The Value of Responsibility in the Point of View of the 5th Grade Students

In order to create a healthy social structure, there should exist common values and these values need to be transferred to next generations. In this transfer process, education plays a vital role in transferring values in society. Values are personal, moral and social emotions which help a human and a society survive. Being a society-oriented course, social studies has an important place in transferring values. The primary aim of the social studies course in our country is to raise good citizens. One of the duties of educational institutions, which intend to have students acquire behaviors aiming for the wellbeing and beauty of the society, is to give values education. One of the values included in the social studies course teaching program is the value of responsibility in a society. In this study, the 5th grade students' views of the value of responsibility were examined. A total of fifteen students, six male and nine female, participated in the study. In the study, the data collected via the semi-structured interview technique was analyzed according to qualitative research methods. According to the results obtained via analyzing the answers given by the 5th grade students participating in the study, it can be stated that the students had the value of responsibility.


Introduction
A society's possessing common values is important in the creation of a healthy society. Values are personal, moral and social emotions keeping humans and a society alive. The place and importance of education in the transferring of these values to new generations is known. Values education starts in the family. Although school education is very important in the acquisition of values, it is not totally determinant. Turning of education given at school into behavior depends on its integration with emotions. The formation of these emotions goes back to preschool ages (Aydin & Akyol Gurler, 2012). In the acquisition, learning of values and the use of them in social relationships, the most important institution after family is school (Okumus, 2010).
In primary and secondary schools, which are the foundation stones of the education system, individuals are made to acquire basic knowledge and skills required to live in harmony with other members and continue their lives in a better way in the society (Fidan & Erden, 2001). By means of the lessons given within the scope of the program, it is aimed to support students' individual and social developments and raise them as individuals who are sensitive to social events, phenomena and situations (Akbas, 2008).
Social studies focuses on people's interaction with one another and their environments. The values, attitudes and beliefs which individuals possess lead to this interaction. For this reason, social studies education has an important place in terms of developing democratic values, attitudes and beliefs in individuals, having them become aware of existing ones and revealing how these affect their interactions with other people and their environments (Doganay, 2009). The relation of the child with family members and its continuity play an important role in the formation of values. Sezgin (2006) defines a value as the tendency to prefer a behavior or a situation to another one and a strong belief providing a source for behaviors and judging them. If individuals having adopted values are raised, the goal of raising responsible people and active citizens, which is also the universal objective of the Social Studies course, is reached as well (Gomleksiz & Curo, 2011).
The social studies course, one of the main courses in primary education, aims to have students learn their responsibilities as a good citizen, comprehend the importance of human relationships and internalize various values. It is known that the social studies course is a social-oriented course and important in terms of transferring values. The social studies course is one of the main courses in having individuals be knowledgeable of society and its problems, learn their responsibilities as a good citizen, understand human relationships and comprehend national and universal values. The Social Studies course attaches importance to the development of students from spiritual, moral, social and cultural aspects within the framework of their own mores. Hence, it aims to raise individuals knowing and using student rights, fulfilling their responsibilities and being sensitive to social problems (Bilgili, 2006).
Social studies is a teaching program aiming to raise effective citizens, who are able to solve problems by making decisions based on knowledge, under the world conditions changing in almost every respect, by integrating and using the content which it derives from social and human sciences with an interdisciplinary approach (Ozturk, 2012).
It is values that form the socio-cultural elements of a society. Values, which are accepted as rules and principles adopted by the society, put forward common thoughts and behavior patterns which a society possesses. The popularization of beautiful thoughts and behaviors and turning of bad and negative behaviors into good and positive ones in a society is possible through values education (Ulusoy & Arslan, 2014).
It is possible to state that the Social Studies course aims to raise individuals having internalized basic values, knowing their responsibilities, seeking solutions to social problems, having grasped their cultural background, shaping the future and applying the knowledge, skills and values which they have learned in their lives (Ozturk, 2002). In order for individuals in a society to internalize values and turn them into a form of behavior adopted throughout their lives, they need to live values directly, internalize them and make other individuals feel what they feel about them (Ozdemir, Yalin & Sezgin, 2008). Values are the thoughts that we give importance in our life and which affect our lives. People who are not equipped with the necessary values against themselves and their social-physical environment can use their knowledge in actions that are not for the benefit of humanity and the environment (Doganay, 2006).
One of the duties of the educational institutions acting with a basic goal like having individuals acquire behaviors aiming at the wellbeing and beauty of a society is to provide values education. Having been included among the general objectives in previous elementary education programs, values were given place under the heading of the values of the program in some of the new elementary education programs and started to take place in the section of the general objectives of the program in some others as it is in education programs (Topal, 2019). Values education is done everywhere where humans exist; every adult is a good, bad or uncertain model for a student. In a classroom, students are negative or positive teachers for other students. That is to say, values education is the effort spent for teaching values (Ulusoy & Tay, 2011).
Turkish values are the sum of principles constituting the perspective of teaching programs. Their roots are seated in our traditions and yesterday and their trunks and branches outstretch our today and tomorrow by being fed from these roots. Our values forming our basic humanistic characteristics are the source of the power and the strength helping us take action in the routine flow of our life and coping with problems which we encounter. It is an unquestionable fact that the future of a society depends on people having adopted their values and fleshing out these values with capabilities which they possess. Education system is not only a structure raising academically successful students and having them acquire some determined knowledge, skills and behaviors. Raising individuals having adopted the basic values is its essential duty; it should be able to affect the values, habits and behaviors of the new generation. Education system fulfills its function within the framework of its aim of having students acquire values via an education program covering the teaching programs as well (Ministry of National Education, 2018).
Values affect every part of individuals' lives in one way or another and this effect shows itself more frequently in attitudes and behaviors. For this reason, if we want to predict the attitudes and behaviors of an individual, a group or a society, we need to know the value of these. Only in this way can we have foresight about them (Kulaksizoglu & Dilmac, 2000). In the Social Studies Course Teaching Program, the following values are included: justice, attaching importance to the unity of family, independence, peace, being scientific, diligence, solidarity, sensitivity, honesty, esthetics, equality, freedom, respect, love, responsibility, economy, patriotism and benevolence (Ministry of National Education, 2018).
Especially the teaching of the value of responsibility, one of the basic values, has a key role in an individual's taking responsibility about individual and social issues. Children's making decisions freely in selecting and applying behaviors about themselves makes them feel responsible for the results of these decisions (Babadogan, 2003). School administration, family and teacher should act together in values education; it is necessary that works at home and at school should support each other (Deveci, 2008).
The Turkish Language Society defines the concept of responsibility as "a person's undertaking the results of their own behaviors or any event entering their scope of authority." Moreover, Civelek (2006) defined responsibility as "Obeying rules, using the power of understanding and respecting and caring others and their property." According to Yavuzer (2000), responsibility is defined as "a child's doing his/her duties starting from early childhood periods according to his/her age, gender and developmental level." Responsibility is defined as an individual's ability to meet his/her needs without standing in the ways of other individuals in the society (Glasser, 2005). It can be considered as an individual's doing his/her duties and undertaking the results of his/her actions starting from early childhood periods in accordance with his/her age, gender and developmental level (Ozen, 2001). As a life skill, responsibility has an effect on children's being successful all their lives and acquiring self-discipline and children acquire this skill from their families, circle of friends, the society and schools (Tasdemir & Dagistan, 2014). Responsible individuals are the ones who can adjust the life as required, are happy and can fulfill their responsibilities in a balanced way to others as well as themselves (Celep, 2011).
The purpose of this study is to examine the secondary school 5th grade students' opinions about the value of responsibility. Some questions have been identified for this purpose. These questions can be grouped under four headings: 1-How do 5th grade students perceive the value of responsibility? 2-What are the opinions of the 5th grade students about what they do in order to live in a cleaner environment?
3-What are the opinions of the 5th grade students about what they think about their responsibilities in the family?
4-What are the opinions of the 5th grade students about what they think about their responsibilities in and outside the classroom?

Methodology
The model of the study In this study, case study, which is one of the qualitative research designs and fits for the nature of the study, was used. The most basic characteristic of case study is that it investigates one or several cases deeply. That is to say, factors, environment, process and events related to a case are investigated with a holistic approach and it is focused on how they affect the case under discussion (Yildirim & Simsek, 2016). Here, by concentrating on a single phenomenon or an entity, the researcher aims to reveal the interaction of important factors related to that phenomenon. It can be stated that this is a study examining the cases deeply via such data collection tools as observations, interviews and documents and describing themes in relation to these cases (Creswell, 2007).

The Study Group
The study group was composed of the 5th grade students of a secondary school. The 5th grade students were selected on the grounds that the value of responsibility is included in the 5th grade social studies course program. In the Turkish education system, students are introduced the social studies course in the 4th grade. The importance of social studies course in having students acquire values is known. And responsibility is one of these values. Since students are made to acquire values via the social studies course in the 4th grade, the study covered the 5h grade students. A total of fifteen students, six male and nine female, participated in the study. The sample type of this study was determined in line with its purpose and the convenience sampling technique was used. Students were given the code names of S1, S2, etc. The demographic characteristics of the participant students were given in Table 1. Father's Educational Status S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10 S11 S12 S13 S14 S15 When the information included in Table 1 is examined, it is observed that the participant students were given code names. The total number of the participants was fifteen. Six of the participants were male and nine of them were female students. When the number of siblings is examined, it is seen that six students had one sibling. There is only one student with four siblings. Five students had two siblings. Finally, there are three students with three siblings. When the ages of the participants are looked into, it is seen that nine students were aged ten years, six students were aged eleven years. Most of the participants' mothers were housewives (9 students) and workers (3 students); most of the participants' fathers were workers (9 students). When the mother educational statuses of the participants are looked into, it can be stated that most of the participants' mothers were secondary school and high school graduates (4 students in each group) and the least of the participants' mothers were university graduates and illiterate (2 students in each group). According to the father educational status, most of the participants' fathers were secondary school graduates (9 students) and the least of the participants' fathers were, equal in number, high school graduates, primary school graduates and illiterate (1 student in each group).

Data Collection and Analysis
Since this study was designed according to the qualitative research methods, the data used in the study was collected through the semi-structured interview technique. As it is known, the most basic characteristic of this method is that it includes flexible questions. Generally, particular data is collected from each participant. Moreover, a great part of the interview is composed of questions or problems which need shedding light on (Merriam, 2013). In this context, an interview form was created for the secondary school fifth grade students in this study. In this form, a total of eight questions were asked to the students. These questions were evaluated under four headings.
In this study, the data collected through the semi-structured interview technique was analyzed according to the qualitative research methods. The mentioned data analysis is the process of exporting the meaning of your data. That is to say, the researcher integrates, reduces and interprets what people say (Merriam, 2013). In this context, the content analysis of the study was carried out based on the processes of thematic coding and interpretation. Content analysis is a systematical process. For this reason, the data started to be coded by the related researchers and then it was turned into themes related to the questions included in the interview, and finally it was tabulated and interpreted via supporting with direct quotations from the participants. In order to achieve validity and reliability in the study, the data coded and turned into themes by the researchers was also examined by another researcher and checked comparatively. It can be stated that these stages aimed to increase the validity and the reliability of the study.

Findings
In this section, the analyses of the data obtained as a result of the study were included. The data obtained from the study was analyzed and after forming four sub-headings in relation to the questions of the study, the coded data were presented in tables.

The 5th grade students' opinions about responsibility
The findings related to the sub-problem including the 5th grade students' opinions about responsibility were given in Table   Table 2 The findings related to the sub-problem including the 5th grade students' opinions about what they do in relation to living in a cleaner environment were given in Table 3. When the information included in Table 3 was evaluated, it was found that the students could show responsible behaviors in order to live in a cleaner environment. In fact, as a result of the analyses, the category of clean environment appeared. When the codes included under this theme are examined, it is seen that thirteen students stated 'not dropping litter' as a responsibility. It is seen that the next most frequently mentioned responsibility was 'warning people dropping litter'. The least emphasized concepts were 'putting batteries in recycle bins', 'protecting the environment', 'protecting the nature', 'protecting animals' and 'watering plants'. It can be considered that the students had the perception of responsibility towards the environment and could show this with their reactions when it was necessary. According to the results, we can gather the coded data under the headings of protecting the environment and the nature. Below are given some students' opinions supporting these findings: S4 coded student: "I do not drop litter and warn those who drop litter; I give water to plants so that they can grow. We should protect and treat animals well." S7 coded student: "I do not drop litter and plant trees. I warn those who drop litter." S10 coded student: "I do not throw away batteries but put in recycle bins."

The 5th grade students' opinions about their responsibilities in the family
The findings related to the 5th grade students' opinions about their responsibilities in the family were given in Tables 4  and 5. The category of responsibility in the family and the information about this were given in Table 4. Most of the students mentioned their responsibilities in the family as 'helping with the housework', 'tidying rooms' and 'respecting parents'. The least emphasized one was 'not annoying the elderly'. When it is evaluated in general, it can be understood from the answers given by the students in relation to responsibilities in the family that they were individuals who were aware of their responsibilities. Below are given some students' explanations supporting these findings: The findings related to what the 5th grade students did to contribute to the family budget were given in Table 5. When the information given in Table 5 was examined, there appeared a category called 'contribution to family budget'. There are twelve students thinking that they contribute to the family budget. Most of the students stated that they did not spend money unnecessarily, used things clean and carefully and wanted to have a profession by going to school. This makes us consider that the students had thoughts related to responsible behaviors. According to these findings, the answers given by the students can be gathered under two headings, namely individual effort and supporting the family. Below are given some students' opinions supporting these results: S4 coded student: "Yes, I use the things at school or somewhere else carefully and clean." S7 coded student: "Yes, I do not do unnecessary shopping, I spend money as much as I need." S8 coded student: "Yes, I try to save my pocket money."

The 5th grade students' opinions about what they think about their responsibilities in the classroom and at school
The findings related to the sub-problem including the 5th grade students' opinions about their responsibilities in the classroom were given in Tables 6, 7, 8 and 9. The findings included in Table 6 were evaluated as the category of 'duties in the classroom'. However, when the codes included under this theme are looked into, it is seen that each of the concepts of 'keeping the classroom clean', 'not giving harm to classroom objects', and 'listening to the lesson' were emphasized by six students. Here, the students mentioned the behaviors expected from a responsible citizen. It can be stated that the students had positive perceptions of responsibility related to their duties in the classroom. It is observed that 'checking what has come to the classroom' and 'not telling lies' were least emphasized. Moreover, 'listening to the lesson' and 'raising hand before speaking' were also the concepts which the students emphasized. As it is understood from these codes, the students' duties in the classroom can be gathered under three main headings, namely duties related to oneself, duties related to friends and duties related to classroom. Some students' explanations supporting the information given in Table 6 are as follows: S4 coded student: "bringing my book to the school and listening to the lesson, not giving harm to school desks, not bullying classmates, not telling lies to classmates." S7 coded student: "not dirtying the classroom, not giving harm to classroom things, anyway, we come to school to learn things." S12 coded student: "doing homework, not giving harm to school things, not hitting friends." S13 coded student: "not giving harm to school objects, not eating anything, not being naughty, protecting school materials." The findings related to the sub-problem including the 5th grade students' opinions about how they feel when they do not do their homework were given in Table 7. When the data included in Table 7 is examined, the category of homework was determined as a result of the students' opinions. From the perspective of students, homework is an important responsibility to be fulfilled. Most of the students stated that they felt bad and sad when they did not do their homework. Some students stated that they felt irresponsible, regretful and stressful. It can be stated that the feeling which the participants felt least frequently when they did not do their homework was being unable to feel happy and feeling uneasy. When it is evaluated in general, it can be stated that the students felt negative emotions when they did not do their homework assignments. When these codes are taken into consideration, it can be stated that the students experienced emotions related to themselves. Under the light of these explanations, some students had the following opinions about homework assignments: S13 The findings related to the sub-problem including the 5th grade students' opinions about if they liked to participate in group activities were given in Table 8. When the information included in Table 8 is looked into, it is seen that the information coded under the light of the question addressed to the students was combined in the category of group activity. In Table 8, twelve students stated that they liked group activities by saying 'yes'. One participant stated liking to do something together; another participant stated doing something if the teacher encourages; another participant stated wanting to participate in order to adapt to the environment. A final participant explained doing a duty willingly and amusedly. What is attracting attention here is that the student had a positive perception about taking responsibility in group activities. Below are given some students' opinions supporting these findings and explanations: S3 coded student: "yes, because I like group activities. I like doing something together." S4 coded student: "I know that I can do my best when my teachers choose me for a game or something else." S10 coded student: "because if I adapt to the environment, I feel happier." The findings related to the sub-problem including the students' opinions about what they think when school and classroom objects are damaged were given in Table 9. When the information given in Table 9 is evaluated, it is seen that the findings obtained as a result of the analyses were gathered under a theme called 'school and classroom objects'. When the content of this theme is examined, it is seen that six of the students gave the reaction of 'getting angry' and five of them gave the reaction of 'feeling sad'. The least frequently exhibited behaviors were 'feeling afraid', 'feeling regretful', 'feeling nervous', and 'warning'. Three students answered that they would tell the teacher and try to correct. When it is evaluated in general, it can be interpreted that the students had a perception of responsibility as a result of a negative event occurring in the classroom and at school. These findings can be stated under individual thoughts. Moreover, the example statements related to some students' opinions about school and classroom objects are as follows: S9 coded student: "if a classroom object is damaged, I get angry with the person who has broken it." S10

Results and Discussion
One of the basic values taught in values education is responsibility. It can be considered that the mentioned Social Studies course aiming to raise students as individuals knowing and applying their responsibilities by having them acquire knowledge, skills and values is extremely important in having students acquire the perception of responsibility and establishing a relation with the real life. Values help students become individuals knowing their rights and responsibilities and applying the beliefs and values related to this via various learning activities (Hoge, 2002). In fact, it is a very important fact that our values constituting our basic humanistic characteristics were described as the source of the power and the strength enabling us to take action in the routine flow of our lives and coping with problems which we encounter (Ministry of National Education, 2018).
In this study, it was aimed to reveal the secondary school fifth grade students' thoughts about responsibility, a part of values education. Some findings were reached as a result of the analyses. When the results are examined in general, it is seen that codes were prepared in the direction of the questions addressed to the students. The results obtained from the study were gathered under four headings. The first sub-problem is composed of the students' opinions about responsibility. In this category, most of the students described responsibility as doing homework and reading books. They regarded 'going to the grocer's', 'learning', 'listening to the lesson', and 'respecting parents' as the lowest responsibilities. Karakus, Kartal and Caglayan (2016) found in their study that the students described responsibility as 'doing homework' and 'performing duties'. In another study, the students emphasized 'being fair' and 'patriotism' more in value ranking, but they showed that they also attached importance to the value of responsibility. For the value of responsibility, such matters as the acquisition of the skill of being able to work alone and achieving social peace were specified (Celikkaya & Kurumluoglu, 2017).
When the students' views of the responsibilities in and outside the classroom are examined, it is seen that they regarded homework assignments as an important responsibility to be fulfilled. Most of the students stated that they felt sad when they did not do their homework assignments. The fewest of them stated that they felt unhappy and uneasy when they did not do their homework assignments. From the students' thoughts about the theme of 'doing homework', it can be concluded that they had the perception of responsibility. Depending on these explanations, it can be stated that values help students become individuals knowing their rights and responsibilities and applying the beliefs and values related to this through various learning activities (Hoge, 2002). In another study supporting this category, it was found that the students stated having the responsibility of doing homework and studying lessons (Sezer & Coban, 2016).
When the results related to the students' duties in the classroom are examined, it is seen that each of the concepts of 'listening to the lesson', 'keeping the classroom clean' and 'not giving harm to the classroom objects' was emphasized by six students. It can be stated that the students had positive perceptions of responsibility in relation to their duties in the classroom. 'Checking what has come to the classroom' and 'not telling lies' were the least emphasized concepts.
When the results related to group activities in the classroom and at school are examined, it is observed that twelve students stated having thoughts of taking responsibilities in group activities by saying 'yes'; two students said 'no'. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the students had positive perceptions about participating in and taking responsibilities in group activities. It was stated that providing opportunities and benefiting from stories to develop students' practicing and repeating skills particularly in social studies lessons with the aim of increasing students' responsibilities related to the lesson would both make the lesson entertaining and develop learning skills (Lintner, 2011).
When the results related to what students think when school and classroom objects are damaged are looked into, it is seen that six students mostly showed the reaction of getting angry when school and classroom objects are damaged. They stated that they least frequently showed the reactions feeling afraid, feeling regret, getting angry and warning. The student's being aware of his/her responsibilities related the mentioned school and classroom reveals the importance of schools, one of the factors having effect on the education of values. Moreover, schools protect and maintain social and cultural values as well as have a very important role in having students acquire new values (Celikkaya & Kurumluoglu, 2017).
When the 5th grade students' opinions about their responsibilities related to the environment are examined, it is observed that students might show responsible behaviors in order to live in a cleaner environment. Thirteen students stated that it was necessary not to drop litter in order to live in a clean environment. The least emphasized concepts were 'putting batteries in recycle bins', 'protecting the nature', 'protecting animals' and 'watering plants'. As it is understood from these results, the students had responsible thoughts and behaviors related to a clean environment. In a study, Sezer and Coban (2016) found that the students paid no attention to the responsibilities related to the environment and the nature and they thought that the school and the family fell short of increasing the responsibilities related to the environment and the nature. In the study made by Tepecik (2008), it was stated according to the opinions of the Social Studies teachers that the environment had more effect on student behaviors, students were passive before the environment and the duty of having them acquire the value of responsibility fell to all individuals in a society.
Moreover, in relation to the category of family and the results related to this, it can be stated that the students perceived their duties in the family mostly as 'helping with the housework', 'tidying one's room' and 'respecting parents'. The least emphasized concept was 'not making elderly angry'. In general, the answers given by the students in relation to what they thought about their duties in relation to the family can be interpreted as their having positive thoughts about the perception of responsibility. In fact, the family plays an important role in having the child acquire basic skills. Sahin states that the family is a role model for their children and makes contributions to their learning about respect and love (Sahin, 2019). Yesil (2003) found in a study aiming to evaluate the suitability of the classroom and the family environments for responsibility education and determine the extent of the existence of the responsibility awareness in student behaviors that the family environment was more suitable than the classroom environment for responsibility education.
Twelve students stated giving support to their families' budgets and said 'yes'. Three students said 'no'. The students emphasized that they made contributions to the family budget by not spending money unnecessarily and using objects clean and carefully.
In order to create a healthy social structure, there should exist common values and these should be transferred to next generations. In this transfer process, great duties fall to education. Values are personal, moral and social emotions keeping humans and society alive. Since the social studies course is a social-oriented course, it is important in terms of transferring values. The primary aim of the social studies course is to raise good citizens. In order to create a qualified society, the Social Studies course being able to have individuals adopt national and universal values with a contemporary understanding is needed.
The social studies course is, at the same time, a value education course. Based on the results of this study, it can be suggested that further studies might compare different values comparatively according to student and teacher opinions. Moreover, studies can be made in relation to the realization levels of the values included in the Social Studies course teaching program and new values desired to be added.