ERIC Number: EJ1372755
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Jun
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0958-5176
EISSN: EISSN-1469-3704
State-Based Curriculum Making in Turkey: Curriculum Modernization Initiative and the Latest Science Curriculum
Curriculum Journal, v34 n2 p298-314 Jun 2023
Turkey's politically induced 'curricular modernization initiative' intended a philosophical change and a system-level transformation from behaviouristic to constructivist-inspired pedagogies in the early 2000s. Science curriculum has been one of the curricula that has taken precedence. It has changed four times since then. The latest science curriculum for grades 3-8 -- age group 9-13 -- is issued in 2018. This study examines these curricula and discusses curriculum making at the macro site. Whether or to what extent the tools of state-based curriculum making (ToSBCM) are used is also investigated. Directed content analysis and thematic analysis are used to address the research questions. Findings revealed that Turkey's latest science curriculum is a reformulation of its predecessors' goals, learning outcomes and content. ToSBCM are effectively used in introducing the new emphases of curriculum, managing discourse communities and granting the executive responsibility to teachers. Considering Turkey's curricular experiences as a country which has one of the most centralized education systems among OECD countries, and a very large hierarchical national administration with schools having the lowest levels of autonomy in determining curriculum and assessment policies among countries participating in PISA, findings offer opportunities to compare and discuss processes of curriculum making with an international perspective.
Descriptors: Science Education, Curriculum Development, Political Influences, Educational Philosophy, Educational Change, National Curriculum, Constructivism (Learning), Content Analysis, Outcomes of Education, Educational Administration, Administrative Organization, Comparative Analysis, Foreign Countries, Achievement Tests, Secondary School Students, International Assessment, Science Curriculum, Elementary Secondary Education, Institutional Autonomy
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2191/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education; Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Turkey
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Program for International Student Assessment
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A