changes in the turkish history curriculum-yeni

8/9/2019 Changes in the Turkish History Curriculum-yeni

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CHANGES IN THE TURKISH HISTORY CURRICULUM AND THEPLACE OF EUROPEAN HISTORY

Erkan DN1

NDE NVERSTES ETM FAKLTES LKRETM LM

1 [email protected] [email protected]

1
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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CHANGES IN THE TURKISH HISTORY CURRICULUM AND THE

PLACE OF EUROPEAN HISTORY

A STRACT!

This paper examines four versions of the Turkish secondary school history curriculum and several history textbooks

used in different times to find out the changes occurred in the selection of European content in each version and the

place allocated to European history since 1930s. The movements in history and history teaching in Turkey in the given

period and their impact on the content of history curricula and textbooks are reviewed. t also discusses the emphasis

given to Europe and European history in the curriculum that has changed within the time along with the changes in the

socio!cultural and political ambiences of the country.

K"# $%r&'! history curriculum, history textbooks, European history

TRK TARH RETM PROGRAMLARINDA DE(KLKLER

VE AVRUPA TARHNN YER

)ET!

"u bildiri #lkemi$deki tarih %&retimi anlay'('n'n 1930)lardan g#n#m#$e kadar g%sterdi&i de&i(meleri ele almaktad'r.

Tarih ya$'m' ve anlay'('nda *e(itli d%nemlerde g%r#len genel de&i(melerin tarih %&retimimi$i nas'l ve ne y%nde

etkiledi&i m#fredat programlar' ve dolay's'yla ders kitaplar'nda farkl' d%nemlerde uygulamaya konulan de&i(ikliklerle

kar('m'$a *'kmaktad'r. "u *al'(mada+ cumhuriyet d%neminin ba('ndan g#n#m#$e kadar *e(itli d%nemlerde y#r#rl#&e

konulan m#fredat programlar' ve yine bu d%nemlerde okutulan *e(itli ders kitaplar' incelenerek s%$ konusu

de&i(melerin ,vrupa tarihine nas'l yakla('ld'&'n' ve bu alana programlarda ve ders kitaplar'nda ayr'lan yer ve

saatlerin art'r'l'p k's'tlanmas' #$erindeki etkileri #lkemi$in ge*irmi( oldu&u sosyo!k#lt#rel ve siyasal de&i(meler de

dikkate al'narak de&erlendirilmi(tir.

Ana*+ar K",-.","r! Tarih m redat programlar!, tarih ders kitaplar!, "#rupa tarihi

2


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1/ INTRODUCTION

%n many educational systems, history isregarded as one o the important school

sub&ects. %ts importance is generally recognised

and attached to unctions o history that are

determined through the aims and ob&ecti#es o

the course '(later, 1))5*. +o e#er, the

unctions attributed to history teaching by

di erent groups o academics, educators and

educational policy makers sho distincti#e

characteristics and conse-uently cause

disagreement '(later, 1))5*.

"ccording to (later '1))5* the unctions o

history teaching ha#e been determined in t o

ays. They are intrinsic/ purposes and

extrinsic/ purposes. %ntrinsic purposes o

history teaching are the ones that arise rom the

nature o the discipline o history and aim to

de#elop learners/ abilities and capacities o historical and critical thinking skills that are

related to some speci ic educational ob&ecti#es

'+usbands et al , 200$*. hilst, extrinsic

purposes are concerned ith broader

educational ob&ecti#es and aim to socialise

pupils in order to maintain the status -uo in

socio political order '"pple, 1)3)* or to

change the society in a speci ic ay '4ee,

1))2 (later, 1))5 6hillips, 1))7*.

%n Turkey, the unctions and purposes o

history as a school sub&ect ha#e been debated

and mostly determined on the basis o abo#e

extrinsic purposes since the 8irst +istory

9ongress in 1)$1. The content o the

secondary school history curriculum has been

selected according to the criteria set by the

extrinsic purposes, such as de#eloping a

national sentiment and building a national

identity ':nal, 1)); , 200?*.

The selection o historical content there ore,

has sho n distincti#e characteristics, hich

has caused #arious debates and contro#ersies.

6articularly, the selection o European history

or the secondary schools sho s di erent

eatures in #arious #ersions o history

curriculum that ha#e been introduced since

1)$0s. This study examines our #ersions o

Turkish secondary school history curriculum to

ind out ho and by hich actors the selection

o European history has been changed ithin

the time.

$


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0/ EDUCATION AND HISTORY

TEACHING

The Turkish Education (ystem itsel as built

on the principles that could ser#e to orm a

national identity, national a areness and

promote citi enship and patriotism '


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J baran, 1))7 Tun>ay, 1))7*. 6redictably,

national history attracts the most attention in

this context, hilst the selection and

presentation o non national content

demonstrates ho other cultures and nations

are #ie ed and ho non national history is

utilised in the presentation and explanation o

Turkish history. The in#estigation o se#eral

#ersions o the history curriculum and

textbooks published since 1)$0s indicates that

European history constitutes the largest portion

o non national history in the Turkish school

curriculum 'Aabap!nar, 1))2 :nal, 1));


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hours allocated to history 'IKGE, 1)$?

1)$7*.

(tarting rom the initial #ersions, the Turkish

curriculum has ocused on the transmission o

historical content kno ledge, hich is still

e#ident on the current #ersions 'IKGE,

1))7a 1))7b 1))7c*. "part rom that, nothing

mentioned about the purpose, aims and

ob&ecti#es o teaching history or anything on

the attainment targets and assessment in the

#ersions put into orce be ore 1)31. The 1)31

re#ision o the secondary school history

curriculum introduced the aims and ob&ecti#es

o history teaching or the irst time 'IKGE,

1)31*. (ome o these aims and ob&ecti#es areB

To teach pupils the importance of the Turkish

nation in world history and their contribution

to universal culture and civilisation and to

enhance pupils) national feelings-

To teach pupils the main characteristics and

features of the Turkish nation...

To teach ,tat#rk)s and other great Turkish

men)s contribution to humanity 'IKGE, 1)31B

13 17*.

The aims and ob&ecti#es introduced in this

re#ision ha#e been reintroduced se#eral times

'IKGE. 1)3; 1)7$* and are still in orce in

the current #ersions o history curriculum ith

some additions 'IKGE, 1))2 1))7a*. The

purposes added to the history curriculum can

be summarised asB

! To help pupils to ac uire information about the

past and understand it-

! To help pupils to develop a historical

perspective and understanding-

To help pupils to ac uire and blend the

historical information+ understanding and

skills to be productive and conscious citi$ens+

and to develop an international understanding

'IKGE, 1))7aB 1 2*.

"lthough these ne purposes o history

teaching con#ey introduce ad#anced ideas

other than the transmission o contentkno ledge and national sentiment, their

practicability in the context o Turkish

education has still been an issue. Ioreo#er,

starting rom the 1)$? curriculum, teachers

ha#e been recommended in #arious #ersions o

the curriculum to allocate one hour in e#ery

;


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t o eeks or the history o Turkish Cepublic

and its Ce#olution. +istory o Turkish

Cepublic and its Ce#olution as con#erted into

a special history course in 1)71 'IKGE, 1)71*

and started to be taught as a separate history

courses since 1)7;.

8urthermore, the place allocated to European

history in Turkish curriculum has sho n some

changes ithin the time along ith the changes

in the general perspecti#e and understanding o

history and history teaching in the Turkish

context. %n the coming sections, our di erent

perspecti#es o history and history teaching

that ha#e been in luential in Turkey are

examined ith re erence to the place gi#en to

European history in each one.

2/1 T*" T3rk-'* H-'+%r# T*"'-'

" ter the oundation o the Turkish Cepublic,

history in secondary schools as being taught

in the same ay it as taught in the Kttoman

period. (ome minor changes ere made on the

explanations o historical concepts, such as the

monarchy and democracy and a ne section on

the republican period and the Turkish

re#olution as added to history syllabuses and

textbooks ':nal, 1));*. +o e#er, starting rom

the early 1)$0s history, school history

curriculum and textbooks ere ritten

according to ne regime/s ideology, called

the Turkish +istory Thesis/ 'T+T* ':nal, 1));


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highly ci#ilised nation, the Turks created many

ci#ilisations o the "ncient orld '


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textbook or secondary schools, consisting o

our #olumes, as ritten in accordance ith

the perspecti#es o the T+T by the members o

Turkish +istorical Cesearch "ssociation in

1)$0s '

(ar!, 2005*. +o e#er, some research traces the

+umanist mo#ement in earlier periods, like

late 1)$0s '"kt!n, 2005*. Taking European

countries as a model this mo#ement stressed

the importance o ancient reek and Coman

ci#ilisations in the ormation o the orld

history '9opeaux, 1))7*. %ts aim as to

establish a humanistic approach to culture

through teaching the themes and periods o

history that can be described as the products o

human intellect 'Hu#al!, 1)73*. +o e#er,

according to 9opeaux '1))7* the proponents o

humanist mo#ement took this perspecti#e as

ar as to a position that reco 4atin ci#ilisation

is the source o "natolian and conse-uently the

Turkish culture. There ore, the emphasis on

national history took a di erent shape through

the inclusion o the history o other cultures

and nations in this rame ork. +o e#er, the

traces o the T+T ere still e#ident in some

textbooks '


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secondary school curriculum increased to 2;L

in 1)5; curriculum '12 Iay 1)5; Turkey

reece cultural agreement, (a ran, 200;*.


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history hen they are related to Turkish

+istory or ha#e an impact on it '9opeaux,

1))7*.

This #ie also includes some secular and

estern ideas taken rom the ideology o

"tatrk>lk to legitimate itsel in the socio

political context o Turkey 'J baran, 1))3B

9opeaux, 1))7*. The impact o the perspecti#e

on Turkish history curriculum reached its peak

in 1)70s, a ter being gi#en legitimacy by the

leaders o 1)70 Iilitary 9oup 'Aabap!nar,

1))2 Tekeli, 1))7 ngFr, 2005*. "s an

example o the in luence o the (T% on history

teaching, it is note orthy that the (ocial

(ciences courses, consisting on topics selected

rom +istory and eography, in upper primary

school le#el ere changed to Gational +istory

and Gational eography/ courses in 1)7?

'Tekeli, 1))7*.

Ta4," / E3r%5"an *-'+%r# -n +*" 63rr-63,3. &3r-n +*" "ra %7 +*" STH >MONE< 18 18;188;a 188;4 188;6?/Year Main features European content Share of European history

(-+

curriculum!slightly

changed in(-, #

* Transmission of the historicalcontent.

* Turkish and %slamic history isstrongly emphasised.

* European history in wholesecondary school curriculumends with the 8irst orld ar.

Year I. * Aegean and &omancivilisations

Year II. *Europe in the middle ages

Year III. *Europe in the (3th and ( th centuries$* Europe in the (+th and (, th centuries$ *Europe in the (- th century.

Year I. 9nly 3/ is allocated to Europeanhistory.

Year II. Appro imately +/ Europeanhistory.

Year III. European history (3/ percent.

In total European history is -/ of thecontent of history courses.

(--!revised in(-- and

(--,#

* The main emphasis is oncontent of history lessons$particularly on Turkish and%slamic history

* European history in wholesecondary school curriculum

ends with the (-th

century.

Year I. * Turkey and its environment inancient times6 This study unit in yearone touches history of Ancient reeceand &oman and :y;antine Empires.

Year II. *Europe from ( 00 to ( 00.* European "istory from ( 00 to (-(,.

Year I.


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o 10L or European history or the o#erall

three years o secondary schooling. %n contrast

to the T+T and the humanist mo#ement, the

(T% stressed particularly on the Kttoman

history and the space allocated to it increased

substantially. %n the early 1))0s, the criti-ues

on the (T% started to increase, hich led to

alterations o history curriculum in 1))$.

Ge#ertheless, the alterations made on the

curriculum did not meet the expectations o

pupils, teachers and other groups 'J baran,

1))7*. Knly some parts o the curriculum

content ere changed and the eight o history

in o#erall secondary school curricula increased

by bringing orth some optional history

courses. The decrease in the European content

o history took another step ith this re#ision.

9urrently, only 5L o the secondary school

history curriculum content is on European

history. Ioreo#er, the portion o European

history in history textbooks decreased

accordingly.

2/2/ A N" P"r'5"6+-:" %7 O55%'-+-%n

%n addition to the three in luential trends o

history teaching abo#e, there is a ourth #ie

in Turkey that expresses itsel as an

independent and liberal/ perspecti#e.


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as a historical phenomenon or value+ ,natolia

has belonged to our nation from the ancient

times to today. Therefore+ inculcating the

consciousness of ,natolian civili$ations as the

product of this country is an important duty of

the government that may be passed to the

public and next generations by means of

formal education'H!ld!r!m, 1))7B 1;5*.

This #ie is also strictly bound ith the

ideology o "tatrk>lk, because it

particularly opposes the synthesis o Turk

%slam, and de ends the principles and

re#olution o "tatrk, particularly its secularist

aspects '9opeaux, 1))7*. "lthough this perspecti#e has proclaimed its existence or

many years, it has not e#en ound place to

become in luential on history curriculum or

textbooks in the country.

@/ DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

%t has been demonstrated that the emphasis

o Turkish history teaching in secondary

schools has been changed se#eral times since

1)$0s. These changes ha#e generally been

moti#ated by political and ideological

thoughts and mo#ements also in luencing

Turkish historiography and the common

perception o the past 'Aabap!nar, 1))2 :nal,

1));


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in luenced rom the trends o that time the

emphasis o Turkish history teaching inclined

to ards the humanism and conse-uently the

history o ancient "natolian ci#ilisations

starting rom the late 1)?0s. =uring this

period, European history in the curriculum and

textbooks as located synchronically ith

Turkish history. The contemporary European

history as also included in the curriculum.

The national history mo#ement came into

agenda once more ith the political counter

mo#ements against communism and

socialism in Turkey during the early 1)30s in

the name o (T% ':nal, 1));*. +o e#er,national history in this mo#ement as in a

di erent ormat. %n contrast to the T+T/s

emphasis on pre %slamic Turkish history, the

(T% highlighted the connection bet een

Turks and %slamic religion '9opeaux, 1))7*.

"s a result, it ocused on the periods, inhich Turks ere ser#ing or the religion

'Aabap!nar, 1))2 Tehmen (ar!, 2005*.

6articularly, the Kttoman history as gi#en

importance in the curriculum and textbooks.

"nother re lection o the (T% in history

teaching as the gradual decrease o the

European content.

The last mo#ement o Turkish history teaching

stress the importance o national history like

the (T%, but puts secular elements in place o

%slamic ones as the uni ying actors o the

nation.

The abo#e discussions conclude that historyteaching in Turkey has been in luenced by

socio political thoughts, that bare categorised

as extrinsic purposes o history teaching

'(later, 1))5*. "lthough the last #ersion o the

curriculum suggests some aims and ob&ecti#es

that can be categorised as intrinsic, the

in#estigation o the #ie s o pro essionals in

the ield indicates that they are not actually

materialised in the classroom '=in>, 2005*.

=i erent #ersions o the secondary school

curriculum and #arious textbooks analysed in

this paper also pro#e this assertion. %t has also

been sho n that the selection o European

history in Turkish curriculum and textbooks

has also been an area o contro#ersy ithin the

context o socio political pressure and change.

Ioreo#er, the examination o the current

#ersion o the curriculum re#eals that the place

1?


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o European history in Turkish school

curriculum is under threat.

Kn the other hand, the recent political

de#elopments regarding to the process o

Turkey/s membership into the European

Onion and the European ide collaborati#e

orks on history teaching indicate a

contrasting prere-uisite. These de#elopments

speci y that a better understanding o the

other side and enhancing co operation can be

pro#ided by teaching more European history

in Turkey and more Turkish history in

European countries. Thus, this study suggests

that it is necessary or Turkey to reconsider

the history curriculum in general and the

proportion o European history in the

curriculum in particular. 8urthermore,

seeking appropriate means to put the intrinsic

purposes o history teaching in use can create

a solution or diminishing the impact o

those socio political mo#ements rom history

teaching.

REFERENCES

T" +4%%k'"kNit, G. and Kktay, E. '12th ed.* '1);;*

Tarih . :stanbulB Iilli EMitim

Iansel, ".I.,


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:nkilap Tarihi/ #e KrtaFMretim Aurumlar!Trkiye 9umhuriyeti :nkilap Tarihi/

I redat 6rogram!Q Tebli&ler 7ergisi,

#ol.??, noB2073, pp.205 210.IKGE '1)7$* PKrtaFMretim Aurumlar! Tarih

6rogram!QTebli&ler 7ergisi, #ol.?;, noB21?;, pp.$$7 $?2.

IKGE '1))7a* Tarih 7ersi 6rogram' 89.inif4. "nkara, IE< Hay!ne#i.

IKGE '1))7b* Tarih 7ersi 6rogram' 810.inif4."nkara, IE< Hay!ne#i.

IKGE '1))7c* T.:. ;nk'lap Tarihi ve ,tat#rk*#l#k 7ersi 6rogram' 811. 'n'f4.

"nkara, IE< Hay!ne#i.O+*"r P34,-6a+-%n'

"kt!n, A. '2005* 1930!19 anexploration of the views of teaching professional. =octoral study in progress.

GottinghamB The Oni#ersity o Gottingham, (chool o Education.

Ertrk, teaching and learning about the past in secondary schools. IaidenheadB KpenOni#ersity 6ress.

:nal, A. '1));* E&itimde ;deoloDik "oyut ."nkaraB =oruk Hay!nc!l!k.

Aabap!nar, H. '1))2* V


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J baran, (. '1))7* PGeden #e Gasil TarihXQin (. J baran 'ed.* Tarih ?&retimi ve 7ers @itaplar'. pp. 25 $$. : mirB =oku

Eyll Hay!nlar!.6hillips, C. '1))7* =istory Teaching+

Gationhood and the tate> , tudy in Educational 6olitics. 4ondonB 9assell.

(a ran, I., '200;*, Tarih E&itimi> 5akale ve "ildiriler , "nkaraB a i Aitabe#i.

(later, . '1))5* Teaching =istory in the Gew Europe. 4ondonB 9assell.

(mith, ". =. '1)))* 5yths and 5emories of the Gation. Kx ordB Kx ord Oni#ersity

6ress.Tekeli, %. '1))7*Tarih "ilinci ve Hen*lik .

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Tehmen (ar!, ". '2005* 19F0!19A0 d%nemitarih ders kitaplar'nda tarih*ilik

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