Abstract:

Democracy calls for conscious, tolerant, open- minded, responsible and participative individuals with a developed sense of solidarity. By adapting themselves to a democratic social life, students gain the necessary knowledge, ability and competencies at school, which is the most vital institution in the process of socialization by means of subjects related to citizenship education and experiences lived through. In primary school level, the subjects of Sachunterricht in Germany and life studies course in Turkey first brings together the individuals who are going to be actors in shaping the prospective society through citizenship education subjects and by earning them democratic attitudes and values; it prepares them for a democratic society. Accordingly, it is of great importance for students to become aware of the subject matter of right to elect and be elected which is thought to be one of the key elements and indicators of democracy. The purpose of the study is to describe and compare how the subject matter of ‘class president election’ within the framework of democracy at school and in the classroom is studied in German Sachunterrich and Turkish life studies textbooks as an example of the right to elect and be elected. In this sense, the issue of Class President- Spokeperson For The Class (Klassensprecher- Sprecher für die Klasse), The Election Of The Class President (Die Wahl der Klassensprecher) and The Student Council (Der Schülerrat) in the unit of I- You- We (Ich- Du- Wir) of the textbook Sachunterricht Jo-Jo, which is studied in the 3rd graders in the state of Niedersachsen, Germany was analyzed and compared with the issue of Democracy at School in the topic of My School Excitement of the textbook life studies course, which is studied in 3rd graders in Turkey. In this study, in which case study was used as a method, data were collected by document analysis. Content analysis was applied to the collected data. According to study findings, in the school subjects of both Sachunterricht and life studies, students are intended to become participative individuals who act democratically, have the awareness of electing, being elected and voting and have the culture of democracy. As to reinforce this purpose, it can be stated that the presentation of class president election subject matter, which is studied in the textbooks of both countries and which serves as a bridge between the teaching program and the student, contributes to the establishment of democracy culture by embodying the right to elect and be elected. However right to elect and be elected, in the textbook of life studies in Turkey presented at the level of comprehension unlike Sachunterricht textbook in Germany.

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