The Bridge Between Europe and Asia: The challenges of adult education in

Turkey

Özlem ÜnlühisarcıklıBoğaziçi University

PopulationPopulation GrowthRate (%)

AgeStructure Urbanization

Population below poverty line

76 million 1.31 0-14 years: 27.2% 15-64 years: 66.7%65 years +: 6.1%

urban population: 69%

20%

http://www.indexmundi.com/turkey/

Turkey

History of AE in Turkey1922 Night Courses for public1924 Unification of Education Law1928 Adoption of a new alphabet literacy campaigns and Nation Schools1932 People’s Houses community centres in cities1936 People’s Rooms community centres in towns and villages1938-39 Mobile Courses for Men and Women in Villages 1940 Village Institutes1951 People’s Houses closed (Republican People’s Party lost the elections and

Democratic Party won the elections in 1950)1953 Public Reading Rooms1956 Public Education Centres1960 General Directorate of Public Education1977 General Directorate of Apprenticeship , and centers (the first law enacted)1978 Mobile courses + Gen. Dir. Of Public Edu. - Gen. Dir. Of Non-Formal Edu.1983 Gen. Dir. Of Appr. + Gen. Dir. Of Non-Formal Edu. MoE, Gen. Dir. of Apprenticeship and Non-Formal Education

Number of School, Teacher, Enrolment by Level of Education: 2008-2009

Education Level School Teacher

Number of StudentsTotal Female Male

Pre-School Education 23.653 29.342 804.765 383.732 421.033Primary Education (8 years compulsory)

33.769 453.318 10.709.920 5.156.049 5.553.871

Secondary Education 8.675 196.713 3.837.164 1.757.223 2.079.941Higher education (4 year prog.)*

139 83.644 839.391 391.728 447.663Source: MoNE, 2009; OSYM, 2009.* only 4 years programs under public and private universities are included.

The general goals of non-formal education are described in Basic Law on National Education No. 1739 Item 40 as:

• Literacy for all, and remedial continuing education opportunities;• Providing educational opportunities for all, to enable people to

keep up with scientific, technologic, economic, social and cultural developments;

• Educational provision to safeguard, promote and integrate national cultural values;

• Assisting all citizens to acquire values and habits of solidarity, co-operation, collaboration and organization;

• Assisting people to lead a healthy life style and balanced diet, to increase living standards and economic efficiency;

• Promoting productive use of leisure;• Providing courses and training opportunities to adults for

vocational and technical skill acquisition, in line with the development of economy and state employment policy;

• Providing continuing education opportunities to working people for professional development.

Non-Formal Education Institutions, Teachers, and Participants: 2008

Type of Institution Inst. Number of Participants

Total Female Male

Public Education Centre (PEC) 957 2.115.986 1.204.770 911.216

Vocational Training Centre (VTC) 369 304.856 55.986 248.870

Practical Art School for Girls 355 50.798 48.396 2.402

Domestic Science Schools 12 859 859 -

Technical Edu. Centre for Adults 12 114 14 100

Tourism Training Centre 10 654 135 519

Various Vocational Courses (3308) - 63.308 20.168 43.140

General Total 1.715 2.536.575 1.330.328 1.206.247

Number of Participants in PECs (2008-2009)

Years Number of Courses

Vocational Courses Participants

Social-Cultural Courses Participants

Literacy Courses Participants

Total Number of Participants

2003-2004 20.571 552.756 398.897 150.133 1.101.786

2004-2005 64.549 678.842 458.547 175.229 1.312.618

2005-2006 79.635 894.406 585.347 194.605 1.674.358

2006-2007 91.033 931.588 699.728 204.747 1.836.063

2007-2008 141.224 1.040.915 1.044.081 186.061 2.271.057

2008-2009 176.110 1.271.058 1.752.644 385.356 3.409.058

Source: http://cygm.meb.gov.tr/index.html (accessed 01.2010)

Literacy Campaigns• Initial literacy campaign launched in 1928• Between 1959 and 1975 the Turkish Armed Forces provided literacy education

in Private Literacy Schools• In 1962 a literacy campaign for women was undertaken• Between 1971-1974 activities to support functional literacy occurred• Between 1981-1983 a mass literacy campaign was conducted with about 3

million people participating• A new literacy campaign was launched on World Literacy Day in 1992 • In 1997 a literacy campaign targeting female illiteracy was initiated• Another literacy campaign, initiated in 2001 by the wife of the then President

with the slogan ‘Support to National Education’• A campaign with the slogan ‘Turkey is Literate’ was launched in early 2008 by

the wife of the President in charge• Finally, September 2008 was the launching date for the latest literacy

campaign—initiated by the wife of the Prime Minister and bearing the slogan ‘Mother Daughter Together in School’

Number of Participants in VTCs

Academic Year

Number of

Organizations

Number of

Teachers

Participant NumberCandidate Apprentice

Apprentice Journeymen

Master Trainer TOTAL

1980-1981 7 13 122

1985-1986 60 328 13.186

1989-1990 220 1.359 6.714 * * 13.523 121.596

1994-1995 292 3.142 10.036 144.126 29.748 15.173 199.083

1999-2000 330 5.084 6.792 133.551 64.274 13.959 218.576

2005-2006 351 4.532 2.034 124.464 68.307 20.040 214.845

2008-2009 317 4.809 260 130.863 53.793 16.289 201.205

Source: TÜSİAD (1999), Akpınar A. (2004), MoNE (2006), MoNE website (2009)* no information available

According to the Law of Apprenticeship and Vocational Training Number 3308 issued in 1986 (that was amended in 2001 into the Vocational Education Law No. 4702), the basic aims of apprenticeship training are:

• To provide all studentship rights to the apprentices as the students in formal education system have.

• To help those seeking apprenticeships, who have finished primary education and are above the age of 14, to choose a vocation appropriate to their interests and aptitudes.

• To prepare apprentices for the journeyman-ship examination through the acquisition of vocational knowledge, skills and work habits,

• To prepare journeymen for the mastership examination through the acquisition of the knowledge, skills and work habits to perform the vocational tasks alone and to run a workshop.

Drawbacks of Apprenticeship Training

– Technological upgrading needed– Time duration of the programs needed revision– Adaptation needed to the delayed entrance into the system– Inadequate training of teachers and mentors– Low status of apprentices a burning problem

• Come from lower SES families• Frequently school drop-outs• Status of the certificate not clear• Not well connected to further education opportunities• Tough working conditions

13

Source: Vos, 2008.

Vocational Training and Arts Courses of Municipalities

Metropolitan Municipality Law No. 5216 enacted in 2004 redefined the roles, responsibilities, and the areas of authority of the metropolitan municipalities (Article 7), which enabled the municipalities to organize vocational and skill acquisition courses.

Vocational Training and Arts Courses of Municipalities in 2008

Municipalities Participants %İstanbul (İSMEK) 196.787 61.7Kocaeli (KO-MEK) 23.567 7.4Ankara (BELMEK-BELTEK) 20.663 6.5Kayseri (KAYMEK) 19.654 6.2Bursa (BUSMEK) 13.639 4.3Gaziantep (GAMEK) 13.298 4.2Antalya (ASMEK) 12.189 3.8İzmir (İZMEB) 3.553 1.1Eskişehir 2.000 0.6Konya (KOMEK) 5.615 1.8Çankaya District (Ank.) 5.628 1.8Kadıköy District (İst.) 2.183 0.6

TOTAL 318.776 100

Number of Students in Distance Education (2006-2007 academic year)

Educational LevelNumber of Students

Total Male Female

Open Primary Education 109.037 50.200 58.837

Open Secondary Education

General High School 192.983 112.625 80.358

Vocational and Technical Programmes

Industrial Vocational High School 20.262 18.442 1.820

Girls’ Vocational High School 13.570 281 13.289

Trade Vocational High School 10.719 5.783 4.936

Imam and Preachers High School 11.295 4.945 6.350

Open Higher Education 239.552 105.385 134.167

Source: MoNE (2008), ÖSYM (2007).

Undergraduate and Graduate Level Students in Adult Education Programs

Undergraduate level * Master’s level PhD level

YearsNew

AdmissionReceivingGraduateDegree

MA New Admission

ReceivingGraduateDegree

PhD New Admission

ReceivingGraduateDegree

1990-1991 27 - 17 - - -1995-1996 66 50 29 3 - -

2000-2001 - 57 23 8 - 1

2005-2006 - - 54 17 8 -

2006-2007 - - 29 21 4 1

2007-2008 - - 29 5 -

2008-2009 - - 28 19 3

Source: SIS (2004), ÖSYM (2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2001).

*Undergraduate level adult education programs closed down in the Restructuring of the Higher Education System in 1997.

EU funded programme “Strengthening the Vocational Education and Training System” (SVET)

• Started in September 2002. The main aim of the project is improving the qualified labour force in line with the needs of the labor market and to increase the competition between the entrepreneurs.

• The social partners of the project are: ETF, DİSK, EĞİTİM-BİR-SEN, EĞİTİM-SEN, Hak-İş, KESK, MEKSA, TİSK, TOBB, TES, TÜRKİS, and TÜSİAD (SVET/MEGEP webpage).

Objectives of SVET• Development of occupational standards, development of training

standards forming the basis of the new competency based modular curricula,

• National Qualification System that focuses mainly on the institutional accreditation criteria and procedures. Vocational Qualification Authority Law No. 5544 is important for the implementation of both training standards and NQS,

• Revision of existing curricula (based on ISCED 97) and development of an 8-level structure compatible with the European Qualifications Framework,

• Development of Life Long Learning concept for Turkey, quality assurance system, and training of school and training centre managers.

ISCED 97Occupational Level Criteria compatible with the European Qualifications Framework

LEVEL 1: It includes the (routine) occupations that continue to the same template with a small change.LEVEL 2: It covers the occupations that include more than one variable and complexity and that may include collaboration activities with other employees in work process. LEVEL 3: It includes the occupations in which there are complex and non-routine activities.LEVEL 4: It includes highly complex, technical or professional occupations.LEVEL 5: It includes occupations that have advance level complex activities, strategic management instructions and contents that frequently cannot be determined in advance.LEVEL 6: Design engineer, Computer Engineer, Textile Technology Specialist, Work Study Specialist, Production Planner, etc.LEVEL 7: Department Manager, Lawyer (Legist), Deputy Manager, Accounting Chief, Economist, etc.LEVEL 8: Managing Director, General Director, Accounting Director, Engineer (M.Sc.).

Source: SVET webpage.

Education for Democratic Citizenship

• A new citizenship model presented by the EU, and in the year 2000 Ministers of Education from countries of Europe, including that of Turkey, have sketched the common guidelines of Education for Democratic Citizenship (EDC). EDC needs to be based on the fundamental principles of human rights, pluralist democracy and the rule of law.

Education for Democratic Citizenship

As a result Turkish Ministry of National Education, to abide the recommendations of the EU, prepared an educational program to be offered in Public Education Centers as a separate course named as Citizenship Knowledge (Vatandaslık Bilgisi). The curriculum of the program has been designed as one of the modules of the Support for Basic Education Project in 2006, the co-partner of which is EU.

• The aim of the program is to raise an individual who can comprehend basic terms about human and society, who has adopted the basic rights and freedoms, and who bears the responsibility of being a citizen.

• In 2007-2008, 52 Citizenship Knowledge course opened in Public Education Centers. A total of 938 participants attended these courses (739 females and 199 males).

EU Support to Basic Education (SBEP) in Turkey

• SBEP aims to increase the quality of basic and non-formal education and improve access to education, especially by females. The budget is 100 million Euros.

• SBEP has five components: – “Quality of Education” (aims to improve the primary

education curriculum and related materials),– “Teacher Training”, – “Non-Formal Education”, – “Communication” and – “Management and Organisation”.

Source: http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/projects-in-focus/selected-projects/social-inclusion-and-education/education/turkey_eu-support-to-basic-education-in-turkey_en.htm

Lifelong Learning

Turkey signed the Lisbon Strategy in 2000: The objective of the Lisbon Strategy is to make the European Union

‘the world’s most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustaining growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion’. (http://www.europeunit.ac.uk/eu_policy___education/lisbon_strategy.cfm)

Turkey agreed on the 27 June 2002 Council Resolution on lifelong learning.– 9th Development Plan– 17. Educational Council– SVET

BUT, too much focus on qualifications and certification is a threat.

Adult Education in the Agenda and in the Decisions of National Education Councils (1939-2006).

The Concept Used for Adult Education1957 Halk Eğitimi Education of the People1962 Halk Eğitimi Education of the People1974 Yaygın Eğitim Non-formal Education1981 Yaygın Eğitim Non-formal Education1982 Halk Eğitimi Education of the People1988 Sürekli Eğitim Continuing Education1990 Yaygın Eğitim Non-formal Education1996 Sürekli Eğitim Continuing Education2006 Yaşamboyu Öğrenme LLL

Challenges

• The majority of full time educators working at Public Education Centers are formal school teachers without any training in adult education. The majority of the part-time educators at Public Education Centers are master craftsmen who do not have any teaching certificates.

• There are only three graduate programs in adult education. The undergraduate programs are closed down in 1997. The numbers of academicians who have academic credentials in adult education are not satisfactory.

• There are insufficient provision in areas such as education for adults with disabilities, democratic participation, human rights, and environmental awareness. Though, the numbers of such provisions are increasing in the last few years.

• Although people learn how to read and write or have a primary school diploma, through out the years they do not use their literacy and numeracy skills and become functionally illiterate.

• Adult education institutions run by the MoNE offer courses generally within the time periods of formal education, from 9 am to 5 pm daily, and from September to June annually. Although, these time periods would be appropriate for the non-working mothers who send their children to school during day time, such schedule is not convenient for many working men and women who wan t to attend courses in publicly run educational programs.

References

• MoNE (2008). Eğitim Teknolojileri Genel Müdürlüğü, available online: http://egitek.meb.gov.tr/index.asp

• MoNE (2009). National Education Statistics: Formal Education 2008-2009, MoNE: Ankara.

• ÖSYM (2007). 2006-2007 Öğretim Yılı Yükseköğretim İstatistikleri Kitabı, ÖSYM.• ÖSYM (2009). 2008-2009 Öğretim Yılı Yükseköğretim İstatistikleri Kitabı, ÖSYM.• Vos, A. (2008): Third Policy Learning Workshop Turkey: The Apprenticeship System.

Turin: European Training Foundation (Workshop Report).

Websites• http://geology.com/world/europe-satellite-image.shtml• http://media.photobucket.com/image/bogazici%20bridge%20%252522turkey

%252522/worldcityistanbul/TRANSPORTS/fsmbridge108.jpg• http://www.indexmundi.com/turkey/• http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/projects-in-focus/selected-projects/social-inclusion-

and-education/education/turkey_eu-support-to-basic-education-in-turkey_en.htm