Research Title: Instilling Human Values in Children through Short Stories by Omar Saif al-Din

Abstract

Humanism (Hümanizm) in education represents a fundamental intellectual revolution that emphasizes individual freedom, rational thinking, and the capacity to determine one’s own destiny. This study examines the image of the human being as presented by humanist philosophy since the Renaissance, and its educational manifestations in the works of one of the pioneers of modern Turkish literature, the writer Omer Seyfuddin.                                                                                          

  The research analyzes Seyfuddin’s “New Human” project in his short stories through key dimensions including: willpower, character formation, and the role of women in the moral upbringing of children. The originality of this study lies in its comparative analysis between Seyfuddin’s educational propositions and the views of a select group of contemporary Arab theorists and educators, such as Dr. Hadi Nu‘man al-Hayti, Ibrahim al-‘Issawi, Rushdi Ahmad Tu‘ayma, and Salwa al-Sayyid ‘Abd al-Qadi. The comparison highlighs their theories on children’s values and moral behavior.                                                                           

The study concludes that human values have constituted a shared educational language transcending geographical boundaries between Turkish and Arab thought, and that Omer Seyfuddin’s works continue to serve as a vital intellectual bridge and an important pedagogical foundation for teaching human and moral values to this day.