Using Heroes as Role Models in Values Education: A Comparison between Social Studies Textbooks and Prospective Teachers' Choice of Hero or Heroines

This study explores the relationships between the frequency and identities of heroes as role models used in the social studies textbooks in teaching 20 core values and prospective teachers' preferences of heroes. The findings indicated that there are striking similarities and differences between these two variables. For gender variable, 97.4% of heroes found in the textbooks were male and 2.6% was female, whereas all the heroes preferred by prospective teachers were male. Moreover, 73.6% of heroes in the textbooks were national and 26.4% was universal; 75% of prospective students' preferences were national and 25% was international. However, the study indicated that there is a low level of congruence between the two variables in terms of the identities of the heroes. While Ataturk was the most frequently used role model in the textbooks, prospective teachers' preferences of role models for the basic values constituted of Ataturk and religious heroes.