CONTEMPORARY EDUCATION IN THE LIGHT OF ATATURKIST THOUGHT

ENTRANCE

DEFINITION, QUALITY AND IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION

What is education? It is futile to seek an adequate and unsuspecting answer to the question. When thinking about education, we should not forget that it has the quality of growing and developing like a living organism. Although education has unchanging data, it is constantly developing and adapting to new conditions with new demands1. For this reason, although many thinkers and educators ponder on the question of what education is, none of them have reached a definition that satisfies them2.

The following definition of education by John Miltan is still widely used today1.

“Therefore I call a full and generous education an education which predisposes a man to act honestly, skillfully, with good heart in all duties, in private and public affairs, in peace and war, in all matters.”

Educators have common opinions when there is a certain disagreement about the quality of education today. People do not have a common view on whether it is right for them to consider virtue abstractly or to aim at living the best life. However, it remains unclear whether education should be directed more towards the development of reason or moral discipline. In other words, is virtue "a product of evolution arising from the necessity of adapting to the environment and conditions", or is it "man's effort to reach the superhuman"4? Unless our answers to the questions are the same, we cannot reach a common conclusion about the quality of education. Even if the aim of education is accepted as a virtue, it is difficult to reach an agreement on how this will be achieved. Therefore, the opinions put forward on education, can find a certain amount of supporters. Education can be examined under two main headings5:

(1) In the traditional sense, education has been accepted as a tool that ensures the socioeconomic and especially cultural continuation of the national existence. In other words, until recently, education has been seen as an institution and process that provides cultural transfer.

(2) Education in the contemporary sense, on the other hand, has gained new goals, new dimensions and new qualifications. The development in science and technology, the information explosion that leads to this development and is the result of this development, is rapidly changing the social, economic and cultural structure of the world and society. This process of radical change forces education, which has become a means of "transmitting culture" in the traditional sense, to be a process and institution that is affected by and influences social, economic and cultural change that "transcends culture".

According to these explanations, we can define education as follows: Education is the whole of the learning work that enables the person to develop his/her abilities in line with his/her own needs and the purposes of the society, and the methods and practices on how to do this job.

Education is a compulsory element in every respect for the society and the individual. The need to be educated and learn is the most basic feature of human nature. For nations, education is an indispensable task for their survival and development. “.... According to Mustafa Kemal, who organized the National Struggle with his indestructible will, relying on the will of the Turkish Nation to live free and on the love of the homeland...."6 and established a new "Turkish State"7, according to Mustafa Kemal7: It either keeps a free, independent, glorious and noble delegation alive in a state of social unity, or it leaves a nation in captivity and misery.”

The aim that Atatürk focused on meticulously throughout his life is to create a state that has achieved full independence in all respects. He is thus; After realizing “full independence, which is the first condition of modernization”8:

He also took the necessary measures so that the homeland he liberated and the state he rebuilt could live forever, in other words, to preserve its national existence. The aim of these measures, which we call “Ataturk's Revolutions”, is to make the Turkish Nation a partner to contemporary civilization as soon as possible”9.

However, to modernize, to enter the community of modern nations, to "acquire contemporary civilization, to rise above its level", "to modernize", "to become westernized", which Atatürk insisted on, was for him the Republic of Turkey as "the most civilized and prosperous in the world". to make it a state”10. In other words, the aim of Kemalism”:

“To bring the Republic of Turkey to the level of contemporary civilization. This way is unique and is the way of Western civilization. The basic element of Western civilization is the “scientific mentality”. The thing to do is to take "positive science" and the "science mentality" that constitutes its source, as a guide to all our activities, as the Great Atatürk desired.

Here we are in this review; We will try to analyze the education system established by Atatürk, which aims to keep the Republic of Turkey alive forever as a “free, independent, glorious, high society”. However, in order to explain "In the Light of Atatürkist Thought: Contemporary Education System" and to show the level reached; "Comparison of the Ottoman Education System and the Western Education System" will be made and information will be given on the "Educational Legacy Inherited by the Republic".

I. THE EDUCATIONAL HERITAGE OF THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY AND THE COMPARISON OF THE OTTOMAN EDUCATION SYSTEM AND THE WESTERN EDUCATION SYSTEM

The Ottoman State had its “first” scientific establishment with the opening of the Iznik Madrasa in the time of Orhan Bey (1332-1330)12. Fatih Sultan Mehmet, on the other hand, designed the Turkish Renaissance before the rulers in Europe, and gave great importance to science and scientists13. XVI century in the Ottoman Empire. and XVII. Since the centuries, only religious scholars have been trained and a short time later, the "Still Age" has been entered. XVIII. Starting from the 19th century, this regression increased, and the madrasa system in the Ottoman Empire, which was excluded from the scientific development in the West, collapsed. Sharia was seen as the only science; medicine, physics and even mathematics were included in religious education14.

In the period before the Tanzimat, educational affairs did not have a permanent order, nor was it fully dependent on a central administration. XIX. Until the beginning of the century, the provision "Shaykh al-Islam is the leader of the ulema" remained in effect15. Schools in the empire were extremely inadequate. For example, m. During the reign of Murat, there were 120 madrasas, 89 hospitals and 9000 students in all Ottoman lands. During the decline and collapse of the empire16 for various reasons, the limits of tolerance were narrowed, and scientists and thinkers began to be punished in the name of religion. For example, during the reign of Grand Vizier İbrahim Pasha during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, a scholar named Kabız-ı Acem was executed for his thoughts. Two “scholars” named San Abdurrahman and Hamza were also executed during this period17.

In the West, education had a religious character in the Middle Ages. Education was the monopoly of the church. It was very difficult to obtain religious dogmas and knowledge based on reason and experimentation. But Europe, XVI. It entered the “Age of Reason” with “Rationalism and Experimentation” in the 19th century. Gutenberg printing house in the service of education XV. It started to be used effectively starting from the second half of the century. Economic development in the West established the view that the right to education belonged not only to the nobility, but also to other strata. Reading, educating and being educated has become one of the main issues that Western society deals with. Training methods have been developed. Coercive and rote education was abandoned, and the way for children to get to know nature and obtain the first information through observation and thinking was opened. States have taken over the educational work. Western States have adopted the principle that each individual must have a certain education (primary education compulsory). XVIII. At the end of the 19th century, very important steps were taken in the West both to educate all individuals and to ensure the development of high-level scientific institutions18. However, the printing press was made available to Muslim-Turks in Turkey only 280 years later. On the other hand, the Jews in the Ottoman Empire established the printing press in 1494, the Armenians in 1567, and the Greeks in 1627. As a result, in the name of religion – in order not to harm the interests of some people – the first Turkish printing house was allowed to print non-religious books in 1727 by the Sheikh-ul-Islam of the time, Abdullah Efendi. could be put into operation19. The Ottoman Empire, which reached a high place in every direction after its establishment, XVII. It started to decline from the beginning of the century due to internal and external reasons. Various arrangements were made to prevent this regression. XVIII of them. What happened until the century was the reforms made in order to revive the old. Contemporary reforms, on the other hand, are in the XVIII. century III. Ahmet period and II. It reached wide-ranging dimensions during the reign of Mahmut. The reforms carried out during the Tanzimat Period had the greatest impact on the modernization of the Ottoman Empire20.

First of all, in order to find a solution to the weakness in the military field and to train the personnel needed by the army, the establishment of schools in accordance with the requirements of the age was started21. The basis of the reforms made in the field of education in the Tanzimat Period was “establishing new educational institutions without destroying the old ones”22. In other words, new schools were opened after the Tanzimat. However, no one dared to make any changes in Madrasah and Evkaf schools. Even before the Tanzimat, some important steps were taken in the field of education in the direction of modernization23.

Primary education was made compulsory in Turkey in 1824 and students were sent abroad in the same year. In 1838, “Rüştiye” schools, the first of the secondary education institutions, were opened. The most important educational reform of the Tanzimat began with an edict issued by Abdülmecit in 1845. With the proposal of the “Meclis-i Maarif-i Muvakkat”, “Meclis-i General Education” was established. The Education System was planned as primary, secondary and high schools24. In 1857, the “Ministry of Education” was established. With the “Maarif Regulations” published in 1869, the core of the Turkish Education system was formed. The regulation envisaged the educational institutions as Sıbyan, Rüştiye, İdadi, Sultanî and “Teacher Schools” that train teachers for them. In the field of higher education, after the trials in 1846 and 1870, the first Ottoman University Darülfünun was established25.

In the Tanzimat Period, education could not be increased to the desired level. In the Ottoman Empire of 35 million, at the end of 1876, a total of 425 junior high schools, 8 high schools and 7 teacher schools were established. Girls were able to receive education in 17 of the High Schools and in 1 of the Teachers' Schools26.

The ambitious and great reform movement, which was started in 1839, also called “Westernization”, gave its results in the First Constitutional Period. The most distinctive feature of this period is the implementation of the laws made in the field of primary and secondary education in the Tanzimat Period and the elimination of deficiencies. II. When Abdülhamit became the Sultan, the education reform movement had become irreversible. II. During the Abdülhamit Era: The number of high schools was increased from 250 to 600, İdadis from 5 to 104, Darülmualliminler from 4 to 32, and primary schools from 200 to 4000-5000. An effort was made to provide education in 10.000 primary schools according to the new methods27. However, II. During the reign of Abdülhamid, primary and secondary education never reached the level of its peers in Europe. The currents of thought in this period, the aim of primary education in the beginning was "Islamism", The aim of secondary education was carried out in accordance with the "Ottomanism" policy. However, towards the end of the period, although both currents were not completely abandoned, "Turkism" began to be among the aims of these schools28. In higher education schools, "Turkism" is dominant.

There were also foreign schools in the education system of the Ottoman Empire. The oldest of the foreign schools established in the Ottoman lands are the Catholic schools. Although these schools were not controlled by the state before the Tanzimat, there was a resistance against their opening. After the Tanzimat, a great increase was observed in the number of foreign private schools. In 1904, the number of Greek schools reached 6429. In 1910, only the Armenian school in Istanbul reached 44, and the first Jewish school was opened in Istanbul in 1854 under the name of “Jewish Modern School”. Apart from the French, Italian, Austrian Catholic missionary schools, the British and Americans also worked to raise representatives of their economic interests and spread Christianity, etc. They opened a large number of schools for this purpose30.

To summarize, II. The educational dilemma that started during the reign of Mahmut II was transferred to the Republic of Turkey as a fundamental problem that Atatürk had to deal with. Although Turkish, minority and foreign private schools were brought under the control of the state, primary school education was made compulsory throughout the country, its control and implementation could not be carried out completely outside the big cities. Importance and priority have been given to teacher training; After the Tanzimat, new military and civilian schools were opened in the Western sense, higher education institutions were tried to be renewed between 1908-1924, and the Darülfünun, consisting of the Faculties of Literature, Law, Science and Medicine, was given the freedom of scientific study. However, Madrasahs could not be saved from the control of the Meşihat. Despite all these studies, some of which we have tried to summarize, Atatürk, 7% of whom could read and write31, It has succeeded in establishing the Republic and making important breakthroughs in the way of modernization, with a people living in war-torn areas and spending their wealth on the "National Struggle". In the following parts of the study; We will try to examine the education system established by Atatürk, who sees innovation in education as the basis of national unity and a modern society:

II. ATATÜRK'S IMPORTANCE TO EDUCATION: MAIN PRINCIPLES THAT HE WANTS TO BE FOLLOWED IN NATIONAL EDUCATION

A. Atatürk's Importance of Education

According to Atatürk: “Being a partner of contemporary civilization is a matter of existence or non-existence for Turkey. To be successful in this depends on considering the contemporary civilization as a whole. Therefore, the discussion of "what and how much" should be taken from the contemporary world and "what the limit should be in this intake" is out of place and useless. The ones taken from the West did not give successful results because they were “too late and in too little dose”32. Although important steps were taken in the field of education towards the end of the Ottoman Empire, the first reason why these efforts were not enough was due to the fact that what was received from the West, also in the field of education, was “too little and too little”33. With the Ottoman education system, Atatürk saw that the newly established Republic of Turkey could not be kept alive forever and believed in the necessity of establishing an education system based on brand new principles.

As we have tried to examine before, it was really not possible to fix the old education system. A new education system had to be adopted. The principles of the new education system should also be in accordance with the foundations of the Turkish Revolution. The duality in the field of education should be removed (the cultural duality into which the Turkish Nation was pushed should be ended), a secular and national education system should be established, Turkish women, who make up half of the nation, should also be educated34, and all educational institutions should be brought under the strict control of the state. In summary, a brand new education system had to be established35.

The education philosophy of the Atatürk period was also formed by the Kemalist philosophy. “Six principles of Atatürkist philosophy guided and realized the educational innovations of this period”36. The aim of Atatürk's reforms in the field of education was “to make the Turkish nation a partner to contemporary civilization as soon as possible.... The institution of culture, even competition (ni) .. This knot (ü) has been completely resolved with the “unmatched reputation” provided by the liberation of the homeland”37.

According to Atatürk: It is necessary to take Western civilization as a whole with its science, culture, technology, with a single expression, “the way of looking at life”. In order to realize this, there is no guide other than science and science”38.

Mustafa Kemal gave great importance to education even during the National Struggle39. The issue of education in the Turkish Grand National Assembly began to be discussed since April 26, 192040. Before the Sakarya Victory, an important step was taken towards the establishment of the new Turkish Education System by convening the First Educational Congress (on Friday, July 16, 1921 at 14:00). In his speech at the opening of this Congress, Atatürk emphasized the importance of education as follows41:

“I am of the opinion that the education and training methods followed so far are the most important factor in the historical education of our nation”.

As it can be understood, Mustafa Kemal Pasha believes that the education system applied was an important factor in the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. In his speeches in 1922, Atatürk stated that the real salvation of a nation depends only on its success in national education; He stated that “being a nation and establishing a prosperous homeland” can be achieved by giving the necessary importance to education42. In the conversation he had with the teachers in Samsun on September 22, 1924, he said the following43:

“... The most important and fundamental point is the matter of discipline. It is the discipline that either makes a nation live as a free, independent, glorious and noble committee, or leaves a nation in captivity and misery”.

Undoubtedly, education must first of all be based on science. Science and science are necessary for the advancement of Turkish society according to the requirements of our age”. “Rising above the level of contemporary civilization” and “Success on the path to civilization” depend on innovation. As Atatürk emphasized in a speech he made on August 30, 1924: “In an era when civilization, from invention, and the wonders of technique changed the world, it is not possible to preserve the existence of the Turkish Nation with age-old mentality and loyalty to the past”44.

According to Atatürk, “The torch that the 'Turkish Nation' keeps in its hands and minds on the path of progress and civilization on which it is walking is positive science”45. As it can be understood, the Turkish Revolution aimed to "raise the Turkish nation above the level of contemporary civilization". On the way to civilization46, the guide of the Turkish nation is positive science. Therefore, education must first and foremost be based on science. The aim of our nation, the ideal of our nation, is to become a civilized society in the whole world. The way to reach this goal is the basic principles that Atatürk wanted to be followed in the subject of “National Education and Training”.

The only way to identify the “main principles that Atatürk wanted to be followed in National Education”47 is again his words and the revolutions he made in this field. In this part of our review, we will give some examples of principles relevant to our topic. However, we will only be content to enumerate most of the principles of Kemalist education48.

B. The main principles that Atatürk wanted to be followed in National Education

The most important principles that Atatürk emphasized on "National Education and Training" are as follows:

1. Education should be National:

As we mentioned before, he emphasized the necessity of education "of a national quality in every sense". While showing the way to the “Turkish Nation”, all kinds of science, discoveries and advances of the world will be used; but the foundation must be extracted from within ourselves”. “Cultural Harassment is compatible with the idea, with the ground. That ground is the choice of the nation. While raising our children and young people, “the spirit of fighting against the foreign queen” should be taught”. According to him, "every nation that wants to stay independent and happy must apply the principle of "education should be national"49.

“Like Atatürk's understanding of Turkish nationalism, the understanding of "nationality" in education is unifying, aggregating and integrative. It does not accept discrimination and divisiveness”50.

Atatürk's understanding of “Nationalism” is an understanding that is fully open to contemporary science and the world. Atatürk wanted "national education", "science and science", an education that is open to progress and innovation in every part of the arts51.

2. The Principle of Educational Union in National Education:

The second important principle to be followed in education is the unity of education and training. All individuals of the Turkish Nation should be given equal educational opportunities. Our people should be saved from superstitions, thinking should be based on "science and science", not on religious beliefs, and it should be ensured that it conforms to the realities of our nation. Everyone should benefit from secular education based on scientific thought. Turkish society must be saved from the "narrow-minded" ignorant people. According to Atatürk, without providing education-training unity and giving equal education to all members of the society, the Turkish education system cannot be given a "national" quality.

Atatürk, in a speech he made on September 30, 1924 in Dumlupınar; On the importance of the principle of “Unity in Education”:

“War” is the clash of Nations… it is a field of testing where they clash with their levels in the field of science and science, their morals, their morals, in short, all their material and spiritual powers and virtues and all their means”52. As it is seen, in order to eliminate “the idea of ​​conquering the Turkish homeland, the dream of capturing the Turks”53, we need to be a nation that can reach a high level in education and training in a short time. “Could the Turkish Nation bear to continue the education that it will give to its children as two separate institutions in the name of school and madrasah completely different from each other?”.

“Wouldn't it be futile to seek the opportunity to build a nation made up of individuals with the same mindset and the same mindset, unless they unite with discipline and education?”54

On March 3, 1924, with the Caliphate, the Ministry of Sharia and Awqaf was abolished, and the duality in the state administration was ended, and on the same day, the duality in education was ended55.

In our opinion, "Ataturkist Education" has two main principles: "National Education" and "Education Union". The “principles” mentioned in research on this subject can be evaluated within the scope of these two principles56. Apart from the unification and administration of education, this principle of Atatürk (Education Union) will undoubtedly include the education of women. Atatürk has emphasized many times that the education of boys and girls should be given equal importance. For example, in a speech in Izmir on January 31, 1923, after stating that our nation was determined to be a strong nation, he continued his speech as follows57:

“One of today's requisites is to ensure that our women are promoted in every respect. Therefore, our women against them will also be scholars and teachers, and they will be believers and advocates of each other by walking together with men in all the high-level life that men have passed through in the society”.

The practices of Atatürk, who wanted to “disseminate education” and “eliminate ignorance”, have always been in this direction. “It is only the teachers who save the nations. A nation deprived of a teacher and a tutor has not acquired the ability to take the name of it. It is called an ordinary mass, it cannot be called a nation, a mass absolutely needs tutors and teachers in order to become a nation”58.

With the words “The Republic demands from you generations with free ideas, free conscience, and knowledge”59, Atatürk drew attention to what the main duty of a teacher should be.

Mustafa Kemal, the architect of the Turkish War of Independence, in his opening speech to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on March 1, 1923, stated his thoughts about teachers by saying that "all around the world" teachers are "the most devoted and venerable elements of human society"60.

If we summarize what is explained in this section: We can say that Atatürk envisaged the education policy aimed at ensuring national unity and integrity. Atatürk saw that the only way to bring common values ​​and political consciousness to a new generation is in the unification of educational organizations and institutions. If we want to express it in one sentence, there are two basic principles of education that Atatürk wanted: The first is “National Education” and the second is “Education Union”61.

In the next part of our work, we will see the application of these principles. Thus, we will be able to have more information about Atatürk's education policy.

III. WORK IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION DURING THE ATATURK PERIOD

A. Adoption of the Law of Unification of Education:

Ottoman Empire; XIX. It was not until the beginning of the century that he adopted a general policy on education and culture. Education and training activities are still; It was maintained by the madrasahs, which were the institutions of the medieval Islamic world62. These institutions, which were the center of scientific studies in the eras they were established, XVI. From the 19th century onwards, they began to decline and acquire a religious character for various reasons. So that; Neighborhood schools and madrasas only teach religion, morals, the Qur'an, and the Arabic language; positive sciences and scientific thought were thrown aside63. Therefore, madrasah graduates; They constituted a segment that produced more harm than good for the nation with their qualities that did not criticize, examine and explain in the face of natural and social events. Atatürk later said; For the generation that grew up with the indoctrination of this religious education, he would say:

“Sirs; There are three hundred million aggressor Islam in the world. They receive upbringing and morality with the upbringing of their parents and teachers. But unfortunately, the reality is that all these millions of masses of people are under the chains of slavery and humiliation of this or that. The moral upbringing and morality they received did not give them the virtues of humanity that could break these chains of bondage”64.

XIX. By the beginning of the century; Due to the regression of educational institutions and the lack of qualified manpower, the Ottoman Empire was unable to meet the needs of its society in a constantly developing world, and as a result, it went to make a series of innovations. But these renewal efforts; The already existing educational and cultural confusion has been consolidated, as it has been implemented in the direction of opening new institutions rather than reforming old institutions; efforts could not take the character of a reform65. Moreover; Benefiting from the extensive privileges given to them by the Ottoman Empire, foreign countries also joined this innovation caravan and opened many new schools in the Ottoman lands. However, these minority and foreign schools, which are far from the control of the state, besides education, language, language in their favor. They did not shy away from making religious and cultural propaganda, and until the general result of the Turkish National Struggle was reached, they became an element that disrupted the “national unity and solidarity” in Turkish lands66. After all, in the XIX. By the end of the century; Within the Ottoman Empire, three different education systems, which raised different types of people in terms of feelings and thoughts, dominated the cultural structure and social life of the Turkish Nation67:

1- Religious education institutions: Primary schools and madrasas...

2- General education institutions and vocational schools: Rüşdiye, İdadi, Medicine, Harbiye, Mülkiye, Teacher's schools....

3- Foreign schools.

While opening the “Third Year of Gathering” on March 1, 1922, Atatürk criticized these reform movements as follows:

“Sirs! The governments that have ruled our nation for centuries have expressed their desire for complete education. However, since they could not get rid of singing and imitating the West in order to fulfill their desires, the result was that the nation could not get rid of ignorance68.

“If the direction in this matter is wrong and a whole nation walks by believing in the words of those who claim to be their guides by relying on the holy books, and this direction of walking leads them to ruin and mischief, it is the fault of nasih, haluk, self-sacrificing, trusting their guides who follow this direction. Does it not belong to the guides rather than to the poor people who do it?”69.

At work; When it comes to the years of the National Struggle; The educational legacy of the Republic of Turkey, which will be established as a result of a great victory after a while, paints such a picture. Ataturk; He had decided that Turkey could not be considered a real educational revolution just by opening schools and improving programs and methods. This revolution could only be possible by managing education and training from one hand and on a single basis, abolishing madrasas and connecting all schools to the "Ministry of National Education". As a matter of fact, on March 1, 1923, while opening the "Fourth Meeting Year" of the Assembly:

“Sirs, there is a nation and a funnum that the homeland is obliged to acquire jointly and consistently. From the point of view, the degree to which the professional and specialists can be distinguished is very important from the point of view of unity in education and education, and the progress and practice of our committee. For this reason, it is worthy of hope for the Ministry of Sharia and the Ministry of Education to work together on this issue”70, said Atatürk; Thus, he opened his thought on the unification of education to the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Actually; The following words he said while opening the Education Congress in 1921 also form the basis of this thought:

“I am of the opinion that the education and training methods followed so far are the most important factor in the historical education of our nation. That's why, when I talk about a national education program, I mean a culture that is compatible with the stretcher-i nation and our history, completely free from the superstitions of the old era and foreign ideas that have nothing to do with our nature, that can come from the East and the West, and that is completely free from all influences. Because the development of our genius nation can only be achieved through such a culture”71.

Ataturk; After his 1 March speech, he emphasized the principle of "unifying primary education" in the eighth program of the "9 Principles" published by the Turkish Grand National Assembly for the second term elections on April 8, 192372. Atatürk's eighth principle; While opening the "Second Term First Meeting Year" of the Assembly on March 1, 1924, he followed these words regarding the implementation of the principle as soon as possible: we observe”73.

Upon this; As a result of the negotiations that started the next day, “The abolition of the caliphate; Proposals on the abolition of the General Ministry of the Sharia, Evkaf and General Staff of the War Department and on the Unification of Education were enacted on March 3, 192474. Thus, all schools in Turkey were connected to the "Ministry of Education". Although there is no article regarding the closure of madrasahs in this law numbered 430; The fact that the Ministry of Education was tasked with “opening faculties of theology and Imam-Hatip schools in order to train high religious specialists is, to some extent, an undeclared form of the abolition of madrasahs”75. As a matter of fact, the Minister of Education, Vasıf Bey, abolished the madrasas on the grounds that they were against the education union76.

Following these developments, the Faculty of Theology at Istanbul University and imam-hatip schools were opened in various parts of the country. However, when secularism entered the constitution in 1928, the financial resources of religious institutions were exhausted and by 1931, there were no religious educational institutions supported by the state. On the other hand; A new regulation was prepared for the supervision of foreign and minority schools that work against the principle of national education, thus, besides some limitations; The first sections of these schools were closed, and in the middle sections, courses such as Turkish, History, Geography and Citizenship were provided to be taught in Turkish by Turkish teachers77.

In fact, the “Law on the Education Organization” enacted in 1926; It has formed the basis of all education systems that have survived to the present day, as well as for the breakthroughs after the adoption of the Law of Unification of Education. With this law, primary education was made compulsory and free, and the number of teachers in all educational institutions was increased; technical, vocational and specialty schools were started to be opened and an intensive literacy campaign was carried out. The opening of a Law School in Ankara in 1925 and the establishment of the Faculty of Language, History and Geography in 1935, the opening of Istanbul University in 1933; The consensus reached at the opening of the Assembly in 1937 to establish a university in Eastern Anatolia is one of the first concrete and giant examples of the education revolution.

In conclusion; With the "Unification of Education Law", which was the first major step of a general education revolution, the problem of "duality in education" that disrupted national unity and solidarity became a thing of the past, one of the fundamental laws of the Turkish revolutions was realized; While the foundations of a secular generation were laid with the gathering of all educational institutions in the hands of the state, on the other hand, it aims to raise young people with moral character, republican, revolutionary, positive, assertive, capable of succeeding in the things they have started, honest reasoning, strong will, and powerful who can solve the problems they may encounter in life. ”78 “a national education system” was established. Thus, the Turkish Nation; It has attained the level of secular, contemporary, national education and training required by the Republic, which is necessary for the efforts of raising generations with free ideas, free conscience, and knowledge.

B. Adoption of New Turkish Letters:

In its simplest definition, writing; “It is the system that detects the spoken language with certain signs”79. Whether human thought is expressed verbally or non-verbally, it is necessarily formed by a certain language. And writing is the symptom of this language. Thus, in parallel with the structures of languages; Naturally, the texts also differ. According to Alkım; “The preservation and development of a culture and its transfer to future generations is only possible through writing”80.

Turkish societies have used 12 different alphabets, including Gokturk, Sogdian, Uyghur, Mani, Brahmi, Syriac, Arabic, Greek, Armenian, Hebrew, Latin and Slavic alphabets, during their 13-century history81. Turks who later adopted Islam; With the influence of religion, they started to use the Arabic alphabet. However, due to the fact that the holy book of Islam, the Qur'an, was written in Arabic letters, the Arabic alphabet and language gained a sacred quality over time; Due to the immunity brought by this sanctity, it has become a communication mess that cannot meet human needs. Therefore, except for a certain group; The general population has been deprived of learning to read and write and has been driven into ignorance.

The idea that the Arabic alphabet is sacred is actually the product of a cultural degeneration, and this is explained by Neşet Çağatay82:

“God has no language, but knows everything and reveals it through revelation. If the Arabic language were sacred; Hebrew, the language of the Torah, revealed before the Qur'an, and Syriac, the language of the Bible, should have been sacred before Arabic. Moreover, there is no writing that is the invention of the Arabs themselves; they learned writing from the Phoenicians and Hireans. The content of the holy books, not the language and writing, is sacred”.

The Arabic letters could not adapt to both the Turkish language and the Turkish society for the following reasons, which can be summarized as follows: Arabic letters were not suitable for Turkish and Turkish phonetic structure; the letters had three different spellings, at the beginning, at the end, and in the middle, and these differed greatly according to their positions; Although 8 vowels are needed in the Turkish language; There are only 3 vowels in Arabic; The absence of capital letters in Arabic and the adjoining, non-adherent letters, superlative, esre, otre... and heavy spelling rules caused learning difficulties; Since some letters in Turkish were not in Arabic, a word could have different meanings83.

These inconsistencies, the Republican period; He left a legacy of a society whose education level is extremely low and therefore unable to think and produce. For example, the literacy rate before 1928 was only 10%84. Between 1923-1924; The number of faculty and college students is 2.914, the number of secondary vocational and technical school students is 6.547, high school students are 1.241, secondary school students are 5.905, and primary school students are 341.94185. Again in 1,903, while the total population was 19,929,168, the number of students was 1,375,511, that is, 144.8 per thousand of the population86. The inadequacy of qualified teaching staff was another problem for the Republican period.

Arabic letters have put the intellectual-public relationship and the education of the people into a dead end; Therefore, this situation prompted some intellectuals to work on reforming the Arabic alphabet and spelling rules after the Tanzimat. We can cite the initiatives of intellectuals such as Münif Pasha, Enver Pasha, Ali Suavi, Namık Kemal, Ziya Gökalp. However, these studies could not reach a consensus until 1928 and could not go beyond discussions.

Like this; The education system continued in Arabic letters until 1928; Due to the difficulty of learning letters, the generation's tendency towards rote learning, a society with a low literacy rate, and the stagnation of the press and publication life have resulted in results. In this case too; Based on the principle that "Writing is a tool that reflects thoughts only, people use whatever tool suits them"; (a) Ease of learning, (b) Correct reading and writing, (c) Gaining time and confidence with quick and easy learning, (d) "Establishment of language and nation unity with the unity of writing", (e) Approximation and modern civilization with its resemblance to Western scripts. It was necessary to establish a new alphabet system that would provide opportunities such as accelerating access88.

“....Ten percent of a nation, a committee of society is illiterate, and eighty percent are illiterate. Those who are human should be ashamed of this89. Before any means, it is necessary to give the great Turkish nation an easy key to reading and writing, except for the barren road that makes all their efforts barren90. The preparations made under the leadership of Atatürk, who said, “Our nation will show that the whole world is on the side of civilization with its writing and with its head”91, gained a revolutionary character with the adoption of the new Latin-based Turkish Alphabet on November 1, 1928. A new era has been entered in the way of creating a language and alphabet system in accordance with the principles92.

The decision to increase the German education budget on the same day as the adoption of Latin letters is one of the first and most important studies in the field of language and alphabet system. Mustafa Necati Bey, Deputy of Education, explained the places where this budget will be spent93 as follows:

1- Expenditures on the alphabet, spelling dictionary, etc. to be published by the Language Committee,

2- The expenses of the Language Committee

3- Printing school books with new letters and awarding them; expenditures for the purchase and reproduction of similar publications,

4-Expenditures to be made for public private courses and National Schools,

5- Necessary expenses for the establishment and construction of the State Printing House.

As a matter of fact, as the first thing in the direction of these plans; “The National Schools Organization” was established on 11.11.1928 in order to teach and disseminate the new Turkish letters and to increase the number of literate people. In these schools, not only reading and writing, but also some basic knowledge and skills that can be used in daily life are given. Thus, in the first five years, National Schools taught reading and writing to approximately 1.5 million adults94.

With the introduction of new letters, there has been a very significant movement in the printing-publishing life. For example, while only 30,000 books were published in the Ottoman Empire from 1729, when the first book was published, to 1928, when the Turkish alphabet was adopted; In the Republican era, only 16 years were needed for the publication of this volume of books95. On the other hand, the number of 600 typesetting letters required to print Arabic letters decreased to 70 with the new letters, thus a significant reduction in printing costs.

In conclusion; With the Alphabet Revolution led by Atatürk, who said “Latin tradition will be accepted” on 7-8 July 1919; The new Republic of Turkey has taken another giant step on the path of “transition from the community of the nation to the community of the nation”. The Letter Revolution is not a reform in itself; It is a part of a radical cultural change and move, especially with the revolutions in the field of language and history. The "Letter Revolution", which makes communication common and facilitates learning, and ensures the spread of public education, is one of the revolutions that constitute the main starting point on the path of "nationhood". Letter revolution; while fulfilling one of the basic rules of the secularization and nationalization process in the political platform96; on the other hand, it constituted the beginning of an event of cultural change that will continue – and must continue – forever.

“We should never think of being consoled and especially proud of what we have achieved. Atatürk said that we should seek consolation from what we will do in the future97; As with all revolutions, the Alphabet Revolution is not a magic wand that has solved all problems; but he saw it as a beginning that puts important responsibilities on every Turkish child forever.

C. The Historical Revolution:

The foundation of the Turkish Revolution is based on Turkish nationalism. The purpose of the Turkish Historical Society is to carry out continuous research, scientific studies and contribute to the efforts of nationalization in order to save the Turkish past from the darkness98. We can summarize the reasons for the establishment of this institution, its activities and aims as follows:

History education in schools in the Ottoman Empire was started with the establishment of the Ottoman State or after the Turks accepted Islam. There was no mention of Turkish history before Islam”, three views and practices regarding history were maintained in the period from the beginning of the empire to the Republic:

1- “Ummah History Understanding”: Until the Tanzimat, the entire history of Islam was emphasized, this history was taught, and the society was conditioned by the knowledge of Islamic History.

2- “State History Understanding”: It was continued in the years between the Tanzimat and the First Constitutional Monarchy, and the understanding of state history began to develop in parallel with the history of the ummah. Apart from the madrasahs, Turkish History was also emphasized in the newly established schools. The history taught in this period was also carried on within the understanding of "chronologicalism", which is far from being scientific.

3- “Understanding of the History of the Nation”: After the First Constitutional Monarchy, researches were made that show that the Turks also had a real history. In the face of the developing nationalism movement, some thinkers studying in the West started to do research on Turkish history inspired by the books of foreign authors. However, with these studies, a real national historical consciousness could not be reached, and the sources of Turkish history could not be handled within the national consciousness. Moreover, the two historical understandings and practices mentioned lasted until the Republic. Until the establishment of the 'Turkish History Research Society', Turkish historiography could not be qualified with scientific criteria100.

In the West, for political and religious reasons, unrealistic claims such as "barbarian", "nomadic", "placeless", "homeless", "cultureless" were put forward. It is written that he does not even have a homeland101. In a geography book being taught in French schools, the claim that Turks are a second-degree community from the yellow race was cited and the book was shown to Mustafa Kemal (1928). This “special reason” accelerated the leader of the Turkish Revolution to start studies on Turkish History and a study program was prepared102.

The general reasons for starting studies on Turkish History are that Atatürk saw history as one of the most important pillars for the nation and the past, present and future of that nation. According to Atatürk, it was unthinkable for Turks not to act in this direction in an age when even non-nationalized communities were working to create history and wanted to tie themselves to a past. Because the Turks, who are the oldest and most rooted nation in the world, leave the history of the individuals of a nation that has created civilizations in the hands of foreigners with a special purpose and learn from their writings, it is a situation that the Republican administration can accept.

For these reasons, at the 6th Congress of the Turkish Hearths held on April 23, 1930, it was decided to form a “Turkish History Committee” tasked with scientifically examining and researching Turkish history and civilization. The Turkish History Committee, which held its first meeting on 4 June 1930, held 8 meetings until 29 March 1931 under the Turkish Hearths. It held its first meeting under the name of “Turkish History Research Society”. The establishment of the association and its first meeting were made by Mustafa Kemal's proposal.

According to the Turkish History Tetkik Society Statute, the aims of this association are as follows104.

a. To hold scientific meetings,

b. To search the sources of Turkish History,

c. Documents etc. to illuminate Turkish History. to carry out excavations, to send research and examination committees,

D. To publish the works of the Turkish Historical Research Society by any means.

The Turkish Historical Research Society, which held its first meeting in Ankara on July 2, 1932, was renamed the Turkish Historical Society in 1935105.

Since the day it was founded, the Turkish Historical Society has led to the emergence of many publications and information on "Turkish History" and has played an important role in their adoption by international scientific organizations. More importantly, the consciousness of being a nation was tried to be given to the Turks through the works of this institution, and important steps were taken to save the Turks' past from the darkness (to bring it to the light)106.

As Atatürk stated; With the Turkish Historical Society and the Turkish History Thesis, the Turkish child's finding the strength to "do greater things as he gets to know his ancestors", the states that the Turks founded and the "great and comprehensive civilizations to the Turkish and the world, our historians will use their own initiative and national It has been tried to be made aware of the fact that they use the “filter”, that they are “always looking for the truth and have the courage to explain it as we find it”, to establish “Turkish History” on the right foundations107, in short, to be proud of being Turkish, and the desired level has been reached to a large extent.

D. Language Revolution:

Language is a system of signs that people, who are organic beings, put in order to express their thoughts and feelings. Every language reflects reality from a different angle; Thus, the worlds of different societies are also separate. According to the famous linguist W.von Humboldt; “people live in this world as their mother tongue presents the world to them; language, on the other hand, acquires a certain personality by adapting to the character of its own nation. Since the mass of people who establish the language in a certain way emerges as a nation, and the language and the nation become integrated over time, then it is the language of that nation that most clearly reveals the character of a nation”109. As known; Turkish communities have dispersed to various parts of the world due to migration from Central Asia, they have established neighborhoods with detailed civilizations and exchanged cultures. Therefore, Turkish Language, As seen in European states, it has not developed around a fixed cultural axis110. From this point of view, Turkish; During the Seljuk and Ottoman empires, which consisted of "mixed nations"; It should be considered natural to be under the influence of languages ​​such as Arabic, Persian, Italian.111. However, the effect of foreign languages ​​turned into oppression over time; Turkish, which has lost its identity rapidly, has become a "vulgar language" spoken by the people in rural areas. Thus, while Turkish continued its existence as a "spoken language", an artificial and mixed language called "Lisân-ı Osmani" dominated the "written language". So much so that, because of this “spoken language”-”written language” dilemma, which destroys the relations between the intellectuals and the public, the intelligentsia; "this artificial language when they want to show skill",

The following words of Ziya Gökalp on this language dilemma are quite revealing:

“There are two Turkish languages ​​in Istanbul: one is the dialect of Istanbul that is spoken but not written, and the other is the Ottoman language that is written but not spoken. What will our national language be? The language written in Istanbul is not a natural language, but an artificial language like Esperanto. How can this Ottoman Esperanto, which has come into being by combining Arabic, Persian, and Turkish dialects, syntax, and syntax, be a spoken language? How can this artificial form of zavaid, which contains three words for every meaning, become a living language?” “3. In such a language confusion, when the 19th century came, the intellectuals of the time felt that the Turkish language had come to a dead end and they started to look for solutions to this situation114. The Turkism movement, which formed the characteristic of this period, was reflected in the Turkish language over time and a Turkish language consciousness began to form gradually. The declaration of the state's official language as “Turkish” in the 1876 Constitution is one of the first concrete examples of this consciousness. The nature of language studies in this period is also divided into two groups. While a segment represented by Ziya Gökalp advocates simplification in language; Şemseddin Sami and his circle, on the other hand, followed a policy of "unification" beyond simplification115.

XIX. century and XX. all these studies at the beginning of the century; Although they have the characteristics of a "national movement", they could not go beyond a measured "simplification effort". Moreover, the westernization movement, which was another feature of the period, required new concepts and terms in the language, and this time the doors of Ottoman Turkish were opened to various Western languages, especially French.

When it comes to language revolution; It is understood that “the act of developing the nation-wide language, which was carried out in order to bring the language into a culture dominated by indigenous elements, and which has won the support of the state”117. XX. The efforts to simplify the language dating back to the first years of the century; Although it carries the elements of nationalism and self-direction to some extent, it neglected the indigenous elements, did not focus enough on their elimination, and did not receive a significant share from the state support. Here, in the face of this general situation of Turkish and language studies transferred to the Republican period; will consider language as a state problem and will ensure the realization of the Turkish Language Revolution by leading a conscious approach and scientific studies. Starting from the years of the War of Independence; To gain even more speed since the proclamation of the Republic,

Addressing the Assembly on 1 November 1932; On the way to language studies, which started under the leadership of Atatürk, who said, “We want our entire state organization to be careful and interested in order for the Turkish language to attain its original beauty and richness”118; As the first work, activities in the direction of “Turkification of Islam” took place119. Thus, in January 1932, the call to prayer, prayers and sermons began to be read in Turkish. With the Tevhid-i Tedrisât Law dated March 3, 1924 and the adoption of new Turkish letters in 1928, the necessary environment was prepared for Turkish to become a language of science and culture; Atatürk established the “Turkish Language Investigation Society” on 12 July 1932 to deal with language studies. The purpose of the Society; To examine the dictionary, grammar, term, etymology and syntax (syntax) of Turkish,

Following these developments, on September 26, 1932, the First Turkish Language Congress was held in Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul, and a work program of 7 items was prepared as a result. In summary, this program includes: compilation, finding foreign words, scanning, terms, grammar and publication studies121. The society, whose name was changed to 'Turkish Language Institution' in 1936; He has done very positive work to save our language from foreign influences. On November 1, 1936, Atatürk evaluated Turkish Language and History studies as follows, addressing the Assembly:

“I would like to appreciate the serious and continuous work of the Turkish Historical Society and the Turkish Language Society, headed by our esteemed Minister of Education, that open new horizons of truth every day. As these two national institutions reveal the forgotten depths of our history and language, their maternity in world culture, with irrefutable scientific documents, I can confidently say that they are performing a sacred duty that attracts attention and impression, not only for the Turkish Nation, but for the entire scientific world.

Besides all these works; With the "Law on Surnames" enacted in 1934, thousands of words were added to Turkish, and the "Ankara Faculty of Languages, History and Geography" established by Atatürk himself, began to train experts who would serve in this field in the future. On the other hand; With the Turkishization of the textbooks taught in schools, the spoken and written languages ​​were made common, thus facilitating learning; With the Turkishization of the official language, a rapprochement and emotional bond was established between the state and the public, and with the reflection of the same practice in the press, the opportunity to warn and educate the public in this direction was provided.

To summarize; With scientific language studies that started from the first years of the republican period and developed rapidly; The distinction between spoken language and written language, which destroyed the public-intellectual relations in the Ottoman period, was ended; Based on the idea that “the language being national and rich is the main factor in the development of national feeling”123, an attempt was made to create a Turkish language that “could be the most beautiful, richest and easiest language in the world”124. With the will and decision of the Turkish nation, which knew how to protect its country and independence under all conditions, the Turkish language was largely freed from the yoke of foreign languages. Like this; the most important problem preventing development in international scientific study fields has been resolved; A basic rule has been fulfilled to create a national culture and to make "science and science" studies public.

However, “a stability has not been reached yet and more work is needed on this issue. What has been done so far is perhaps the half of what will be done. Because language is irreversible…” l25.

IV. OTHER STUDIES IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION

A. Community Centers (14 February 1932):

The military victory achieved at the end of the "National Struggle", which was carried out under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal based on the Turkish Nation's passion for an independent and free life, was followed by a great political success in Lausanne, and the existence of a national Turkish State was made accepted by the world. With the War of Independence and the political and legal revolutions that took place in the days following this Turkish victory, the independent, secular and nation-based Republic of Turkey was established. Now, without compromising the order brought by these military and political victories; It was necessary to educate the people who had been pushed into backwardness for centuries, and to make social and cultural moves within the Republic of Turkey. It was necessary because the people can adopt and understand the new order and revolutions only with the rise of the level of education and culture; Therefore, Atatürk's principles and revolutions could only deepen and spread in this way.

For this purpose, the Government of the Republican People's Party decided to open Community Centers on February 14, 1932. Party Secretary General Recep Peker; In his opening speech for the Ankara Community Center, he explained the establishment purpose of the Community Centers126 as follows:

“We are determined to gather the sincere and all citizens of the People's Houses under their roofs, which were established with the idea that they are in equal dignity, and to raise the national unity in a meticulous cultural work... In this century, in order to become a nation, next to school education, and after that, there must be a It is necessary to establish the principle of conducting public education and working the people together and together.

People's Houses are actually; It was the application of Atatürk's "populism" principle to education and its implementation through education127, and they were organizations that were a continuation of the Turkish Hearths128.

The number of Community Centers, which was 56 in 1933 and reached 167 in 1937, had 9 different working branches129:

1- Language, History and Literature, 2- Fine Arts, 3- Representation Arts, 4- Sports, 5- Social Aid, 6- Public Schools and Courses, 7- Library and Publication, 8- Villageism, 9- Museums and Exhibitions.

Community Centers are within these working branches; conferences130, polyphonic music concerts, theater performances were organized with the participation of various scientists, teachers, politicians, journalists, and monthly magazines with plenty of folkloric materials were published131. People's Houses, which try to introduce, reveal and explain the values ​​of the people's material and spiritual cultural assets, arts, embroidery, poems, tools-tools and materials, have also trained very valuable writers, artists and researchers in their 19 years of life. If we put forward a numerical value on the activities of the Community Centers, we will encounter the following magnificent results as of 1936:

Those Attending Community Centers 4.311.667 (Persons) Number of Works 122.809 Number of Readers 874.656 Number of Courses and Lessons 13,193 Number of Sports Trips 1.145 Village Trips 1.227 Number of Representations 1,330 Number of Conferences 2.829 Number of Cinemas 713 Number of Concerts 1.049

As can be seen from the density of the numbers; As early as 1936, the People's Houses had largely attained the goals that Recep Peker had explained in his 1932 speech. People's Houses, which are developing rapidly in terms of quality and quantity, by evaluating the heritage and experience from the Turkish Hearths; “Despite all the resistance of Ziya Gökalp, it was monopolized by some intellectuals and turned into a political tool of the Party of Union and Progress”134 did not suffer the fate of the Turkish Hearths; On the contrary, it became the property of the people.

In conclusion; perhaps rare in the history of world culture; With the Community Centers, which have become widespread all over the country, even to the villages; A national cultural revolution was carried out based on the principle of "the individual belongs to his country first and then his own".

Everything is not over with the victory of the War of Independence and the establishment of the Republic of Turkey. Citizens have "something" to give to the country and "many things" to receive. “What is asked of him; which has hitherto been in its own interest; It is more time than the time he spends at his field, loom, or private or official desk just to earn his living. This time to be devoted to social work, that is, to work for others, is for real work as we understand it. For these others, in the time dedicated to others, the citizen will enjoy living as a nation and getting involved in the common causes of the nation!”135.

As Atatürk said: “The opening of our party's arms to the citizens with Community Centers made a social and cultural revolution in the country”136; this “time dedicated to others, for others” presented a superior example to the history of world culture in the process of forming national unity and solidarity in socio-cultural terms.

B. University Reform (31 May 1933):

Universities, in the simplest definition, are institutions that produce ideas and inventions that will improve societies. Universities have to be in the position of free thought and scientific research centers in order to fulfill these functions.

He tried to undertake this task, which we stated until the University Reform carried out by Atatürk, in the “Ottoman Darülfünunu” opened in 1863137. However, if we consider the period before 1863; “The Madrasahs were (also) a Medieval University” 138. However, since the end of the reign of Sultan Suleiman, Madrasahs were plunged into darkness with their adherence to traditions, narrow-mindedness, adherence to scholastic book science, and political commitment to the Janissaries139, and settled far away from the meaning of a real university.

After long preparations, with the opening of Darülfünun known as Istanbul University, in a sense, “the first truly domestic modern university in the Muslim world” was established140. However, Darülfünun has neither a special structure, nor educational staff, nor a specific program141; In time, it could not avoid becoming a continuation of the madrasahs. Although Darülfünun gained economic independence and legal personality with the law no. 493 enacted in 1924; however, it has not reached a level that can be called a university in real terms142. “His scientific authority has been scrutinized lately; The most famous representatives seek ways to prevent the student from attending controversial conferences in order to cover their weaknesses from the discussions they have outside, or they describe their discussions in the press columns with profanity that is out of decency”143.

“The Istanbul Darülfünun did not achieve the development and progress expected by the intellectuals of Turkey. There have been great political and social revolutions in the country. Darülfünun remained a neutral witness against them. There have been fundamental movements in the economic field. Darülfünun appeared to be unaware of this. There have been radical changes in the law. Darülfünun was satisfied only by including the new laws in the curriculum. There was a letter revolution, the self-language movement began. Darülfünun never sounded…”

As it can be understood, when it comes to the Republican period, Darülfünun; The dictatorship continued to exist as an institution that was unaware of social developments and abstract from society.

However, Atatürk wanted the establishment of "laboratories in which matter becomes meaningful and life is valuable", in other words, "Turkish universities, which he sees as a constructive factor in the spiritual formation and independence of Turkish generations" 145.

From the beginning of 1933; Scientists working in various fields fleeing from Hitler's rule began to settle in Turkey. In the same period, Albert Malche, Professor of Pedagogy at the University of Geneva, was the first thing in the movement to reorganize the higher education institutions, which was initiated under the leadership of the Minister of Education Reşit Galip146. Malche first examined the Higher Education system and prepared a reform package. When this reform movement was adopted by Atatürk and the implementation decision was taken; The circles of Darülfünun formed an opposition to innovation movements. After all; Atatürk, because of the urgent need for the university and the social obligations in this direction,

Following this decision, Istanbul University was opened on 1 August and classes began on 18 November. “The Turkish Revolution must have principles that pervade every field, and it must have scientific needs pertaining to every field. At work; The main task of the new Istanbul University is to both explain these principles and satisfy these needs in the fastest and most perfect way. This institution will educate both believers and those who can do it in terms of revolution”148.

In the year Istanbul University was founded, a Higher Agricultural Institute was opened in Ankara, followed by the Faculty of Languages, History and Geography, which is also a high school at the same level. Later, these two faculties merged and formed the basis of Ankara University149.

The teaching staff of both Istanbul University and later universities were provided in 3 ways150:

1-Teachers recruited from Darülfünun,

2- Turks who studied in Europe and returned back,

3- Foreign Professors (These scientists, who would stay in Turkey until after World War II, greatly influenced the establishment of the German university model in Turkey151.

When it came to 1938, the speech of Prime Minister Celal Bayar on behalf of Atatürk in the Parliament contained the following happy sentences:

"My dear friends; In order to raise the young people of higher education as national conscious and modern cultured as we want and need, the work of the development of Istanbul University, the completion of Ankara University and the establishment of Eastern University around Lake Van within the framework of the principles determined by the studies are continuing rapidly and with great importance. ”152.

From 1933, the beginning of the University Reform, to 1943, tremendous progress was made. For example, in 1934, with the law numbered 2531, the “Property School” in Istanbul became the Faculty of Political Sciences and it was decided to move it to Ankara; Ankara Law School, which was established in 1925, was named as “Faculty of Law”153. Again in the same 10 years, 45 institutes were established in Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine, 14 in the Faculty of Science, 12 in the Faculty of Economics and 5 in the Faculty of Law; In addition to the institutes, 16 clinics were opened in the Faculty of Medicine154. In addition to all these developments, we would like to respectfully commemorate the admirable work of foreign scientists for their contributions to university reform155.

Before concluding the subject, it will be useful to mention some statistical results in terms of seeing and evaluating more clearly what the University Reform has brought to Turkey156:

Year: Number of Institutions: Faculty Members: Students:

1923-24 9 307 2,914

1933-34 17 574 5.851

1943-44 26 1,403 18,293

As it can be understood, these figures give us; It clearly shows not only the extraordinary progress that the University Reform has brought to Turkey, but also the great importance Atatürk attached to education, science and culture.

In conclusion; With the Atatürk University Reform, the foundation of Turkish science was laid in parallel with the great breakthroughs in the new Turkish Republic, and the doors of free thought and scientific research were opened to our universities, and the doors of real knowledge and enlightenment to the Turkish Nation. Thus, the Republic of Turkey; escaped from the order of madrasas and Darülfünun, which struggled in dogmatic patterns; with a real scientific revolution; Universities that produce, disseminate, train qualified people and finally exist for the society were established.

C. Development of Educational Institutions:

The biggest revolutionary movements towards the solution of the education and training problem were the Law of Unification of Education and the adoption of the new Turkish letters of Latin origin; In the new environment created by these revolutions, the organization of education, rearrangements and new methods were sought.

Atatürk believed that education is a program problem and that this program should be prepared according to the conditions of the country and the level reached by the revolutions. Some important decisions were taken in the “Heyet-i İlmiye” meeting in 1923-24 and 1925 in order to examine and discuss the problems of National Education and to find the most appropriate solutions157, for example; Decisions such as the translation of high quality books into our language, the preparation of the "National Education Executive Program", the development of the programs of the teacher schools, the establishment of the "National History and Geography Institutes" constituted the center of attention.

Their breakthroughs in these theoretical decisions; In 1926, the Law No. 789 on the Educational Organization was followed. With this law, primary schools were separated into village and city schools; The education period of the schools in the city was determined as 5 years and the schools in the village as 3 years158. In addition, the subjects of combining school and life, establishment of farm schools in agricultural regions, taking course subjects from the environment, opening art schools in each region according to the characteristics of the economy of that region, general and technical education cannot be separated from each other, and the school being an enlightening center in social life .... Following these decisions, outdated courses were removed from the program, hundreds of new schools were opened, teacher schools were increased, and all these studies were carried out in the light of the principle of "teaching unity"159. Again with the adoption of the Civil Code in 1926;

In 1927, there were important developments especially in the field of vocational-technical and commercial education. For example, with a law, the administration of art schools was transferred from “special provincial administrations” to the Ministry of Education; The "Trade Schools", which provide 3-year education, were organized as "Trade High Schools", with the first period of 4 years and the second period of 3 years.161

In the first years of the Republican era, the goal of "teaching all citizens to read and write" formed the basis of the education policy. When the new Turkish letters of Latin origin were accepted in 1928, this target dominated the education system with all its weight; therefore, issues such as primary education, teacher training and public education have emerged as the most emphasized problems. Now, before explaining the work done to solve these problems; Giving some numerical information about the period until the Alphabet Revolution will be useful in terms of comparing and therefore evaluating the "Development of Education in the Republican Era" event, which we will try to reveal at the end of our review162:

Here is the table.

Education Expenditures in Turkey:

Year: Education Expenditures: State Budget: Rate %: 

1927-28 7 Million TL. 194 Million TL. 3

After stating the dimensions of education in 1927-28 in numerical terms, let's talk about the following years.

We mentioned that primary education and public education gained weight following the Alphabet Revolution, and the first important breakthrough in this direction was the opening of “Nation Schools” in 1929. After these schools were opened, all citizens, male and female, aged between 15-45, were obliged to attend these schools, and as a result, 1.200.000 people were educated in these schools between 1929-34163. In parallel with the activities of these schools; In the construction of village primary schools, peasant citizens were obliged to work; Studies on public education such as reading rooms, mobile regional courses and trainer training courses have been started. Although public education was the general goal in this way, great importance was given to the village and villagers in the first years of these breakthroughs. In parallel with the community centers established in 1932, "Life and Business Schools" were established and courses were organized in agricultural regions. In the courses, general culture courses such as Turkish, Mathematics, Civics, and Natural Sciences were given, and various agriculture and health subjects were covered”164. With the “Village Educators Law” numbered 3238, which was approved by the Turkish Grand National Assembly on 11 June 1937, it was decided to open these courses in many regions of the country165. In the 10 years following this law, the number of trainers reached 8,675 and the number of schools with trainers reached 7,090166. With the “Village Educators Law” numbered 3238, which was approved by the Turkish Grand National Assembly on 11 June 1937, it was decided to open these courses in many regions of the country165. In the 10 years following this law, the number of trainers reached 8,675 and the number of schools with trainers reached 7,090166. With the “Village Educators Law” numbered 3238, which was approved by the Turkish Grand National Assembly on 11 June 1937, it was decided to open these courses in many regions of the country165. In the 10 years following this law, the number of trainers reached 8,675 and the number of schools with trainers reached 7,090166.

One of the greatest effects of the First Industrial Plan of 1933 was the development of Vocational and Technical schools. For example, in 1934, revolving funds were established in primary schools, allowing them to do business in the market, and in 1935, the expenses of the same schools began to be covered by the Ministry's budget. In addition, a commission was established to prepare a "Technical Training Program" to be implemented in parallel with industrialization167.

In summary, the program prepared by the commission; Which vocational schools should be enlarged and where they should be opened, projects that may be the basis for the construction of these schools, installation, construction and one-year administrative expenses are related to the issue168. The commission completed its work within two years and was extremely successful in its task by enabling the opening of various technical schools in many parts of the country.

In addition to these developments in the number of students, teachers and educational institutions, program commissions were formed between 1937 and 1938, and "curriculum programs" were rearranged and an improvement was achieved in terms of quality.

After trying to explain the studies carried out in the field of Education from the Alphabet Revolution to 1938; By stating the statistical results we gave as of 1927-28, now the situation in 1939-40; we will try to determine the numerical level reached by all these studies169

Here is the table.

Explaining the development of education in the Republican period with numerical results may be another subject of study, and it also requires a meticulous and careful study. However, based on the statistics we evaluated; We can make an approximate numerical generalization on the 12-year period we have discussed170:

Increase in Number of Educational Institutions: 194%

Increase in the Number of Students in General: 393 % Increase in the Number of People with Diplomas: 763%

Increase in the Number of Teachers in General: 200% Increase in the Share of Education from the State Budget: 4%

Here are these approximate general results; We do not see any harm in stating that education, which started with the Law of Unification of Education and made great progress with the adoption of the Latin letters, and thus the Cultural Revolution, constituted one of the most positive examples of world cultural history with its glorious success level in the early 1940s.

To summarize;

“....Science and science will be our guide in the political and social life of our nation and in the intellectual education of our nation. It is necessary to be victorious in matters of education. There is no registration or requirement for science and science. The progress of nations that insist on the preservation of certain traditions and creeds, which do not rely on logic in any evidence, will be very difficult; maybe it will never happen”171, as a result of the general education revolution carried out under the leadership of the great leader Atatürk:

a) To make the new generations effective and successful in social, cultural and economic life,

b) Not religious and dogmatic moral rules; will teach to think freely and scientifically, to live together with legal rules instead of shar'i rules, and will show its superiorities and endear it;

c) An education system has been created to train Nationalist, Democrat, Revolutionary and Secular Republic citizens; In this way, the principle of “reaching the highest level of civilization in the ranks of the Turkish Nation” has been adopted as the general goal.

CONCLUSION (**)

“National Education” should be seen not only as a means of educating all individuals of the State, but also as an efficient investment that will accelerate and realize development in particular. Atatürk is a great statesman who can see that the only condition for living is to walk on the path of civilization and achieve success. He has almost always emphasized the active role and important place of science in human life throughout his life. Mustafa Kemal believed that the Republic of Turkey had to establish an "Education System" based on brand new principles, knowing that those who adopted backward loyalty rather than progress on the path of civilization would be doomed to drown under the flood of civilization.

Indeed, the educational institutions taken over by the Republic of Turkey were not suitable for “contemporary civilization”. In the last periods of the Ottoman Empire, new schools providing modern education were opened; However, the madrasa education, which had lost its former functions, was also continuing. As a result of the coexistence of old and new type schools, "educational duplication" emerged. Because the traditional "Ottoman Education" was based on Islam and continued religious education. In the newly established secular schools, a "positivist" education was dominant. Therefore, II. The educational dichotomy that started during the reign of Mahmut led to the growth of two different types of people who believed in different values ​​and adopted them. Since the foreign schools opened within the framework of the capitulation provisions in the field of education also act independently of the Turkish education, unity in culture and political existence could not be achieved. Despite all this, the rate of the literate population transferred from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic was around 7%. If we want to express it in one sentence, the Republic of Turkey has inherited an educational legacy behind its age.

Mustafa Kemal founded a “Turkish National Education System” based on new and contemporary principles because he believed that it was impossible to correct the Ottoman Education System. These principles are also the foundations of the Turkish Revolution. That is, it is a national, democratic and secular education system. With this system, the principle of eliminating the duality in the field of education and the direct involvement of the state in educational affairs has been adopted.

The Republic of Turkey (as in the last years of the Ottoman Empire) did not see Westernization as a way to save the state, but adopted the fact that the main purpose of the international civilization competition was the only way to ensure the happiness of the Turkish people. Knowing that the international civilization competition often turns into a ruthless struggle, Atatürk established an education system that will give the Turkish people the awareness that in order to have the happiness that civilization will bring and to benefit from it, they must make their own efforts. According to Atatürk, it is not enough to make an effort not to fall behind in joining this civilization; It is also necessary to actively participate in the efforts to create civilizational developments.

This is the only way for the ideal of keeping the state alive forever. The "Turkish National Education System", which was established and developed in the light of "Ataturkist Thought", is a means to achieve this goal.

Atatürk, his education; He regarded "being a nation and establishing a prosperous homeland" as the basic condition, and believed that the military victory in the National War of Independence should be completed with success in culture, economy and "National Education". The convening of the first “Maarif Congress” before the Sakarya Victory is also an indication of the importance given to education. Atatürk, who said, “The victory of our armies will pave the way for the victory of the teachers and the real victory will be achieved successfully in the fields of education and training,” and he also led the creation of a national education policy after the establishment of the Republic. Turkish National Education has two important tasks: 1- To ensure the continuity of the Turkish Nation, the development and modernization of the society by transferring the values ​​that make up the culture of the Turkish Nation to the younger generations; 2-Turkish Revolution and the Republic'! raising new generations to protect National Education has to fulfill these two important tasks, which are the main assurance of the future of the Turkish Nation and complement each other.

The “National Education Revolution” carried out under the leadership of Atatürk: In accordance with his views, education should be “national”, education should be based on unity of education, “National Education System should be based on science, secularism should be taken as a basis, education should be widespread, education should be given equally to women's education. giving importance to education, ensuring unity of thought and action in education, giving priority to practice, making the teaching profession attractive, etc. organized within the framework of the principles.

Since these principles are applied; Great progress has been observed in all areas of national education in the Atatürk Era. With the “New Turkish Education System”: “Tevhitti Tedrisat Law” was adopted and the duality in education was ended, a secular education system was started, the new Turkish Alphabet of Latin origin was adopted and the Arabic letters that did not fit the structure of Turkish were abolished. An important breakthrough was made in the efforts of nationalization, the Turkish people were given the awareness to be proud of being Turkish, the philosophy of "the people of Turkey who founded the Turkish Republic are called the Turkish Nation" was adopted, Community Centers, People's Chambers were opened, University Reform was made, large masses were educated with many new theories, etc. “The development of cultural integrity and national identity awareness in the country has been accelerated” with these studies. After all;

.1 WD Lester Smith, Contemporary Education, Translator: Nurettin Özyörük, Istanbul 1967, p. 5.

2 See: ibid, p. 6-10. See also: Kemal Aytaç, History of European Education, Ankara, 1972; Same author, Contemporary Education Trends (Foreign Countries), Ankara, 1976; Lütfi Öztabağ, Sociology of Education, Istanbul, 1971, p. 11-12; Cemal Yıldırım, Philosophy of Education, Ankara, 1987; Necmettin Tozlu, A Research on İsmail Hakkı Baltacıoğlu's Education System, Ankara, 1989, p. 108-122.

3 Smith, supra, p. 8.

4 Orhan Hançerlioğlu, History of Thought in Terms of Virtue from the Beginning to the Present, Istanbul, 1976, p. 24 and 244. See also : Pierre Ducasse, Great Philosophies, Translated by Nihal Önol, Istanbul, 1972, p. 1-9 and 157-181; Kurt Schelling, History of Social Thought, Translated by Nihal Önol, Istanbul, 1971, p. 379.

5 İlhan Özdil, “Frame of Innovation in Education and Turkish National Education Reform”, Turkish Education System in the Light of Atatürk's Principles, (“Scientific Meeting organized by TÜBİTAK on 18-20 November 1981”), Ankara, 1981, p. 41, (For the full paper see: pp. 35-50); See also: Seventh National Education Council: Working Principles, Subjects and Decisions (5-15 February 1962), Ankara. 1962. 6 Abdurrahman Çaycı, “Atatürk's Work”, Turkish Culture, Issue: 157, November 1975, p. 16.

7 “Conversation with Samsun Teachers” on 22 September 1924 See: Atatürk's Discourses and Statements II (1906-1938), (Second Edition), Collected by Nimet Unan, Ankara, 1959, p. 198.

8 Abdurrahman Çaycı, “Atatürk and Turkey's Modernization Problem”, Socio-Economic Problems of the Atatürk Era, Papers Presented at the Seminar, (30 June - 1 July 1981-Kayseri), Ankara, 1982, p. 1, (Complete paper: p. 1-11). 9 …Çaycı, “Atatürk's Work”…, p. 17.

10 Çaycı, “Atatürk's Understanding of Civilization”, Atatürk Conferences VI (1973-1974), Ankara, 1977, p.117.

11 Cayci, agm, p. 128. “For Atatürk, modernization is not an end, but a means for the survival of the Republic of Turkey.” See: Çaycı, “Atatürk and Turkey's Modernization”, p. 11th.

12 A. Adnan Adıvar, Science in Ottoman Turks. Istanbul, 1970. p.11.

13 See: ibid, p. 25-30.

14 A. Adnan Adıvar, Science and Religion Throughout History, Istanbul, 1969. p. 600-606.

15 Prime Ministry State Institute of Statistics, 50 Years of Economic and Social Development in Turkey, Ankara, 1973, p. 627.

16 For the reasons for the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, see: Yusuf Hikmet Bayur, XX. The Effects of Turkishness on History and Acun Political in the Century, Ankara, 1974, p. 13-21.

17 Adıvar, Dim and Religion Throughout History p. 104-105.

18 For more information, see: Aytaç, History of European Education p. 95 et al.; Aytac, Contemporary Education Trends, Smith, ibid. s. 10 et al.; Claude Delmas, History of European Civilization, Istanbul, 1973, p. 96, et al.

19 For more information on this subject, see: Selim Nüzhet Gerçek, Turkish Printing. Istanbul. 1939; Adıvar, Science and Religion Throughout History..... p 128.

20 Hundreds of macaques and books have been published examining the modernization movements in the Ottoman Empire. The most famous of these works: Niyazi Berkes, Modernization in Turkey, Istanbul, 1978, is the book.

21 For educational studies in the Tanzimat Era, see: Cahit Bilim, Modernization in Turkish Education in the Tanzimat Era, Eskişehir, 1984. 22 Bilim, supra, p. 78.

23 The first modern educational institutions established in a Western sense in Turkey were military schools. II. There were new developments in military education during the reign of Mahmut. In 1827, the School of Medicine was opened, in 1831 the Musica-i Hümayun, and in 1834 the Military School was opened to meet the army's need for doctors. Education reform in the civilian field also developed in parallel with that in the military field. In 1821, the first foreign language school in Turkey was opened under the name of Translation Room.

24 In the traditional education system of the Ottoman Empire, other schools and cultural institutions other than the “Enderun School” were established and kept alive under foundations. See: Nevzat Ayaş, National Education of the Republic of Turkey, Institutions and Histories, Ankara. 1948, p. 38.

25 Educational studies in the Tanzimat Era From the aforementioned book of Bilim; Compiled from İlhan Tekeli and Selim tik's The Formation and Transformation of the Education and Information Production System in the Ottoman Empire, Ankara, 1993, and the "Education" related topics of the Encyclopedia from Tanzimat to the Republic.

26 Science, ibid, p. 172, starting from 1840, educational institutions based on Western principles began to be opened. Ottoman military defeats in the penetration of "Western thought" into the Ottoman Empire - XVIII. As a result of the defeats of the century wars, the share of the higher schools opened after it was proved is great. See: Roderic H. Davison, “Western Education in Ottoman Turkey”, Translated by Mehmet Seyitdanlıoğlu, Belleten, Vol: LI, Issue 200 (August 1987), p. 1037-1038.

27 Bayram Kodaman, Abdulhamid Era Education System, Ankara. 1988, p. 164.

28 Kodaman, supra, p. 164.

29 After the Treaty of Lausanne, these Greek schools—the ones that were kept open—continued to train priests.

30 Genius about foreign schools; For information, see: Rauf Inan, Ataturk's Universality, Leader Personality and Purposes, Ankara, 1983, p. 67-152 (Ottoman Education System is also explained in this section); Davison, agm, p. 1036-1037. Cemil Koçak, 'Private and Foreign Schools After Tanzimat', Encyclopedia of Turkey from the Tanzimat to the Republic, Vol:2, Ps. 485-494. Uygur Kocabaşoğlu, “American Schools”, Same Encyclopedia, Ss. 495-500. The ratio of the number of Turkish-Muslim students in all foreign schools was 15% in 1900, 56% in 1911, 51% in 1926, 64% in 1931 and 76% in 1939 (These numbers were compiled from the research given in footnote 30).

31 For 7%, see: 50 Years of Social and Economic Development in Turkey, p. 25.

32 Abdurrahman Çaycı, “Atatürk and Modernization in the Dimension of History”, Atatürk Research Center Journal, Vol: VI, Issue: 16 (November I989), separately published, p. 58; Mehmet Kayıran, “The Factors Causing the Formation of the Atatürkist Thought System and the Development of This Thought System”, Anadolu University Faculty of Arts and Sciences Journal, Vol:2, No:2 (May 1990), Ps.187-203. 33 For the method Atatürk followed while carrying out the revolutions, see: agm, p. 58-59.

34 II. During the Constitutional Monarchy (1908-1918). Some limited steps have been taken to provide some degree of education for girls. However, very few women have been trained.

35 For an exemplary study on this subject, see: Turhan Feyzioğlu, the second part of the "Atatürk and His Intellectual Life" section, "II-Atatürk and National Education". Ataturk's Principles and History of Revolution II Kemalism (Basics of Ataturkist Thought System), Ankara, 1986, Ss. 101-231, “Atatürk and National Education”, p. 151-231, (Y.Ö.K. Publication, No: 5).

36 Ziya Bursalıoğlu, “Educational Philosophy and Renewal in the Atatürk Era”, Atatürk Revolutions and Education Symposium (9-10 April 1981), Ankara, 1981, p.13, pp.13-17.

37 Çaycı, “Atatürk's Work”...., p. 17-18.

38 Agm, p. 157.

39 H. Raşit Öymen, “Atatürk's Effect on the Transition to Republic Education”, Belleten, Atatürk Special Issue, C.LII, Issue: 204, (November 1988), p. 1013-1088.

40 İhsan Güneş, Intellectual Structure of the First Grand National Assembly of Turkey (1920-1923), Eskişehir, 1985, p. 226-236.

41 Oymen, agm, p. 1082. For the full text of Atatürk's speech, which touched upon important points about Education-Cultural problems, see: Öymen, agm, p. 1081-1085.

42 See: Utkan Kocatürk, Atatürk's Ideas and Thoughts, Ankara, 1984, p. one hundred.

43 Atatürk, SDII, p. 198 (We gave Atatürk's speech in the introduction, but we repeated his words because he emphasized the importance that should be given to education). 44A.ge, p. 181.

45 Ibid., p. 275.

46 According to Atatürk, “...Which nation wanted to enter civilization but did not favor the West?” (doesn't exist). See: Atatürk's Discourses and Statements III (1918-1937), Compiled by Nimet Unan, Ankara: Turkish Revolution History Institute: 1, 1954, p. 68. (Atatürk's speech on October 29, 1923 (Culture is About Me): “Statement to French correspondent Maurice Pernot”).

47 Throughout his life, Atatürk took part in various meetings, keynote speeches, country tours, etc. He mentioned education-teaching and problems in places. As we can find his words on this subject in his Discourses and Statements (5 Volumes) and other works, we can also see them collectively in the following books compiled from the sources we mentioned. For some of these, see: Enver Ziya Karal, Thoughts from Atatürk, Istanbul, 1986, p. 100-111 and 112-127; Fethi Naci (Kalpakçıoğlu), Atatürk's Basic Views, Istanbul, 1970, p. 97-103; Chief of Staff, Kemalism (First Book): Ataturk's Views and Directives, Istanbul, 1988, p. 282-419 (including his words on “Science and Technology”);

48 When listing the principles on this subject: Mr.Prof.Dr. We particularly benefited from the findings of Turhan Feyzioğlu.

49 See: Atatürk's speech at the opening of the Education Congress on 16 July 1921: Atatürk, SDII, p. 16-18. For Atatürk's speeches on National Education, see: Atatürk's Directives on Education, Istanbul, 1939.

50 Feyzioğlu, “Atatürk and His Intellectual Life”, p. 158; Ataturk to us. He proposed a "National Education" in line with the understanding of nationalism. See: Feyzioglu. Atatürk and Nationalism, Ankara, 1986.

51 Atatürk, in a speech he made on January 21, 1923 (Speech to the Public at the Oriental Cinema in Bursa): “A nation that does not paint, a nation that does not make sculptures, a nation that does not do what science requires, must admit that that nation has a place in progress. there is none. However, our nation deserves and will be worthy of being sustained and progressive with its true qualities”. See: Atatürk, SDII, p. 67. 52 Ibid., p. 178.

53 Ibid., p.178. The prerequisite for protecting our independence is the education of all individuals, men and women, on the basis of "science and science".

54 Ibid., p. 210. İsmail Hakkı Baltacıoğlu describes the educational principles of the Turkish Revolution as follows: “The meaning of these events (the abolition of the sultanate and the caliphate) is these two sentences. 1- For Turks, the axis of all world affairs is intelligence and the capital of all world affairs is science. There is no worldly power except intelligence and science. 2- There is no duty between Allah and the servant. Every kind of mutavassit is abolished. The Turk will appeal to his worldly conscience and listen to its voice”. Baltacıoğlu, Our Revolution and Education, Education, Istanbul, 1932, p. 43-44, Reported by Taner Timur, The Historical Meaning and Philosophical Basis of the Turkish Revolution, Ankara, 1968. p. 117.

55 We will examine this issue separately.

56 Just as some researchers and scientists have increased or decreased the number of “Six Atatürk Principles” in which “Ataturkism” finds expression; they can follow similar paths in education. In this study, we have briefly touched upon two basic principles, and we have just mentioned the names of the other “principles” that can be included in these two principles.

57 Atatürk, SDI1, p.85-86.

58 Ibid. s. 232 (Speaking with teachers in Izmir on 14 October 1925),

59 Ibid., p. 173 (“To Members of the Teachers’ Union” on 25 July 1924).

60 Atatürk's Speeches and Statements I (1919-1938). (Second Edition), Collected by Nimet Arsan, Ankara, 1969. p. 299, “teaching... in any case, its employment should be made into a profession conducive to welfare”. In the same place, Atatürk, in a speech he made to teachers on October 27, 1927: “... He wanted the nations living in two parts to be weak, and to be taught the following, regardless of the limits of the education we will give to our children and young people: 1- To the nation, 2- Struggling with those who are hostile to the State of Turkey, 3- to the Turkish Grand National Assembly...1'. According to Atatürk, who believes that the real salvation of a nation can only be achieved through education and training. For this, a fundamental program should be made. Two things should be expected from this program as well:

*'l-Hayat-ı social meeting to meet the needs,

2- Its interior is congruent with the asriye”. See: Same place, p. 44-45.

61 It is possible to list the other principles that we tried to summarize and that Atatürk wanted to be implemented as follows (For more information on this subject, see: Feyzioğlu, “Atatürk and His Intellectual Life”, pp.157-168.

Equal education of boys and girls should be given importance; The dissemination of education should be targeted; Care should be taken to implement the unity of thought and action in education; The National Education system should be based on science; It should be kept in mind that success in the field of education depends on disciplined work; It should not be forgotten that the most important factor that will affect success in the field of education is the teacher.

62 Şerafettin Tutan, “Tevhidi Tedrisat”, Cultural Revolution under the Leadership of Atatürk, RCD Seminar Communiqués, Ankara, 1972, p. 79-84.

63 See: Turan, agm, p. 79; 1000 Basic Works, Atatürk, Istanbul, 1970, p. 209; Prime Ministry DIE, 50 Years of Social and Economic Development in Turkey, p. 435-436; 427-431.

64 Ataturk, SDII, p. 198.

65 XIX. For detailed information on the "reform initiatives in education" of the Ottoman Government since the beginning of the century, see: Prime Ministry DIE, ibid, p. 427-436; Turan, ag. s. 80-82; İlhan Başgöz-Howard E. Wilson, Education and Atatürk in the Republic of Turkey, Ankara, 1968, p. 80; 1000 Basic Works, supra, p. 209-210.

66 1000 Basic Equivalents. age, p. 210. See also: Halil İnalcık “Atatürk and Turkey's Modernization”, Cultural Revolution Under Atatürk's Leadership, RCD Seminar Papers (9-11 November 1967). Ankara. 1972, pp. 33-37.

67 Turan, agm, p. 80.

68 Ataturk, SDI, p. 229-230.

69 Ataturk, SDII. s. 196.

70 Ataturk, SDI, p. 300.

71 Atatürk, SDII, p. 16-17.

72 See. 1000 Fundamental Works. age, p. 215.

73 Ataturk, SDI, p. 329.

74 For the reasons of those who made proposals for the necessity of the Unification of Education during the negotiations, see: Turan, agm. s. 83-84; Also, for the text of the Law No. 430 on Unification of Education, see: Özer Ozankaya, Atatürk and Secularism, 2nd ed. Istanbul, 1983, p. 209; For the text on the Abolition of the Caliphate, the Abolition of the Şer'iye, Evkaf and Erkanı War Offices, see: Ozankaya, supra, p. 207-210.

75 Başgöz-Wilson, supra, p. 81.

76 Ibid., p. 82.

77 For studies on foreign and minority schools, see: Başgöz-Wilson, ibid, p. 83-85; Feyzioğlu, “The Foundation Stone of the Turkish Revolution, Secularism”, Atatürk Yolu, Ankara, 1987 p. 205. “While the Republic of Turkey was secularizing its education system, and especially saving children's education from the influence of Islam, and turning to rational and modern education, American missionaries wanted schools to be opened with the aim of spreading the Christian religion.” The United States Government has also been involved in the secular-religious education conflict. See: Fahir Armaoğlu, “The Crisis of American Schools in Turkey (1927-1928): A Secularism-Nationalism Event”, Atatürk Research Center Journal, Vol: XIII, No: 37 (March 1997), pp. 1-29.

78 Utkan Kocaturk, Ataturk's Ideas and Thoughts, Ankara, 1984, p. 107.

79 A. Afet Inan, The Republic of Turkey and the Turkish Revolution, Ankara, 1973, p. 139.

80 Bahadır Alkım, “The Beginning of Writing”, 50th Anniversary of the Alphabet Revolution Symposium, Ankara, 1981, p.3-16.

81 For the alphabets used by Turks in history, see: Şerafettin Turan, History of Turkish Culture, Istanbul, 1990, pp.73-82; M. Şakir Ülkütaşır, Atatürk and the Alphabet Revolution, Ankara, 1981, p. 15-22; See also: Sadettin Buluç, “Alphabet Debates in the Ottoman Era”, 50th Anniversary of the Alphabet Revolution, Ankara, 1981, p. 45-48. Talat Tekin, “The Writing of Turkish Throughout History”, National Culture, Vol.l, No:2 (October 1978), p. 17-42.

82 Neşet Çağatay, “Comparison of Sharia Administration and Secular Administration”, XI. Turkish History Congress, Abstracts, Ankara, 1990, p.152.

83 For detailed efforts on these issues, see: Şerafettin Turan, History of Turkish Culture...., p. 75-79; F.Rıfkı Atay, Çankaya, Istanbul, 1984, p. 437-440; Başgöz-Wilson, ibid, p. 113; Ülkütaş, ibid, p. 15-17, 23-34; T. Nejat Gencan, “Writing Revolution”, Journal of Turkish Language, Issue: 326, (November 1978), p. 530-532; Mustafa Canpolat, “Writing Problems Until the Writing Revolution”, Turkish Language…, p. 553-562; (Here, we will be able to focus on the essence of the subject rather than the examples, about the "Letter Revolution", which can be a separate research subject due to the size of our study.)

84 Kemal Özerdim, “The Effects of Letter Change on Turkish Culture”, Cultural Revolution Under the Leadership of Atatürk, RCD Seminar Communiqués, p. 93.

85 Union of Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, Turkey with Statistics in the Republican Period, Ankara, 1981 see: Tables: 38,39,40,41 and 42.

86 İlhan Tekeli, “Changes in the Education System from the Tanzimat to the Republic”, Encyclopedia of Turkey from the Tanzimat to the Republic, per: 2, p. 460.

87 On the studies on the language and alphabet system after the Tanzimat, see: Ülkütaşır, a,ge, p. 17-23; Bulac, agm, p. 46-48; Turan, Turkish Cultural History, p. 77-78; Atay, supra, p. 438-439; Agah Sırrı Levend, Stages of Development and Simplification in Turkish Language, Ankara, 1949; Berkes. ibid, p.259-263; Murat Katoğlu, “Education, Culture and Art in Republican Turkey”, In the Age; Turkey 1908-1980, Vol: 4, Istanbul, 1989, p. 413-414.

88 Özerdim, agm, p.392.

89 Atatürk, SDII, (8.8 1928, in Istanbul), p. 253.

90 Atatürk, SDI, (Third Year of Gathering; November 1928), p.359.

91 Ataturk, S.DII. (8.8.1928), p. 253.

92 Alphabet Reform did not take place as a result of a sudden decision. There are many important studies carried out on this road until 1928. Due to the narrow scope of our review, we cannot refer to these studies separately. However, we will mention some sources from which detailed information can be obtained: Bilal N. Şimşir, Turkish Side Revolution, Ankara, 1992; M. Müfit Kansu, Together with Atatürk From Erzurum Until His Death, Vol: I. Ankara, 1966, p. 131; Afet Inan, TR Regime and the History of the Turkish Revolution, Ankara, 1970, p. 99; Ancestor. Cankaya..., p. 563; Seçil Akgün, “Atatürk and the Writing Revolution”, METU Journal of Human Sciences, Vol. 1, Ankara, 1961; Ülkütaş, agc, p. 42-36; Turan, Turkish Cultural History…, p. 79.

93 Parliamentary Minutes, Vol:5, (at the meeting dated November 1, 1928). Ankara, 1928, p. 27.

94 Başgöz-Wilson, supra, p. 119.

95 Mustafa Baydar, Atatürk and Our Revolutions, Istanbul, 1973 p. 266. “The nature and principle of our state's secularism is not just a reaction to Islam, as many try to mislead today. Yes, there is a reaction; however, this reaction aims to prevent the dominance of the religious factor in the political and educational structure of the State, regardless of religion, denomination, Islam or Christianity. Secularism defends the "freedom of rationality" against religious bigotry that limits the "free working" of the human mind. In the age; The transition to education and the Turkish Writing Revolution is a significant breakthrough for the purpose of providing the State of Turkey with a modern structure and qualifications. It is an "Event of Secularism and Nationalism". Armaoglu, agm, p. 29.

96 Kansu, supra, Vol: 1, Ankara, 1986, p. 131.

97 Kocaturk, supra, p. 123.

98 Many studies on the establishment of the Turkish Historical Society and the Turkish History Thesis have been published. For more information on this subject, see: Afet İnan-Enver Ziya Karal, “Atatürk's Turkish History Thesis”, Conferences About Atatürk. Ankara, 1946, p. 55-65; Enver Ziya Karal, “Atatürk's Turkish History Thesis”, Atatürk and the Revolution: Conferences and Articles, Ankara, 1980, p. 94-102; Afet Inan, “Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's Thoughts on the Study of the History of Turkey”, From History to the Future in the Fiftieth Year, Ankara, 1974, p. 10-13; Bayram Kodaman, “Atatürk and History”, Atatürk and Culture (Hacettepe University Publications Special Issue), Ankara, 1982, Ss. 3-16, Ercüment Kuran, “Our National History View”, Journal of Turkish Culture, Vol;VIII, Issue:85 (Ankara 1969-1970), pp. 15-17; Mehmet Saray, “Atatürk and Turkish History”, Turkish Culture, Year: XXII, Issue: 249 (Ankara January 1984), Ps.

99 Enver Ziya Karal, “Atatürk's Turkish History Thesis”, Atatürk and the Revolution: Conferences and Articles...., p. 94-102.

According to 100 Nusret Hızır; “Science is a whole that is formed by some propositions that are connected to each other by any method and whose truth is claimed”. See: Nusret Hızır, “Natural Science and History”, Atatürk Conferences I, Ankara, 1964, p. 200. (pp. 197-204).

101 See: Karal, “Alatürk's History Thesis”, Atatürk and Devrim p. 96-99.

102 See: İğdemir, supra, p. 3-6.

103 Atatürk, the leader of the Turkish Revolution, attached great importance to the work of Turkish History and Language Institutions and provided continuous financial support (the income obtained from his personal partnership in Türkiye İş Bankası for the work of these two institutions is included in the “Atatürk's Will”). .: İğdemir, supra, p. XI (Document dated 5.9.1938: “6-Every year, half of the amount remaining from the name will be allocated to the Turkish History and Language Institutions”).

104 EZKaral, History of the Republic of Turkey (1918-1965), Istanbul, 1973, p. 175.

105 For more information, see: İğdemir, supra, p. XI and 1-37.

For the works of 106 TTK, see: ibid, p. 6 etc...

107 For some of Atatürk's compiled speeches including “Turkish Historical Society”, “Turkish History Thesis” and his directives to Turkish historians, see: Karal, Thoughts from Atatürk...., p. 88-96; Kocatürk, Atatürk's Ideas and…, p. 117; (Kalpakçıoğlu), Atatürk's Basic Views…, p. 110-111; Kemal Arıburnu, Atatürk: With Various Fronts, Ankara, 1953. p. 111-113; Sadi Borak, Atatürk's Official Publications, Discourse, Statement, Correspondence and Conversations, Ankara, 1980, p. 218-220; Kemalism to the Presidency of the General Staff III…, p. 349-359 (Especially in this last work, his words about our subject are included in detail).

108 The concept of “language” varies considerably in terms of definition. We would like to point out some sources that may be of interest to our subject here: Ali Dundar, “Kemalism and Language”, Türk Dili, Issue: 326, Ankara (November 1978) p. 595; Şerafettin Turan, Atatürk and the National Language, Ankara, 1981, p. 7; Kamile İmer, “The Importance of Social and Cultural Factors in Language Change”, Turkish Language Revolution on the Path of Atatürk, Ankara, 1981, p.59.

109 For the language-culture relation in terms of the development of nations, see: Bedia Akarsu, Language-Culture Connection in Wilhelm von Humboldt, Istanbul, 1955, p. 42-55.

110 EZKaral, “The Problem of Turkish Language After the Tanzimat”, Encyclopedia of Turkey from the Tanzimat to the Republic, Vol: II, Istanbul, 1985, p. 331.

111 Turan, Atatürk and the National DU..... p. 7; In addition, there is extensive information about the development of the Turkish Language in the mentioned periods in the following work: Zeynep Korkmaz, Atatürk and the Language Revolution in the Historical Flow of the Turkish Language, Ankara, 1963, p. 2-9. 112 Zeynep Korkmaz. “Turkish as a Cultural Language in the Republican Era”, 50th Anniversary Conferences, Ankara, 1976, p. 71. 113 Ziya Gokalp. Principles of Turkism, Ankara, 1952, p. 81-82. 114 For detailed information about these efforts, see: Karal, 'The Problem of Turkish Language After the Tanzimat'… Ps. 314-332; Konur Ertop. “Simplification of Language from the Tanzimat to the Republic”, Same Encyclopedia, Ps. 333-340; Turan, Atatürk and the National Language…, p. 8-12. 115 Turan, ibid. 12. 116 Korkmaz, agm, 72. 117 İmer,agm,s. 66 118 Atatürk, SDI, p. 372

119 Turan, supra, p. 23.

120 For detailed information about the Turkish Language Investigation Society, see: Vecihe Hatipoğlu, Immortal Atatürk and the Language Revolution, Ankara, 1981, p. 30-32; Ş Turan, History of Turkish Culture… p. 65 ff...; Atatürk's Turkish Language Institution and After, Ankara: Bilgi Publishing House, 1986, p. 11-20.

121 See: Prof. Dr. Gift to İbrahim Yasa, Ankara: Ank. unv. Political Sciences Faculty Yay., 1983. p.66.

122 Ataturk, SDJ, p. 387-388.

123 Kocaturk, supra, p. 124.

124 Ibid., p. 124.

125 Turan, Atatürk and the National Language, p. 52.

126 Perines. Atatürk Cultural Revolution...., p. 89-90.

127 M.Rauf İnan, “Ataturkism in Education and Training”, Atatürk Conferences 1975, Ankara, 1980, p. 12.

128 Ali Nejat Ölçen, Destruction of Community Centers, Ankara, 1988, p. 10; See also: S. Süreyya Aydemir, “From Turkish Hearth to Community Center”, Journal of Community Centers, Issue: 76 (February 1973); Birth of People's Houses, Ankara: Community Centers General Center Spring. 1971.

129 Les Maisons du Peuple du Parti Republicain du Peuple, (Ulus) Ankara, 1934. p. 10.

130 For example. The conference program of Beyoğlu Community Center for the years 1937-38 is a document showing how qualified and advanced the activities in this field were; see: Ülkü Community Center Magazine, (January 1938), p. 47.

131… Nafi Kansu, “Our Community Centers”, Ülkü…, (November) 1938, p. 213. See also: İ Hakkı Baltacıoğlu, People's House, Ankara: (Ulus) 1950; Tevfik Çavdar, “An Experiment in Non-Formal Education: Community Centers”, Non-Formal Education Seminar in Turkey. Ankara, 1975, p. 199-217.

132 Believe, agm. s. 12; See also: Anıl Çeçen, Atatürk's Cultural Institution Community Centers, Ankara, 1990.

133 CHP's Activities...., p. 36-43; See also: Summary of the 1935 Annual Reports of the Community Centers, Ankara (Ulus), 1936.

 

134 Perin, supra, p. 93.135 S. Sureyya (Aydemir), "People's Houses", Kadro Magazine, Vol: 1, Issue: I, Ankara, 1932. p. 35. 136 Atatürk, SJM., (Opening the CHP's Fourth Congress, 9 March 1935), p.383.

137 Başgöz-Wilson, supra, p. 176.

138 Horst Widmann, Ataturk University Reform, Istanbul, 1981, p. 19.

139 Ibid., p. 19. 140 Bernard Lewis, The Birth of Modern Turkey, Translated by Metin Kıratlı, Ankara, 1970, p. 180.

141 Basgöz-Wilson, supra, p.176; Widmann, supra, p. 31-34, See also: A. Çaycı, “Horst Widmann Atatürk University Reform”, Hacettepe Univ. Ataturk's Tics and Revolution History Inst. Journal, Vol: 1, Issue: 1, Ankara; (October 1987), p. 202. (In the introduction of this publication by my dear teacher (202-208): While H. Widmann's work is exhibited in all aspects, in a sense, our subject “University Reform” is presented in its most concise and illuminating form.)

142 İ.Tekeli, “Development of Educational Institutions from the Ottoman Empire to the Present”, Turkish Encyclopedia of the Republican Era, Vol: 3, p. 663.

143 Burhan Asaf, “The Meaning of University”, Staff, Vol: 2, No: 20, p. 24.

144 Tekeli, agm, p. 663.

145 Sh. Aziz Kansu, “A Memoir of the Opening of the Faculty of Languages, History and Geography”, Remembrance Book of the 50th Anniversary of the Republic, Ankara, 1974, p. 55.

146 Tekeli, agm. s. 654-655; For Prof.Dr.Malche's “reform proposals”, see: Horst Widmann, ibid, pp. 34-37; Baş.eye-Wilson, ibid, p. 180-182.

147 Perin, supra, p. 97.

148 Asaf, agm, p. 27-28.

149 Başgöz-Wilson, supra, p. 184.

150 Widmann, supra, p. 39.

151 Tekeli, agm, p. 663.

152 Atatürk, SDI, (I November 1938), p. 410.

153 Tekeli, agm, p. 664.

154 Perines. ibid. s. 118.

155 Widmann, supra, p. 240-283 (Note: Appendix C: In this section called "Bio-Bibliography"; German and Austrian professors who served during the university reform; all their studies in Turkey, their addresses after leaving Turkey, death dates, works.... It is presented very nicely to researchers and readers in terms of information such as

156 Prime Ministry DIE, supra, p. 466; Union of Commodity Exchanges, ibid, Table: 38.

157 Hasan Cicioğlu, Primary and Secondary Education in the Republic of Turkey, Ankara, 1982, p. 32, 133-136; Ercan Kabal, “The Innovations Atatürk Brought to Our Education”, Atatürk Week Gift, Ankara: Gnkur. Military History and Strategic Studies Basque. Pub., 1986,5. 145.

158 This practice lasted until 1939; On this date, the duration of village primary schools was also increased to 5 years, and village and city education were equalized in terms of time.

159 Cicioğlu, supra, p 35; Ahmet Mumcu, The Foundations and Development of the Turkish Revolution, Ankara. 1976, p. 162; Kabal, agm, p. 42.

160 Tekeli, agm, p. 662.

161 For detailed information, see: Cicioğlu, supra, p. 289-292; Tekeli, agm, p. 664; Başgöz-Wilson, supra, pp.205-211.

162 For statistical information, see: Prime Ministry DIE, Turkey Statistical Yearbook 1981, 100 Year Special Issue, Ankara, 1981, p. 102; Prime Ministry DIE, 50 Years of Social Development in Turkey…, p. 60, 455-464; Union of Turkish Commodity Exchanges, Turkey with Statistics in the 1923-1981 Republican Period, Table: 38-42; Tekeli, agm, p. 665-667; Basgöz-Wilson, ibid, p. 245-253; Reşat Özalp, Vocational and Technical Education in Turkey in Numbers; Mumcu, The Foundations of the Turkish Revolution. Table of Appendix 1.

Notes on the data in the table:

*The number shown is only the number of teachers working in public schools. Private school teachers were not identified until 1932-33.

**The figure is for public schools only. Private schools were not shown in the statistics until 1932-33.

***See: Explanation in footnote (*).

163 Tekeli, agm, p. 661. See also: Prime Ministry DtE, supra, p. 452-453 (Statistics titled “Nation Schools Activity” is a numerical expression in terms of the establishment, development and success level of these schools). 164 Enver Kartekin, “Village Educators Organization”, Cultural Revolution under the Leadership of Atatürk. RCD eminence...., p. 102. 165 Ibid., p. 102.

166 Cevat Geray, “Village Institutes and Community Development”, Seha L. Meraya Armağan, Vol: 2, Ankara; 1982, p. 359.

167 Tekeli, ag.m.. p. 664; Cicioglu, supra, p. 252-254 (Commission reports are also included in detail in this work).

168 Cicioglu, supra, p. 252.

169 See: Works in footnote “163”.

170 Evaluation of statistics and percentage (%) calculations are approximate.

171 Atatürk, S.DII, p. 43-44 (27.X.1922, To Teachers....). Explanation of the CONCLUSION Section ** For detailed considerations, see the end of each section and section. While trying to analyze "In the Light of Atatürkist Thought: Turkish National Education System"; At the end of each chapter and section, a concluding evaluation was made. For this reason, the "conclusion" section of our study has been kept short in order to avoid repetition and not to bore the reader. He gave us the habit of following such a method, Prof.Dr. Abdurrahman Çaycı won it.

Assist. Assoc. Dr. Mehmet Kayran

*Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of History, Lecturer

Souce: ATATÜRK ARAŞTIRMA MERKEZİ DERGİSİ, Sayı 42, Cilt: XIV, Kasım 1998, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti'nin 75. Yılı Özel Sayısı