An integrated system of early childhood education and care governance in Turkey: views of policy-makers,practitioners, and academics

Despite a wealth of evidence showing the benefits of early childhood education and care (ECEC), in Turkey participation remains low and inequitably distributed, even though access to services is soaring. Drawing from previous findings, this paper will focus on different stakeholders’ views on a more integrated system of ECEC governance in Turkey. The research shows that Turkey, a country at the crossroads of forming the foundations of early childhood services, should consider the adverse effects of the current split system and focus on the integration of services to foster holistic development with the aim of offering quality and equity for all children.     

An action research study designed to implement student negotiation to improve speaking classroom practice in Turkey

This paper reports the second stage of an action research study designed to improve the effectiveness of speaking classes through negotiating the lesson contents with students. The data were collected through interviews, questionnaires and observations as a way of eliciting students’ views. The research, conducted in an English language teaching department at a university in Turkey, comprised eight weekly-based interventions that involved planning, action, observation, and reflection, in which students were given a voice and classroom activities were designed accordingly. Student negotiation allowed for the identification of both structural and affective factors influencing the quality of speaking classes. The teacher’s roles in activities, the number of students in group work activities, the level of control in speaking activities, and the role of input were found to be issues worth considering in designing speaking classes. Issues such as finding the activity ‘interesting’ and ‘useful’, ‘feeling comfortable’ and ‘being competitive’ also influenced the effectiveness of activities. Involving students in this action research study promoted positive attitudes towards classes since students reported feeling valued and important.     

试从History的角度谈Turkey一词

人类的语言在萌芽阶段看似简单实则纷繁复杂,无论是在西方还是东方,都具有模糊性、不稳定和随意性的特点;同一种语言也会因部落的迁徒,民族的融合、图腾崇拜的变化,时间推移、地理环境的变化而产生变化,从人类起源到语言产生,再到语言文字形成都经历着无数次变迁,这样的变迁可以说是一次次历史的进程。因此,从历史的角度来看,我们可以认为词汇的形成就是一个历史发展变化的过程。本文从History的角度谈Turkey一词变化。     

Inequality in social capital: social capital,social risk and drop-out in the Turkish education system

This article examines the effects of social capital on the likelihood of dropping out from the compulsory education system (Grades One through Eight) in Turkey. It focuses on the question of whether school-related social capital can provide the means to stay in school in the presence of risk factors such as socioeconomic status, race, or gender that cannot be easily modified. Despite major progress in enrollment rates due to policies enacted in recent years, the overall drop-out rate in compulsory education is close to 15% in Turkey. Data collected from 764 student–mother pairs show that drop-outs are exposed to higher number of social risk factors. We further illustrate that school-related social capital, as measured by quality of in-school teacher–student interactions as well as parental involvement in school, significantly and positively contributes to adolescents’ likelihood of staying in school even in the presence of severe social inequalities.     

Teachers’ Facebook use: their use habits,intensity, self-disclosure,privacy settings,and activities on Facebook

This study investigated K12 teachers’ Facebook usage habits, intensity, self-disclosure, privacy settings and activities. A multi-method design was employed by collecting quantitative data from 616 teachers with a Facebook account using an online questionnaire and qualitative data from 32 teachers using online open-ended questions. The results of the study showed that Facebook seems to be part of teachers’ daily routines. Moreover, they revealed that teachers were less likely to share sensitive and potentially stigmatising personal information on Facebook. Teachers were also found to set most of their Facebook privacy settings as “Friends” by taking intimacy, unwanted contacts and potential threats into consideration. Furthermore, the findings indicated that teachers felt themselves less comfortable when parents and students viewed their Facebook profiles. In addition to social engagement, teachers pointed out several ways in which Facebook was used to support educational and professional development practices. Implications, limitations and directions to further studies are discussed.     

The role of extracurricular activities in active citizenship education

There have been multiple trends of building democratic citizens through formal education, and in the European context the trials have been dramatically increased with the Europeanization process since the 1980s. In line with this trend, an in-depth qualitative case study was carried out in a private primary school in Turkey to shed light on the role of school-based extra-curricular activities as a contemporary trend in building active citizenship values and competencies in students. Qualitative data were collected through multiple data collection tools as observation field notes, interviews, and document analysis to achieve triangulation and trustworthiness. Much of the findings were compatible with EURYDICE Report (2005) on citizenship education, and yielded six themes, called the six blossoms of extra-curricular activities in citizenship education: namely, active citizenship perception; social accountability; intercultural awareness; awareness of democracy and human rights; thinking and research skills; and interaction and interpersonal skills.     

东地中海地区局势对土耳其外交政策的影响分析

在过去的数十年间,东地中海国家土耳其、塞浦路斯和以色列之间外交关系的不断升温预示东地中海地区强权政治时代的到来。在这些国家中,土耳其以其在地区层面上不断上升的自信和地区称霸的野心使其成为在地区政治中有着重要影响力的国家。随着经济和社会的发展,土耳其在诸如塞浦路斯海洋开发权的争议问题的解决上发挥着越来越大的作用,同时,土耳其的政治家和外交官们更加关注土耳其在解决地区问题上的角色,当面对地区竞争和挑战时,土耳其应该正视其世俗的穆斯林民主政体和作为一个负责任地区大国的角色,而不仅仅是对别国进行敌视。只有与竞争对手进行合作和建设性的对话,实行更为温和、平衡的外交政策,才有助于其实现地区强国的梦想。     

Curriculum reform in Turkish teacher education: Attitudes of teacher educators towards change in an EU candidate nation

Educational development is one way through which Turkey enhances progress towards its social goals and prepares itself for European Union membership. A major effort to upgrade the Turkish educational system was made through a multi-phased comprehensive reform of the sector introduced during the 1990s. One part of this reform, perhaps most crucial to the long-term effectiveness of other developments in education, was a transformation of the approach to teacher education. This paper utilizes recently conducted research to assess the nature and extent of that reform as well as identifying the factors which enhanced its effectiveness.     

The Scottish Assisted Places Scheme: a comparative study of the origins,nature and practice of the APSs in Scotland,England & Wales

In 1981 two separate Assisted Places Schemes were launched. One was introduced for England & Wales, and another for Scotland. This paper examines the differences between the two schemes. It shows that they can be seen to be related to the differing educational systems of the countries, and to differences between the grant‐aided and direct grant schools which the schemes were designed, in part, to replace. It is shown that the Assisted Places Scheme is more important to the independent sector of Scotland than to that of England & Wales, for the scheme established in Scotland has been structured in such a way that it gives greater flexibility and greater funding to individual schools in that country.