The aim of this study is to examine whether Dede Korkut Stories contribute to children's personality development and, in particular, to the formation of entrepreneurial personality traits. Five widely acknowledged entrepreneurial personality dimensions innovation, risk-taking tendency, internal locus of control, need for achievement, and autonomy independence were used as the theoretical framework of the research. The study was conducted using the qualitative research approach based on content analysis. The data source consisted of twelve Dede Korkut stories published by the Ministry of National Education. The population of the study included all narratives in the Dede Korkut Book, while the sample comprised all twelve stories analyzed in their entirety through systematic coding. The coding process was carried out independently by two researchers, and emerging categories were compared and merged through thematic analysis to establish links with entrepreneurial personality dimensions. The findings revealed that the behaviors of the protagonists in the stories strongly align with entrepreneurial personality characteristics. Prominent themes included courage and strategic risk-taking, self-regulation and responsibility, innovative problem-solving, achievement orientation, and independent decision-making and autonomy. These results indicate that Dede Korkut Stories function not only as cultural narratives that transmit moral values but also as pedagogical tools that foster self-confidence, creativity, entrepreneurial motivation, and socially oriented leadership skills. In conclusion, the study demonstrates that Dede Korkut Stories possess significant potential as an indirect yet powerful cultural resource for nurturing entrepreneurial tendencies in children. These findings suggest that integrating such narratives into educational practices may effectively support the development of entrepreneurial personality traits in early childhood.
Dede Korkut Stories, Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Personality Types