Cultural Responsiveness of School Curriculum and Students' Failure in Turkey

Education should develop the common values needed to enhance the unity and progress of a multi-ethnic, multicultural society. In order to enhance effective learning, students' varied backgrounds should be taken into consideration when designing a curriculum. Clearly, if the curriculum is dominated by the culture of an ethnic majority, and the existence of different ethnic and cultural groups are ignored, the students of non-majority origin perceive themselves to be distinct and may develop antagonistic attitudes toward education, which often lead to failure.In some parts of Turkey, especially the Eastern and Southeastern regions, the majority of the population is of different ethnic origin. ahin and Gülmez (2000b) studied the efficiency of education and the factors affecting the success of students in both regions. They found that illiteracy in those regions was higher when compared with the other regions, that females received less education, and that secondary school students were less successful in nationwide examinations such as OSS (selection examinations for OYS) and OYS (student placement examinations for university entrance). Ethnic diversity alone is not as effective when maintained by cultural diversity. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the differences in cultural values of students with different ethnic backgrounds. Differences in curriculum and teaching materials were analyzed with regard to the perceptions of those students who identified themselves as ethnically different and not of Turkish origin.The results of this study indicate that the quality of the school curriculum and text books assessed were significantly different for those students identified to be not of Turkish origin and therefore appeared to be culturally unresponsive, a factor which may lead to the educational failure for many students of different ethnic origins.     

土耳其安纳多鲁大学开放教育系统的国际化及启示

土耳其安纳多鲁大学的开放教育系统是全球最大的远程高等教育系统之一,三十五年来,它的发展速度、毕业生总数、办学成就和国际化都达到了很高水平。该校的国际化战略积极,在与欧盟等国际组织合作、学生与教师流动、学分互认、联合培养、语言教育等方面取得了显著成效。中国与土耳其有相似之处,我国开放大学也应明确国际化内涵、参与全球高等教育合作,从招生、课程、师资、机构、管理体系和学业成果认证等方面着力,以促进国际化发展。     

School principals’ evaluations of their instructional leadership behaviours: realities vs. ideals

The purpose of the current study was to examine primary and middle school principals’ evaluations of their own instructional leadership behaviours, and thereby pay closer attention to the ideal instructional leadership behaviours suggested in the related literature and the realities of principals’ instructional leadership behaviours. Although studies in the instructional leadership literature have vastly examined instructional leadership and its relationship with various variables, few studies have focused on school principals’ evaluations of their instructional leadership behaviours using a qualitative approach. This study was framed to contribute to gain an insight into the essential characteristics of instructional leadership in Turkey and to suggest some educational implications for school leadership in a Turkish context. The researchers conducted a qualitative case study in a large city in South-eastern Turkey in the academic year of 2012–2013. The study group consisted of 11 primary and middle school principals chosen via a maximum variation sampling technique. It was found that some of the school principals painstakingly tried to improve school-related factors which may potentially increase positive student outcomes. However, they were not able to display some instructional leadership behaviours such as change management, promoting teachers’ professional growth, collaborating with teachers and forming a positive learning environment due to multifarious reasons. The study concludes by presenting implications for the development of school principals as instructional leaders in Turkey.     

Curriculum innovation in Turkish primary education

This paper describes how Turkish teachers of English in state primary education approach the implementation of a Communicative‐Oriented Curriculum innovation and factors that impact on teachers' classroom practices. Using multidimensional research procedures, including a questionnaire, observations and teacher interviews, a picture has been developed of teachers' instructional practices and factors influencing their classroom practices. The findings revealed a gap between curriculum objectives and teachers' implementation of the innovation. Factors that were identified as having a significant impact on teachers' classroom application of the communicative teaching include teachers' understanding of the curriculum innovation, their previous training, insufficient instructional support, limited instructional time, large class size and lack of resources. It is suggested that a greater level of support in the form of in‐service training and resource provision be given to teachers to ensure more effective implementation of the curriculum initiative.     

20世纪末期库尔德问题对土耳其外交关系的影响

土耳其共和国自成立之日起,库尔德问题就成为影响其对外关系的主要因素,土耳其历届政府对库尔德人均采取否认和打击的态度。厄扎尔上台执政后在一定程度上改变了以往的强硬政策,采取了一系列的“温和”手段,试图缓和与库尔德人和存在库尔德民族的周边国家的关系,并取得了一定的成效。他去世后,新一届土耳其政府结束了对库尔德人的“宽松政策”,又回到了实行凯末尔的民族政策的老路上来,造成了土耳其外交关系的恶化。     

Revisiting the Relationship between Teacher Confirmation and Learning Outcomes: Examining Cultural Differences in Turkish,Chinese, and American Classrooms

This study investigates the relationship between teacher confirmation behaviors (i.e., responding to questions, demonstrating interest, interactive teaching style) and student learning outcomes (i.e., affective learning, student motivation) across three cultures: Turkey, China, and the United States. Results indicates the confirmation-learning relationship was significantly stronger in the United States and China than it was in Turkey. The findings from this study suggest that teacher confirmation is an effective teaching behavior that transcends cultures, yet the magnitude of its importance on student learning appears more relevant in America, and to a lesser extent in China, than it is in Turkey.     

Trade and Textiles from Medieval Antioch

This article examines the significance of textiles called “cloth of Antioch”, which are named in late seventh/thirteenth and early eighth/fourteenth century church inventories from England. The practice of naming a type of cloth for a geographic place-name was common in this period, but did not necessarily mean that a textile with a particular name had been produced there. Antioch was a known centre of textile production, although references are scant. The English church inventories that mention Antioch cloth are from St. Paul's Cathedral, London; Canterbury Cathedral; and Exeter Cathedral. Such church inventories are a source of important information about textiles that would have been consumed in medieval England. One can associate the Antioch textiles with important individuals at court. The English royal family emphasised their associations with the city of Antioch in this period, which may explain why important members of the court donated Antioch textiles. The textiles are also mentioned in Scottish and the Vatican treasury inventories, however, which indicates that the cloth was known elsewhere, even if it did not have the same resonance in other places     

He Polis healo: The Fall of Constantinople in 1453 in Post-Byzantine Popular Literature

This article examines the reaction of the Greeks to one of the most momentous events in their history, the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in May 1453, as it is portrayed in works of Greek popular literature up to the seventeenth century. The popular lores, apart from reflecting the emotions and thoughts of the conquered Greeks, also contributed to the creation of legends, aiming at encouraging the Greeks to keep their hopes alive for eventual liberation from the Turkish occupation.     

Psychological and socio-cultural adaptation of Syrian refugees in Turkey

We studied the psychological and socio-cultural adaptation processes of Syrian refugees in Turkey using semi-structured, face-to-face, in-depth interviews among 15 participants. The study explored the themes and issues emerging in the psychological and socio-cultural adaptation processes such as life-satisfaction, contact with the host community and future plans of Syrian adults. Berry’s acculturation model (1997) is used to form the theoretical basis of this research. Our findings revealed that psychological and socio-cultural adaptation of Syrian refugees are strongly influenced by economic concerns, pre-migration expectations, religion and perceptions of Turkish natives’ expectations/ attitudes towards Syrians. From the perspective of the informants, economic concerns and uncertainty regarding duration of stay have a negative impact on refugees’ acculturation, leading to delayed psychological and socio-cultural adaptation. Positive perceptions of Turkish natives’ expectations/ attitudes towards Syrians are perceived to increase motivation to seek social support, which promotes well-being and life satisfaction in Turkey. Yet, negative perceptions such as prejudice and discrimination, may pose a risk for psychological health and low socio-cultural adaptation. One major finding of the paper is the two-fold impact of religion on Syrian refugees: Religion can be considered a binding/ equalizing function subsuming refugee and native groups under a superordinate identity. Nonetheless, it also appears to generate social distance when perceived as a threat to the secular national identity. The findings of this research can be used to minimize factors that undermine favorable acculturation outcomes and promote factors that facilitate high levels of psychological and socio-cultural adaptation.     

Fight ‘acceptable’ with ‘acceptable:’ football,cultural battle in Turkey and the story of two ‘doxas’ over an old military song

Abstract

Football, as other cultural products, has become a major part of the political field, since there has been an ongoing cultural battle between the President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an and his dissidents. The country is divided into two, not only between social and cultural capital owners; two sets of ideological elements, namely ‘doxas’ in reference to Bourdieusian sociology, also define the political faultlines in Turkey. Football, imported in the final years of the Ottoman Empire by the modern elite, has been intertwined with Turkish modernism and its core elements, such as nationalism. The Erdo?an regime, while dismantling the old rule, has also tried to create cultural hegemony, which has been met with dissidence. This paper analyses the role of an old military song called the ‘Izmir March’, sung in the football stands against the Erdo?an regime, discussing the elements of the two doxas in Turkey, old and new.