This study conducts a comparative content analysis of 4th-grade social studies textbooks from Türkiye and Finland to explore how each education system embeds democratic values, global awareness, and critical thinking at the primary level. By focusing on the pedagogical philosophies, thematic structures, and visual strategies present in the textbooks, the research highlights the formative role these materials play in shaping civic identity and social cognition among young learners. Türkiye’s curriculum, rooted in a centralized and tradition-oriented model, emphasizes national unity, moral education, and rote learning. In contrast, Finland’s decentralized and student-centered approach promotes inquiry-based learning, environmental sustainability, children’s rights, and active participation. The study employs qualitative document analysis with thematic coding, drawing on state-approved 2023 textbooks published by the Turkish Ministry of National Education and Otava Publishing (Finland). Key analytical categories include curriculum content, pedagogical structure, visual literacy, inclusion, and representations of citizenship. The findings reveal distinct approaches to civic education: the Turkish textbook prioritizes conformity and factual recall, while the Finnish counterpart encourages reasoning, reflection, and student agency. Visual and structural design differences further illustrate these pedagogical divergences. This research contributes to comparative education literature by offering a culturally grounded analysis of how foundational values are transmitted through textbooks. It concludes by proposing a hybrid model that integrates Türkiye’s cultural heritage with Finland’s progressive instructional methods to guide future curriculum reform.