Role of Characters as Teachers in The Book of Dede Korkut: AI-Assisted Content Analysis

Background/purpose. This study examines the role of characters as teachers in The Book of Dede Korkut, a foundational work of Turkic oral literature. The analysis focuses on twelve legends, identifying how characters embody teaching roles and impart moral, ethical, and cultural lessons through their actions and relationships.

Materials/methods. This study employs a qualitative research design to explore the pedagogical roles of characters in The Book of Dede Korkut. The primary source is the English translation of The Book of Dede Korkut. Each legend is treated as an independent unit of analysis. Key characters and their actions were identified and coded for their pedagogical roles. A directed content analysis approach was used to examine the teaching roles associated with characters.

Results. Using qualitative content analysis with AI, the study reveals several key findings. Characters such as Dede Korkut, Bugach Khan, and Salur Kazan serve as pedagogical figures, teaching values like bravery, loyalty, leadership, resilience, and the importance of justice. These lessons are conveyed through their interactions, decisions, and sacrifices, offering timeless lessons on human behavior and societal values.

Conclusion. The analysis implies the potential of traditional narratives as tools for teaching universal moral and ethical lessons, indicating that integrating such stories into modern curricula can improve critical thinking, cultural awareness, and moral reasoning among students.

Keywords: AI-assisted learning, content analysis, Dede Korkut, teacher role

References

Adem Aydemir. (2017). A research on the hapax legomenons of Turkish in the Book of Dede Korkut. International Journal of Languages’ Education and Teaching, 5(1), 18-78.

Aral, A. E. (2015). Uygulamalı halk bilimi açısından eğitim sürecinde Dede Korkut. Türk Dünyası İncelemeleri Dergisi, 15(2), 123-138.

Edis Aydoğan, S. İ. (2023). A new perspective to the Dede Korkut stories within the framework of habitus, capital, and field concepts of Pierre Bourdieu. Uluslararası Türkçe Edebiyat Kültür Eğitim (TEKE) Dergisi, 12(3), 894-907.

Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 17(6), 614-621.

Bekis, T. N., & Yiğit, M. (2021). Examining the cultural elements in storybooks used in teaching Turkish as a foreign language: Sample of Dede Korkut stories. European Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 5(6).

Bülent, A. R. I., & Kadan, Ö. F. (2015). An outlook: The Book of Dede Korkut in terms of education and pedagogy. Theory and Research in Educational Sciences II.

Duran, E., & Bitir, T. (2019). Increasing awareness on Dede Korkut and his stories: An action research. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 12(1), 37-46.

Eberdes, E. D., & Demirdag, E. A. (2024). Understanding society's learning of religious terminology by using educational technologies on historical manuscripts: The example of Dede Korkut. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology-TOJET, 23(1), 183-191.

Egan, K. (1992). Imagination in teaching and learning: The middle school years. Harvard Educational Review, 62(1), 55-67.

Erbek, İ., & ESKİMEN, A. D. (2023). Analyzing the stories in Oghuzlama in terms of values education. International Journal of Eurasian Education and Culture, 8(23), 2062-2097.

Ergün, M. (2019). Dede Korkut Hikayelerindeki insan yetiştirme. Uluslararası Bilim ve Eğitim Dergisi, 1(2), 78-90.

Firat, H. (2014). Education in Dede Korkut’s stories: Qualification of bravery in Boghach Khan and Uruz. Educational Research and Reviews, 9(23), 1353-1359.

Galimullina, A. F., Galimullin, F. G., Mingazova, L. I., & Arslanova, G. A. (2018). Innovative and integrative principles of teaching Russian and Tatar literature at university. In R. Valeeva (Ed.), Teacher Education - IFTE 2018 (Vol. 45, pp. 833-842). European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences. https://dx.doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2018.09.97

Gültekin, M. (2015). Dede Korkut kitabında kahramanların problem çözme yöntemleri ve Dede Korkut kitabının eğitimde kullanılması. Türk Dünyası İncelemeleri Dergisi, 15(2), 49-54.

Hamarat, S. (2019). Cultural norms in the translation of Dede Korkut stories into English (Master's thesis, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü).

Meeker, M. E. (1992). The Dede Korkut ethic. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 24(3), 395-417.

Hmelo-Silver, C. E. (2004). Problem-based learning: What and how do students learn? Educational Psychology Review, 16(3), 235-266.

Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Holubec, E. J. (1994). Cooperative learning in the classroom. Educational Leadership, 47(4), 36-41.

Karasu, H. (2018). İlkokula uyarlanmış Dede Korkut hikâyelerinde değerler eğitimi (Master's thesis, Eğitim Bilimleri Enstitüsü).

Kasemsarn, K., & Sawadsri, A. (2024). Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in Heritage Education: A Multimedia Approach to 'Phra Aphai Mani'. Heritage, 7(10), 5907–5931. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage7100277

Narvaez, D. (2002). Does reading moral stories build character? Educational Psychology Review, 14(2), 155-171.

Ozdemir, C. (2018). Causes of Problems Students Face While Learning Turkish as a Foreign Language: The Case of Kazakhstan. European Educational Researcher, 1(1), 17-33.

Özdemir, C., Özdemir, E. D., Choban, U., & Uysal, S. (2019). Determination of problems in the basic language skills of university students learning Turkish in Kazakhstan. European Educational Researcher, 2(1), 17-33. https://doi.org/10.31757/euer.212

Özarslan, M. (2012). On the concepts of feast, banquet, entertainment in the Book of Dede Korkut. Zeitschrift für die Welt der Türken/Journal of World of Turks, 4(1), 41-51.

Özbay, M., & Karakuş, E. (2011). Dede Korkut Hikâyeleri’nin Türkçe öğretimi ve değer aktarımı açısından önemi. Pegem Eğitim ve Öğretim Dergisi, 1(1), 21-31.

Proietti, E. (2014). New Technologies as Tools for Education to Cultural Heritage in the EU Agendas: Debates and Plans–The Special Case of Archaeology. In Educational technology use and design for improved learning opportunities (pp. 92-116). IGI Global Scientific Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-6102-8.ch005

Rest, J. R., & Thoma, S. J. (1985). Relation of moral judgment development to formal education. Developmental Psychology, 21(4), 709-714.

Sarfraz, S., & Fazal, N. (2024). Automated sentiment analysis of linguistic and emotional dimensions in The Book of Dede Korkut and fuzzy logic. Annals of Human and Social Sciences, 5(4), 454-464.

Serdalina, S. (2024). Evolution of Kazakh and Turkish languages in the context of the image of Korkyt Ata. Asiatic: IIUM Journal of English Language and Literature, 18(2), 87-105.

Tafli, H. (2006). A comparative study of the belief systems in Beowulf and The Book of Dede Korkut (Master's thesis, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü).

Tomlinson, C. A. (2000). Reconcilable differences? Standards-based teaching and differentiation. Educational Leadership, 58(1), 6-11.

Uccellini, R. (2018). The teaching of classical literary subjects. FormaMente, 13.

Ünsal Ocak, E. (2023). A gender discourse analysis on Dede Korkut Hikâyeleri and its English translation. SÖYLEM, 8(Çeviribilim Özel Sayısı).

Yilmaz, G. (2022). On the religious sacrifice motif in the Book of Dede Korkut Qurban of Dede Korkut. Journal of Media, Culture and Communication (JMCC), ISSN 2799-1245.

Yi, S., & Wang, J. (2023). Research on the Teaching Reform of Visualization in the course of Ancient Literary History under the background of" Digital Humanities". Advances in Education, Humanities and Social Science Research, 7(1), 230-230. https://doi.org/10.56028/aehssr.7.1.230.2023

Zanadil, Z. (2024). The mythological image of Korkyt Ata: Spiritual mentor and hero in Kazakh and Turkic culture. Journal of Oriental Studies, 108(1), 49-57.

Announcement

EDUPIJ Citation Metrics

EDUPIJ News!

► Educational Process International Journal has changed to publish in article number order instead of in page range order beginning with Volume 14 (2025).