Turkish Education

Comparative Study

ESL 156 Comparative Culture Studies Presenters: Ender Ak, Mehmet Guler Instructor: Lyra Riabov November 30, 2006

Outline

Introduction1.Values of Turkish Education

Education Ladder1.Kindergarten2.Elementary School3.High School4.Universities

Problems Recommended solutions Conclusion References

Values of Turkish Education

Education;

1. shall be Republican,

2. shall be secular,

3. shall have a scientific foundation,

4. shall incorporate generality and equality,

5. shall be functional and modern.

Principles Regulating the Educational System

Education Ladder

Kindergarten Elementary School High School University

Education Ladder

Kindergarten

When children become five years old, they might attend a public kindergarten, or before five years old, they might attend private kindergarten.

Pre-school education is not compulsory in Turkey.

Kindergarten

Elementary School

8 years (between the ages of 7 and 15). Compulsory Courses Public and Private Uniforms

Courses

Turkish Language Mathematics Sciences Social sciences Art, Music Physical Education Handicraft English Language Second Foreign Language (Generally French or

German)

Public and Private

There are two types of elementary schools: public (governmental) and private. Public elementary schools are free and provided by the state, though limited funding limits the opportunities they can provide to the students.

When considered from an educational standpoint, there is no big difference in what is learned, but how topics are learned differs.

Public School

Public School

Private School

A Class in a Private School

Uniforms

High School

OKS exam Courses in High Schools Tracks After Grade 10 Uniforms

OKS

At the end of 8th grade, students take an exam, OKS, which lasts for 2 hours and is composed of about 100 questions. It tests the students' skills in Turkish, Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences learned through the elementary school. According to their scores, they are placed to different kinds of high schools.

Types of High Schools

Public High Schools Anatolian High Schools Science High Schools Vocational High Schools Tourism Vocational High Schools Industrial Vocational High Schools Electrical Vocational High Schools Imam-Hatip High Schools Private High Schools

Courses in High Schools

Turkish Language and Literature Mathematics Physics Chemistry Biology Geometry Turkish History Geography English Language Second Foreign Language (German, French, Italian, Japanese, Arabic, Russian

languages) National Security Health Studies Electives Vocation Lessons (only in Vocational High Schools) Courses in Religion (only in Imam-Hatip Schools)

Tracks

When students complete the 10th grade, they choose tracks leading to certain specializations. There are presumed professions to be acquired by the students after completing a certain track.

High School Tracks

Turkish-Math track professions are: International Relations, Law, Education, Psychology, Economy, Business management, and the like.

Science track professions are: Engineering, Computer Science, Medicine, and other Science related professions.

Social Sciences track professions are: History, Geography, and Education.

Languages track professions are: All Language / Linguistics related professions.

Uniform in High School

Universities

OSS. National University Entrance Examination.

Structure of Universities Public and Private Universities

OSS

ÖSS was a 180 minute exam with 180 questions testing the students' knowledge of the high school curriculum. Each student solved the questions concerning their department chosen at high school, namely applied sciences, social sciences, and foreign languages.

Structure

University Education

University studies last between 2 and 4 years for the undergraduate level, and 2 or more years for the graduate level. Some universities also ask for an additional year of English preparatory study to be completed before the start of studies, unless a proficiency examination is passed

Public and Private Universities

The university can either be public (run by the government) or private (run by private foundations). Public universities are free and private universities usually ask for a generous amount of semester fee (around $15,000) unless a scholarship of some kind can be arranged. Many private universities offer such scholarships to selected students, based on high scorers in the ÖSS.

Problems of Turkish Education

Criticism of OSS (National University Entrance Examination)

Female Discrimination Security Problems in Eastern Turkey

Life = 180 minutes

The ÖSS system attempts to encompass all the work of a student throughout his 12 years of academic life in a 3 hour multiple choice exam.

The most significant reason why OSS is being conducted instead of personal interviews is the fact that the total capacity of universities is 450.000 while the number of candidates wanting to study at a college is 1.6 million and is increasing every year.

School is not enough to succeed in ÖSS; other education centers named "dershane" are founded all around Turkey. In these foundations, students are prepared solely for ÖSS.

Female Discrimination

The rate of female enrollment is very low especially in Eastern Turkey.

Terrorism is Interfering with Education.Teachers don’t want to work in Eastern Turkey

Eastern Turkey

References

http://www.turkishembassy.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=426&Itemid=430

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Turkey http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96SS#Criticism_of_.C3.96SS

Recommended Solutions

OSS should not be the one way to attend university. Grades in primary school and high school should be important for entering a university.

Social campaigns and education for parents. Government has to provide security in

Eastern Turkey for students and teachers.

Social Campaigns

Social Campaigns and education for parents can be useful to discourage female discrimination.

Dad, PleaseLet meattend School!

Conclusion

In growing countries, like Turkey, education is the key to development. In this case, governments should more pay attention to it.

Everyone should cling to values of education. And in this global world, we should realize

that the education is more important than everything.