Research Proposal: How to Improve Turkish Education System
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Table of Content
Title Page………………………………………………………………………………………….1
Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………………….3
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………..4
Problem Statement…………………………………………………………………………………4
Method Used……………………………………………………………….………………………5
Findings……………………………………………………………………………………………5
Analysis…………………………………………………………………………………………….6
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………….7
References…………………………………………………………………………………………8
Executive Summary
Turkey is one of the developing
nations, which like any other faces several issues. One of the most pressing issues
in Turkey
has been the education system that has stirred controversies for quite sometime.
This research proposal offers several solutions that can improve the Turkish
education system. The proposal offers data on the problems facing the education
system in order to determine the best solutions. The proposal collects data
from several sources and compares them to make better generalizations
concerning the problems facing education in the country. In addition,
interviews were conducted with several teachers and other players to gain
insight into the problems and perception of the people concerning the issue.
Findings indicate that major problems are arising from inequality and lack of
quality, constant alterations in the policies by the government and the 12 year
compulsory education divided into three 4-year segments. Solutions that are
proposed include continuous teacher training and development, establishment of
management boards for schools, modernizing equipment and facility strengthen
assessment and accreditation and establishment of support programs for
assessment of policies. Implementing these solutions has the ability to improve
the overall education system in the long-term.
Research Proposal: How to Improve Turkish Education System
Introduction
Introduction to Problem
Turkey is one of the countries facing big problems with education system. The problems with Turkish education system are inequality and lack of quality, constant alterations in the policies by the government and the 12 year compulsory education that is divided into three 4-year segments. Inequality is caused by economic disparity that characterizes the country (OECD, 2013). The rich are able to access better opportunities compared to the poor, which means that wealthier students will have better education. In addition, the government has not focused on continuous teacher training and development, as well as assessment programs to ensure performance (Tarman, 2008).
The other issue is constant alterations in the system, where the government has been implementing different policy regularly. For instance, examinations have been altered about six times within one decade, which means the assessment of students over this period has been inconsistent. Finally, the government has in the previous year introduced a new system where the compulsory education is 12 years divided into three equal segments (Hurriyet Daily News, 2010). The middle one has been the focus of controversy because it allows students to choose between home-based education and school-based. Many feel it will increase dropout rates.
Introduction to Solution
One of the solutions I propose is the use of better teacher training and assessment to improve quality within the classes. The government should focus on continuous teacher training and development in order to remain updated on current issues that can increase quality within the schools. On the issue of inequality, the government should establish policies that strengthen assessment and accreditation, instead of examinations meant to take students to better schools (OECD, 2013). However, this will require the government to modernize and improve the equipment and facilities for all the schools especially in the rural areas where they are limited. In addition, the government should establish management boards for schools that create partnership with employers, and social representatives (Tarman, 2008). The government should also set up program support that assesses the improvements made in order to find out what works and what does not. This will help in future policy decisions.
Problem Statement
As aforementioned, Turkey is one of the developing nations in the world. In order to develop, it requires having a well educated population considering the current global competitions. Education is the main driver of economic development in the world. As such, failure of education can translate to failure in the whole country. However, problems in education do exist across many countries for various reasons. Overall, the education system in Turkey leaves a lot to be desired and is in dire need for improvement. Currently, the government introduced a new system in the previous year, which has raised many concerns. It has continued to receive failing grades in the opinion of many. In addition, the education legislators have been making constant changes especially in the examinations, which raise further concerns. It is evident that the government is doing all that is possible to improve the education system in the country (Hurriyet Daily News, 2010). However, not all the policies are working especially if they are not given enough time before changing. This research proposes several strategies that turkey can undertake to improve its education.
Method Used
I conducted a research for this proposal by looking at the reports made in other studies carried out before on the issues affecting Turkish education system. A lot of information was gathered using this method from various websites that contained credible data. I realized that most of the sources identified similar reasons for the issues facing Turkish education system. In addition to collecting information from the websites, other sources published in print versions were consulted for an extended literature review. The main purpose of this method was to collect information on the current problems facing the education system in order to come up with a proposal that addresses them. In addition I used interviews with a few teachers and providers of education to gain a greater insight into the problem that has to be dealt with.
Findings
Turkish education system has faced several problems that impact on its quality and development of the country. The problems revolve around inequality, lack of quality, constant changes within a short time and lack of systems for teacher assessment and continuous training and development. One of the main issues raising concern is the inequality and lack of quality in the system. Although the government has made a tremendous effort in providing access to education for all the children, it has failed to focus on quality. The government has focused on policies that increase schooling rates as indicated in fig. 1 & 2, forgetting the need to improve quality.
Fig. 1
Fig 2
Inequality is related to economic disparity, where wealthier parents are able to enroll their children in better school. In addition, through the PTA, they help with informal funding to support the schools. For most less fortunate parents especially in the rural areas, affording extra funds to support their children’s education is hard, which means they only rely on the government funds (Hurriyet Daily News, 2010). Furthermore, lack of continuous teacher assessment, training and development contributes to the low quality of education. Policies on teachers are not addressed, which aggravate the quality issue. The government should focus on how teachers are educated and assessed in order to ensure provision of high quality education. Additionally, instead of examinations focusing on the assessment of students, they are used as the means of determining entry to the top schools.
Another major issue in Turkish education is constant changes made by the government. According to Hurriyet Daily News (2010), “Large classes, lack of administrative cohesion and repeated alterations to policy cause a host of problems for students and teachers in the Turkish education system.” This can be indicated by the number of students compared to teachers. Between years 2004 to 2005, the number of pupils in primary school was 10,673,935 with academic staff standing at 389,589. For instance, over the last decade since 2003, the examinations have undergone six changes (Education Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency, 2010). Lack of a consistent policy in the education system has had a profound impact on the children considering the disruptions they have to undergo each time there are alterations. Such changes make it hard to assess students, where different examinations systems are used, meaning they cannot be compared to the previous for determining the achievement level of a student.
In addition, the change into a 4-4-4 system where students can opt for education away from school environment has raised many controversies. This option to choose between a home-based and school based education has seen many critics have express concern due to its likelihood of increasing dropout rate especially for girls. Many parents can use it as a reason to discontinue education of their children. This can be indicated by the number of students in secondary schools compared to primary schools. Between 2004 and 2005, there were 3,258,254 secondary students compared to 10,673,935 in primary school. The ratio of teacher to students in secondary schools was approximately 17 compared to 27 in primary schools, which indicates that not all students progressed to secondary education (Education Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency, 2010).
In an interview with one of the teachers that responded, it was found that the education system is posing a lot of difficulties for teachers. She cited the exams for National University Entrance as one of the major problems faced by the teachers. Majority of them focus on this exams, and forget other important things. Another finding raised by this teacher is the mentality that people have about teaching as a profession. Many enter into the profession because is a secure state job. This means that many who graduate from the universities as teachers are not highly qualifies considering they chose teaching for its security as a job. It also means that the graduating teachers are not motivated to teach due to a negative perception about the profession except for its advantage. Consequently, this impacts on the quality of education within schools.
Majority of the interviewed respondents also talked about lack of enough facility to enhance quality. For instance, one said that the students and teachers were unable to adapt to the new system after 2005. His main reason was that it imitated the western system without adding to the infrastructure that was necessary for its success (Hurriyet Daily News, 2010). Modeling the education system in Turkey to follow that of western countries will require a lot of investment in equipment and facilities. This further reduces the level of quality. Other findings indicated the lack of self-realization education system that allows students to develop their skills without too much reliance on teachers.
Analysis
Currently, it seems that the greatest problem to the Turkish education is inequality and education. Considering that wealthier parents offer informal funding to schools where their children learn, it seems this inequality will continue. The way to tackle this problem is through increased funding from the government, enough to provide all the schools with necessary facilities. The other issue is quality, which has been caused by several factors, with the main one being lack of continuous assessment, training and development programs for teachers. It is important to evaluate the performance of teachers in order to know whether they are providing the best instructions to the students (OECD, 2013). Without proper assessment programs, the government may not be in a position to assess quality. In addition, continuous training and development is important in ensuring continued improvement. Establishing management boards for schools that collaborates with employers and other stakeholders is crucial in improving quality as well. Such boards will be charged with assessment and evaluation of the schools.
The other problem faced by the education system in Turkey is constant changes. This causes many problems as indicated. To solve this issue, the government requires establishing programs and support for assessing the policies made and their success. With such programs, the government would know what works and what does not. This will inform future policies. Without such evaluations, the government will keep changing things without knowledge of their effectiveness. The new system of 12 years divided into three segments has also raised controversy because many think it will encourage dropout (Hurriyet Daily News, 2010). To continue with this system, the government will require to train more teachers for students who opt for home-based education. These teachers should ensure that such students complete their mandatory education. Overall, the government should aim at establishing long-term policies that can be sustainable instead of short-term solutions such as changing examinations. Finally, using better assessment and accreditation instead of examinations aimed at entry into top schools would divert the focus of teachers from such tests alone to other important aspects of education (OECD, 2013).
Conclusion
It is clear that the problems in
Turkish education system are enshrined in inequality, lack of quality, constant
alterations and the new 12 year mandatory education. I see the implementation
of the mentioned solution as a very effective means to improving the education
system in Turkey.
This is because the solution aims at tackling the problem from the main sources
such as lack of infrastructure and poor teacher training. In addition, it is a
long-term solution that can be sustained to avoid the constant alterations.
References
Education Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency. (2010). Organization of the Education System in Turkey. European Commission.
Hurriyet Daily News. (2010). Turkey Education System Fails Students. Retrieved from http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=the-spirits-of-children-are-damaged-with-the-present-education-system-say-experts-2010-09-17
OECD. (2013). Educational Policy Outlook: Turkey. Paris: OECD Publishing. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/edu/EDUCATION%20POLICY%20OUTLOOK%20TURKEY_EN.pdf
Tarman, B. (2008). The European Union and the modernization of the Turkish education system. Amherst, NY: Cambria Press.