The Values Education of Children: A Comparative Study on Swiss and Turkish Animated Children's TV Series

The study aims to examine the most-watched domestic and foreign animated cartoons in this content in terms of the Living Values Education Program prepared by UNESCO. The study is conducted to investigate how and to what extent these values are presented, and to what extent these values meet the value needs of the children aged 5-6. The animated cartoons named Niloya, which reflects the Turkish culture and customs, and Heidi, which reflects the Swiss culture of the period, are examined in terms of universal values. In this study, the document analysis method was used as the qualitative research method. 60 episodes of the Niloya and Heidi animated cartoons, a total of 120 episodes were monitored by the researcher(s). These cartoons have been examined in terms of the values included in the Values Education Program prepared by UNESCO. The obtained data were analyzed by describing them by content analysis. Finally, the values in the program in question were classified and presented as a sub-theme with their quotation in tables statistically. Eventually, the levels of value of children were determined by comparing these values both in Turkish and Swiss cultural contexts via using Level Determination Formula (LDF). In line with the results, some suggestions were made to the parents, the teachers, the policymakers, and the television producers.