Sociocultural education and empathy in early childhood: Analyzing the battle of Gallipoli

Abstract

We aimed to set a precedent for the sociocultural education of preschool children by qualitatively analyzing the Battle of Gallipoli, which has an important place in Turkish history. An interpretative phenomenological analysis was carried out in 2 stages with groups of 6-year-old children: a pilot study (n = 11) and the main application (n = 13). In the main application, participants completed a series of activities, comprising listening to songs, participating in drama skits, drawing pictures, and writing letters. The main aim of these activities was to determine participants' level of empathic thinking skills. Our findings showed that, within the context of sociocultural education, 6-year-old children can empathize and use dynamic and static imagination types, and that they have a sense of history and understand the concept of time. Thus, we recommend that sociocultural education topics be included in the current preschool curriculum in Turkey.