analiz edilmiş, ardından 5., 6., 7. ve 8. sınıf ders kitapları içerik analizi yöntemiyle değerlendirilmiştir. Bulgular, müfredatın öğrencilerin iletişimsel yeterliklerini geliştirmeyi ve İngilizceyi gerçek yaşam bağlamlarında kullanmalarını desteklemeyi amaçlayan eklektik bir pedagojik yaklaşım benimsediğini göstermektedir. Ancak ders kitapları incelendiğinde, müfredatın vizyonu ile uygulama arasında önemli bir boşluk olduğu görülmektedir. 5. sınıf ders kitaplarında çevre ve sürdürülebilirlik temaları tamamen yer almamaktadır. 6., 7. ve 8. sınıf kitaplarında ise bu temalar yalnızca birer ünitede yer almaktadır. Bu sınırlı temsil, öğrencilerin çevresel farkındalık geliştirme fırsatlarını kısıtladığı için önemli bir eksiklik olarak değerlendirilmektedir. Bu nedenle, müfredat hedeflerinin öğretim materyallerinde daha açık şekilde yansıtılması ve sürdürülebilirlik konularının tüm sınıf düzeylerinde daha bütüncül olarak ele alınması önerilmektedir.

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Cite This Article

Derinalp, P. (2026). Promised Future, Silent Pages: Tracing Sustainability in Turkish Secondary School English Curriculum. Dil Eğitimi ve Araştırmaları Dergisi, Cilt: 12 Sayı: 1, 531–550. https://doi.org/10.31464/jlere.1788850

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