An Examination of Universal Values: Kari Nizâmüddin Bin Mulla Huseyin's Work Entitled Science of Morality (İlm-i Ahlak)

This study examines the universal values reflected in Kari Nizâmüddin Bin Mulla Huseyin’s work Science of Morality (İlm-i Ahlak), a moral text published in Turkestan in 1915, and evaluates its relevance to contemporary values education. The primary aim is to identify and classify the value elements embedded in the work and to assess their relationship with UNESCO’s Living Values Education framework and the values emphasized in Turkish and Social Studies curricula. The study adopts a qualitative research design and employs document analysis as its main method. A value list consisting of twenty-one categories, derived from UNESCO’s universal values and national curriculum-based values, was used as the analytical framework. The text was examined through systematic coding and descriptive thematic analysis to determine the presence and distribution of value elements. The findings reveal that Science of Morality includes a wide range of universal and moral values such as responsibility, honesty, charity, morality, respect, justice, diligence, love, and patriotism. The work shows substantial alignment with UNESCO’s universal values and contemporary values education objectives. By providing a systematic value analysis of a historical moral text, this study contributes to the literature on values education and demonstrates the pedagogical potential of classical ethical works for modern educational contexts. While the study is limited to a single historical text and a predefined value framework, it offers a comprehensive evaluation of the continuity of moral values across historical and contemporary educational perspectives and highlights the potential use of classical texts as alternative resources in values education.