Аннотация
Abstract: Mother tongue education plays a central role in transmitting a society’s cultural values and human heritage to future generations. Beyond fostering core linguistic skills such as reading, writing, speaking, and listening, it also enables individuals to make sense of their relationships with others and develop awareness of social values. Sait Faik Abasıyanık’s short story Lüzumsuz Adam serves as a significant resource for values education, as it explores themes of loneliness, the longing for acceptance, and a compassionate outlook toward others. Within this study, the story was examined through the framework of the core values identified by the Turkish Ministry of National Education—justice, friendship, honesty, patience, respect, love, self-control, responsibility, patriotism, and benevolence. The analysis revealed that love, benevolence, responsibility, and respect are particularly foregrounded throughout the text. The sensitive portrayal of the protagonist and the empathetic perspective toward marginalized individuals highlight the story’s potential to foster students’ capacity for empathy. Employing a qualitative research approach and document analysis method, this study investigated the narrative structure, characters, and point of view of Lüzumsuz Adam in the context of values education. The findings suggest that the story is highly suitable for use as instructional material in both Turkish language and values education.