Education Policy Outlook 2021

Turkey

Figure 5.32. Selected indicators of education resilience in Turkey

Self-reports of students, teachers or principals by percentage

 

 

Sources: OECD (2020_[1]), TALIS 2018 Results (Volume II): Teachers and School Leaders as Valued Professionals, TALIS, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/19cf08df-en; OECD (2020_[2]), "Learning remotely when schools close: How well are students and schools prepared? Insights from PISA", OECD Policy Responses to Coronavirus (COVID-19), OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/3bfda1f7-en; OECD (2019_[3]), TALIS 2018 Results (Volume I): Teachers and School Leaders as Lifelong Learners, TALIS, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/1d0bc92a-en; OECD (2019_[4]), PISA 2018 Results (Volume II): Where All Students Can Succeed, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b5fd1b8f-en; OECD (2019_[5]), PISA 2018 Results (Volume III): What School Life Means for Students’ Lives, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/acd78851-en.

Statlink

Selected education policies for Turkey

Increasing the quality and attractiveness of VET (2019)

►. Level of resilience: System

In Turkey, under a revised co-operation model (2019), VET sector representatives collaborate on curriculum design, provide work-based learning for students and teachers, offer scholarships and prioritise students for employment. Based on a VET mapping study carried out in 2019, Turkey has also sought to match the specialisms of VET institutions with the needs of the regional economy in which they are located more effectively. There have also been considerable efforts to increase the involvement of VET teachers in in-service training. The Co-operation Protocol for Teaching allows teachers to carry out professional development in real work environments; Turkey has also developed distance-learning opportunities for VET teachers. As a result of these efforts, the scale of in-service professional development for VET teachers has increased by six times since 2018. According to a national review of vocational education from 2018, labour force participation and employment rates were higher among VET students than students in the general upper secondary track. National-level data from 2020 points to a 17% increase in students choosing VET between 2018 and 2019 (Ministry of National Education of Turkey, 2018_[6]). A report from the European Training Foundation underlined several improvements in Turkey’s VET provision but pointed to continued challenges in aligning skills with labour market demand (Zelloth, 2020_[7]). Turkey is seeking to deepen the involvement of labour market partners in providing infrastructure for VET provision and in setting up schools.

Further reading: OECD (2020_[8]), “Education Policy Outlook in Turkey”, OECD Education Policy Perspectives, No. 23, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/b7c69f4c-en.

Distance-learning training for teachers and school leaders (2020)

►. Level of resilience: Broader learning environment

During 2020, Turkey worked with UNICEF to develop professional development programmes for teachers and school leaders in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, the “Development of Design and Management Skills in Distance Education” course aims to strengthen teacher capacity in promoting three kinds of interactions in distance education: student-student interaction; student-teacher interaction; and ‘student-material’ interaction. The course also covers effective use of Turkey’s online learning and assessment platform (EBA) and the V-factory application, which allows teachers to design digital learning activities and environments. The “Development of Distance Education, Design and Management Skills of School Administrators” course gives school leaders the opportunity to share their experiences and seeks to develop the administrative, technical, and communication skills they will need to lead learning in uncertain times. This is supported by moves to reduce the administrative workload of school leaders to allow them to focus on educational activities. By October 2020, some 150 000 teachers and 40 000 school leaders had completed the new courses.

Further reading: Turkish Ministry of National Education (2020_[9]), “We are carrying out the largest teachers’ training program of the Turkish education history”, http://www.meb.gov.tr/we-are-carrying-out-the-largest-teachers-training-program-of-the-turkish-education-history/haber/21795/en (accessed on 1 April 2021).

References

Ministry of National Education of Turkey (2018), Outlook of Vocational and Technical Education in Turkey, http://mtegm.meb.gov.tr/meb_iys_dosyalar/2019_10/01115724_No1_Turkiyede_Mesleki_ve_Teknik_Egitimin_Gorunumu_ENG.pdf (accessed on 1 April 2021). [6]

OECD (2020), Education Policy Outlook: Turkey, https://www.oecd.org/education/policy-outlook/country-profile-Turkey-2020.pdf (accessed on 28 October 2021). [8]

OECD (2020), Learning remotely when schools close: How well are students and schools prepared? Insights from PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/3bfda1f7-en. [2]

OECD (2020), TALIS 2018 Results (Volume II): Teachers and School Leaders as Valued Professionals, TALIS, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/19cf08df-en. [1]

OECD (2019), PISA 2018 Results (Volume II): Where All Students Can Succeed, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/b5fd1b8f-en. [4]

OECD (2019), PISA 2018 Results (Volume III): What School Life Means for Students’ Lives, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/acd78851-en. [5]

OECD (2019), TALIS 2018 Results (Volume I): Teachers and School Leaders as Lifelong Learners, TALIS, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/1d0bc92a-en. [3]

Turkish Ministry of National Education (2020), “We are carrying out the largest teachers’ training program of the Turkish education history”, http://www.meb.gov.tr/we-are-carrying-out-the-largest-teachers-training-program-of-the-turkish-education-history/haber/21795/en (accessed on 1 April 2021). [9]

Zelloth, H. (2020), Policies for Human Capital Development in Turkey, https://www.etf.europa.eu/en/publications-and-resources/publications/trp-assessment-reports/turkey-2020 (accessed on 1 April 2021). [7]