William E. Edwards, Jr.  August 14, 1998 

Since the founding of the Turkish Republic almost 75 years ago, the Government of Turkey (GoT) has made a commitment to providing basic education to both boys and girls throughout the country. This task has been particularly challenging in rural areas, where the opportunity costs of sending children to school compete or conflict with agricultural lifestyles. Young girls are also more affected in rural areas, as they drop-out early from primary school in disproportionately high numbers compared to boys and girls in urban areas. In an effort to address these situations and to enhance the quality and scope of basic education available to the rural population of Turkey, UNICEF entered into a unique collaborative education effort with GoT beginning in 1990. Utilizing community participation and innovative teaching techniques, this collaborative education program has been teaching Turkish school children to view education as an active, lifelong pursuit that serves to create a better life for individuals and families alike. This is the documentation of that collaborative education program ‘going to scale’ -- growing from a small project into a potential national education program within Turkey.

Prior to the advent of the 19th century, no general education policy existed within Turkey. The country, under the Ottoman Empire, harbored only schools with a religious focus which taught Arabic grammar, writing, and arithmetic, along with religious studies. Subjects such as history, geography, and the various sciences were deemed unnecessary within the education curriculum. By the early 19th century, when this education system became inadequate to meet the needs of society, the Ottoman state opened European-type schools. These schools, which were more westernized in the scope of their curriculum, are considered the beginning of modern state education in Turkey. Local schools, run by minorities and taught in local languages, were also appearing throughout the Ottoman Empire. In addition, foreign schools run by religious orders from western nations were coming into existence. Thus, several types of school with varying educational emphases, aims, and languages were simultaneously practicing within Turkey. The logical outcome from this mixing of schools was that no national culture could emerge -- Turkish education had become the product of several cultures. This lack of national identity was to continue in Turkey until the early 20th century, when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk -- the Father of Modern Turkey -- began a movement for Turkish national unity.

In 1919, Ataturk believed that a key to achieving unity within the first, true Turkish Republic was the implementation of a program of national education. Ataturk felt that "the [traditional] methods of instruction and education … have been the most important factor in the historical decline of our nation." Through a program of national education, Turkey could move towards independence of the state, a level of civilization within the nation, and prosperity for the country. Ataturk sought to educate all levels of Turkish society. By teaching all citizens under a common education system, national unity could be realized. Education would allow all citizens to develop the individual potential, independent thought, and democratic attitudes necessary to build a prosperous nation.

Ataturk was declared President of the new Turkish Republic in 1923. By March 1924, with the expulsion of the Ottoman Dynasty, a national program offering basic education to both males and females throughout Turkey became a reality. Ataturk’s education reforms and principles (Box 1) have since served as the cornerstone of the Turkish National Education System.These principles are a part of the Fundamental Law of National Education for Turkey as well as the Turkish Constitution of 1982.

The World Conference on Education For All (WCEFA) was held in March 1990, in the city of Jomtien, Thailand. This conference, attended by 1500 participants from around the world, was sponsored by UNICEF, UNESCO, UNDP, and World Bank. Like Ataturk striving to create a foundation for nation-wide basic education within Turkey more than 6 decades earlier, the WCEFA was striving to lay the groundwork for a world-wide basic education program.

The goal of the conference was to have all participating countries commit to meeting the basic learning needs of all children, youth, and adults of the world by the year 2000. Turkey, as well as the other countries that adopted the ideals of the WCEFA, agreed to endorse the strategies laid out within the conference framework in an effort to meet this goal. Thus, while Turkey worked to implement Education For All (EFA) strategies to meet education objectives on a national level, this implementation was also meeting the global objectives of the WCEFA (Box 2).

The WCEFA contributed to broadening "both the scope of collaboration and the relationship of UNICEF with the Ministry of Education."An Officer of Education for UNICEF had not even existed in Turkey until October 1989. Now, through collaboration on the WCEFA, UNICEF and the Government of Turkey were able to begin a valid program of cooperation in education.

Education indicators for Turkey have shown marked improvement within recent years. At the time of the WCEFA, however, the country was facing challenges within the schooling system dealing with literacy rates, levels of learning achievement, and gender disparity.

Turkey had increased the literacy rate nationwide from 10% in 1927 (5% of females / 17% of males) to 81% in 1990 (72% of females / 89% of males). A lower literacy rate prevailed in the rural, less-developed areas, largely due to the agrarian lifestyle in these regions. This lifestyle forces all family members, girls and boys included, to perform various farming duties, such as planting and harvesting, at specific times of the year. Food for the family and economic income will usually take priority over the schooling schedule. Thus, children needed in the fields or at home find their basic education disrupted. Some children, especially girls, drop-out of school as they cannot keep up with the multiple responsibilities placed upon them. A comparison from the 1985 census (Table 1) verifies the large differential between male and female literacy rates which has existed in Turkey, especially within the least-developed rural areas.

Source: The Situation Analysis of Mothers and Children in Turkey, UNICEF, 1991

A gap exists in the schooling rates between boys and girls due to the traditional view of gender roles. Girls, especially at the rural level, are expected to serve in the role of caretaker, looking after siblings and helping with domestic chores until reaching a suitable marrying age -- usually between 16-18 years of age. As they do not need to go to school to learn these skills, formal education is not seen as functional for females in an agrarian lifestyle. Lack of female teachers to serve as role models also inhibits school attendance by girls. Daughters either never attend school, or receive only 1 to 3 years of primary education. Sons, on the other hand, are viewed as needing education to pursue work, make economic decisions, and keep up with advances in agricultural technology. A comparison of the gender disparity in primary school enrollment of children aged 7-12 in 1985 (Table 2) points out this gap in schooling rates between boys and girls, especially in the least-developed rural areas.

Source: The Situation Analysis of Mothers and Children in Turkey, UNICEF, 1991

Almost all of the approximately 45,000 villages in Turkey had primary schools by the late 1980's, but many of these schools possessed challenging learning environments. Crowded, multigrade classrooms with high student/teacher ratios were normal, thus making classroom management difficult. Stove heaters and latrines were often lacking or in disrepair, creating further obstacles within the learning environment. If a child from a small outlying village (mezra) had to travel some distance to attend a school in a neighboring village, parents often opted to keep the child at home instead, especially in the case of girls. Schools must be nearby, and parents must feel that a school has a safe and healthy environment before they will allow their children to attend.

Within the basic education system, learning achievement -- a measure of how well students learn, usually through the application of an achievement test -- was inadequate to meet the continuing education needs of students. Lack of books, teachers, and education materials in the rural areas augmented this situation. In terms of skill development, "students [did] not show a satisfactory level of achievement in reading comprehension, grammar use, solving practical mathematics and science...". Many students were leaving primary school without the adequate knowledge and life skills to successfully continue in secondary education programs. By 1990, only 58% of primary school graduates were continuing on to the 3-year secondary level of education.

In rural villages, two-room schools, known as multigrade classrooms, accommodate five levels of students 6-11 years of age. Usually, grades 1-3 work in one classroom, while grades 4 and 5 work in the other. Each classroom is usually taught by one teacher. This teacher should possess the necessary skills and materials to work with a range of age and skill levels simultaneously. In such a setting a teacher could have difficulty creating a successful learning environment, especially when lacking adequate teaching resources and training.

Keeping Rural Education Alive

As a response to the situation of education in Turkey at the time of the WCEFA, several education policy-makers have been inclined to close rural schools -- primarily out of concern over the quality of these schools. However, the education projects of GoT-UNICEF, which began following the WCEFA, have shown that it is both feasible and economic to invest in the training of teachers and the upgrading of classrooms for the sake of the young children. Compared to the strong likelihood that they would otherwise be deprived of education, multigrade classrooms can continue to lay the educational foundation for children in the primary grades in rural areas. And, through a strong emphasis on upgrading the level of rural basic education, the challenging issues of learning achievement levels, gender disparity, learning environment, and literacy rates can also be addressed.

A Draft Education Program had been prepared at a follow-up seminar on EFA in Ankara in June 1990 as a response to both the situation of basic education in Turkey and the guidelines laid out in the World Conference on Education For All. In October 1990, this Draft Education Program became formally known as the Basic Education Program (Box 3), and was integrated into the 1991-1995 Master Plan of Operations for the Program of Cooperation between the Government of Turkey and UNICEF. Through this plan, UNICEF was called upon by GoT to assist in developing a program aimed at meeting both the national education objectives of Turkey and the worldwide objectives of Education For All.

The Basic Education Program consisted of seven individual projects, each focusing on specific needs within the primary education system of Turkey (Table 3). These component projects introduced the following innovations into the rural education process: research and testing was implemented to create a learning assessment tool to measure learning achievement at both the primary school and non-formal education levels; health education and community participation programs were implemented into the curriculum of all projects; new approaches to teaching (i.e. Child-to-Child and Community-Based Rehabilitation) were utilized to increase awareness of environmental issues and assist in the education of girls, migrant workers’ children, and children with disabilities; mothers were educated as the first step in raising the quality of development of their young children. All of these innovations were introduced to better meet the needs of the rural population with limited access to quality primary education.

 All the projects of the Basic Education Program dealt with meeting learning needs of children and young women and extending the accessibility of basic education.() Of these, the Universalization of Primary Education most directly focussed on both rural primary school children and Turkish national education policy, and, thus, exemplified the overall ideals and goals of the Basic Education Program. Following a mid-term review of the education program in 1993, the objective of the UPE was widened to accommodate several other Basic Education Program projects with shared objectives-- namely, the projects on Early Childhood Development and Pre-School Education, Education of Girls, and Education of Agricultural Migrant Worker’s Children, all of which focussed on upgrading rural education.

THE UNIVERSALIZATION OF PRIMARY EDUCATION PROJECT (1991-1996): The Cutting Edge

"UNICEF advocacy...can only succeed if endorsed for full scale replication by the Government and other partners." In other words, any project implemented by an outside agency (such as UNICEF) can only be considered sustainable if the host government can, at a certain point, take possession of that project and, using existing resources, continue the project’s benefits. The Universalization of Primary Education was readily endorsed by the government as this project addressed issues linked to increasing the scope and duration of primary education within Turkey.

The general objective of UPE was to improve the quality of primary education in terms of learning achievement. This objective was in line with those of the World Declaration on Education for All and the GoT 1991-1995 Development Plan to "increase the quality at all levels of education." Project, national, and global education objectives all unified within the context of the UPE.

Although the UPE was initiated under the Basic Education Program beginning in 1991, the project did not reach a stage of physical implementation in the classroom until 1993. The project had three distinct phases: research and design, testing, and implementation.

The primary school curriculum in use in 1991 had initially been designed in 1968 for a 5-year primary education program in both rural and urban schools. Developments and changing views on lifestyles, technology, history, and economy were not incorporated into the traditional teaching system. Although basic skills in reading, writing, and arithmetic were being taught, the scope of knowledge imparted to students was not always representative of the changes and advances within Turkey and the world. In addition to the problem of curriculum becoming rapidly outdated, the primary school system contained no method of accurately assessing learning achievement of students.

An assessment of learning achievement within the primary school system was needed to identify the basic learning needs of primary school children. The research and design phase of the UPE project provided this assessment opportunity. An assessment tool -- in this case, a series of written tests -- was developed covering the topics of Math, Turkish, Science, Social Studies, and Health and Nutrition. These tests were administered to primary school students in four provinces during the 1991-1992 school year (Table 6). The provinces ranged from areas of low development in the east of the country to areas of high development in the west.

Initial achievement test results showed that students from urban schools scored higher than students from rural schools. Math (problem solving) and Turkish (reading comprehension, grammar usage, and writing) were the test subjects with the lowest scores, followed by Science and Health. Analysis showed that, although possessing good rote memorization skills, most students lacked the ability to adequately comprehend and apply subject matter to daily problems. In other words, students were being taught to memorize information, not to think. In order to upgrade the level of basic education, curriculum would need revision and teachers would need training in methods allowing students to improve their comprehension and analysis abilities.

Based upon these results, UNICEF, in collaboration with MoNE, made a commitment to review and strengthen the primary education curriculum. Specific emphasis was placed upon the quality of learning and teaching in the rural multigrade primary schools, as these were the schools of least accessibility and lowest learning achievement levels. The curriculum upgrade aim was twofold: to raise the quality and to provide equitable distribution of basic education.

Upon completion of the learning assessment in 1992, the process began of designing education material conducive to a multigrade classroom setting. By 1995, a complete series of student workbooks and teacher guides had been created, tested, revised, and implemented in rural multigrade primary schools (Tables 4 and 5). The texts were designed to provide direction to teachers and to allow students to utilize the Child-to-Child learning approach in their classes, thereby serving as tutors to each other.

These new education materials complemented the existing curriculum and texts. Having been based upon input and recommendations of students and teachers, these materials were more user-friendly for them. Health and environmental safety messages, new to the primary education curriculum, were incorporated into the Literacy and Life Science texts. Guides encouraged both teachers and students to design learning tools for Math and Science using readily-available recycled materials, thus creating an active learning environment. The materials encouraged students to seek answers to questions outside of the classroom, thus providing opportunities to involve parents and the community in the learning process. The classroom itself became an active learning center, as teachers were trained to become more involved in the learning process of the students. The use of these new primary education materials helped to foster an atmosphere conducive to learning within the multigrade classrooms.

UNICEF served as a catalyst in bringing together MoNE, professors from Turkish universities, teachers, and scholars to work together in providing input, advice, and feedback during each successive phase of the UPE project. As the education curriculum and materials underwent changes, primary school teachers and inspectors were brought into the process to learn monitoring techniques, new teaching methods, and efficient utilization of resources. The education materials could only improve learning achievement if successfully used by teachers within the multigrade classrooms.

Teacher-training became an integral component of the UPE project, expanding into new provinces yearly (Table 6). UNICEF also oriented inspectors, who oversaw the implementation of the education curriculum, to serve as instructors in teacher-training sessions. This format not only placed responsibility for the program into the hands of those involved in implementation, but also served to foster a positive relationship between inspector and teacher, thereby strengthening the national education system.

Source: UNICEF-Turkey Annual Reports 1991-1996

By 1995, as the UPE project expanded into new provinces, a goal was set to raise the quality of education in a total of 30,000 schools -- approximately 60% of all primary schools in Turkey. The achievement of this goal translates into 25% of the 6,400,000 primary school children in Turkey -- a total of 1,600,000 children -- having exposure to the new education materials and teaching methods of the project in the foreseeable future

Observed outcomes of the project were both quantitative and qualitative. The quantitative outcome was the objective measure of learning achievement. This scientific approach attempted to answer the question, "Was the project responsible for an increase in the level of learning achievement in multigrade primary schools?" The qualitative outcome was the subjective measure of the personal responses to the project. This humanistic approach attempted to answer the question, "How well was the project received by the teachers, the students, and the community?" The UPE project would be considered successful if both the quantitative level of learning achievement had increased and those people involved in the project saw improvement in the quality of the learning environment through the implementation of the project.

Learning Achievement -- A Quantitative Measure

The student workbooks and teacher guides prepared for grades 1-3 were utilized by classes during the 1992-1993 school year (Table 6). These materials were produced on the basis of results from the initial learning assessment test in 1991-1992. Implemented in 14 experimental schools in 2 provinces -- 6 rural primary schools in Ankara and 8 rural primary schools in Sinop -- the texts dealt with the subjects of Turkish, Math, and Life Studies. In June 1994, the students of these experimental schools took the learning achievement test. Another group of 14 schools, a control group, received the same test without exposure to the new material to assess differences in levels of learning achievement after the first year of program implementation. The control and experimental groups shared similar student population numbers and socio-economic characteristics.

Source:"Developing Education in Multigrade Schools"Project Assessment Report on First Year Implementation, 1994

Test score results in the experimental schools were 27% higher than in the control schools (Table 7). In other words, the education materials and teaching methods of the UPE project visibly improved student performance. The guides, workbooks, and trainings were thus expanded to include all grades at the primary school level. By the beginning of the 1995-1996 school year, education materials had been produced and distributed to rural multigrade schools within 10 provinces (Graph 1 / Table 6). At this time, a third set of assessment tests was introduced in a total of 74 experimental schools and the same number of control schools within the 10 implementation provinces. Students from grades 1-5 received one series of assessment tests -- a pre-test-- at the beginning of the school year and another series -- a post-test -- at the end of the school year. Using this design, the progress of the students from the experimental schools could be measured against themselves (pre-test to post-test) as well as against the students from the control schools.

Source: Evaluation Report for the Project on the Universalization of Primary Education, MoNE, 1997

By comparing the mean scores between the control and experimental schools, the conclusion can again be reached that the UPE project improved student performance (Graph 2). These test results show both an improved level of individual student performance in the classroom (lower standard deviation value) and a higher rate of overall learning among all students within the classroom (higher mean score) (Table 8). "Since the data received by the results of the [assessment] tests...are in favor of the experimental schools, it can be said that the project had achieved its objectives." From a quantitative perspective, the UPE project successfully raised the level of learning achievement within rural multigrade classrooms.

Aside from the quantitative results, were the individuals and groups involved in the project satisfied with the methods of implementation? The UPE was a community project. As such, inspectors, parents, teachers, students and all the members of the community had to accept the project before success could be attained.

 All children have a right to a childhood filled with recreation and learning. Life for children in the village, however, is often quite different. Often, children are not allowed to go to school or to have free time to play, as they are needed in the fields for work or in the house to look after younger siblings. These children are, in essence, deprived of their childhood. However, with the help of community outreach under the UPE project, parents were taught the important role education plays in the welfare and development of their children. Slowly, more children from these villages, including girls, were allowed to attend school.

More children wanted to go to school, also. Learning under the UPE project became more active and student-centered, as students were guided by their teachers to be open to learning and to seek out answers on their own. When education becomes fun for children, they are more attentive and keen on learning. Hands-on activities and projects increased the entertainment level of the education process, in turn increasing the learning level within the village schools. Students were encouraged to study together and help each other in the learning process. The student workbooks allowed students with a higher capacity for learning to guide the students who did not learn as quickly. This was an important change within the daily routine of the multigrade classroom. Slow students did not lose interest and fall behind in the daily program; quicker students did not become bored as they were able to stay active serving as guides, or tutors. Teachers were allowed the necessary time to focus on other areas. Most importantly, as students took an active part in their own learning process, they began to understand how much they could achieve. They did not have to rely on a life as a farmer within the village. They could set their sights on becoming the next generation of doctors, lawyers, and architects of Turkey.

As teaching in the multigrade classroom became more student-centered, learning became more active. The teacher still served in the normal roles of mentor and educator, but, with the use of the new approach, more responsibility for learning was now placed on the shoulders of the students. The teacher could now move away from lessons in rote memorization so common in multigrade classrooms. The use of the new teacher guide books helped ease the time constraints of daily lesson preparation. An opportunity to increase the level of learning in the classroom through the implementation of new methodologies and techniques now existed. Teachers became more motivated and confident in their teaching skills.

The role of the teacher became more important within the community as parents placed more emphasis on education for their children. The teacher was often viewed as a commodity that served an invaluable service to the community. Whereas it was not uncommon to have a village teacher serve in a school for only one year, or only part of a year, before transferring out, an effort was now made to keep project teachers in the same village school for at least two years. Villages understood the need for continuity within the education system. Under the UPE project, teachers had more independent responsibility for their schools and the community. The role of teacher was becoming a more recognized and respected position.

The role of the inspector within the educational system is to evaluate the skills and progress of teachers within specific provinces. The report written by an inspector concerning a teacher could often be the sole guideline for a promotion within the teaching ranks. However, inspectors visited teachers in the village only a few times in the course of school year. Thus, the relationship between inspectors and teachers could understandably be tenuous, as the inspector held so much authority over the teacher’s position.

The inspector became an advisor and monitor to the teacher under the UPE project. Inspectors were first trained in the methodology and the curriculum of the UPE. They then served as trainers to the teachers of the project schools. Thus, a teacher-student relationship began to replace the earlier, more authoritarian, relationship. Both the inspectors and the teachers together took responsibility for the monitoring of the project within the village schools. Inspectors also took responsibility for the ongoing teacher-training programs within each province. Under the UPE project, the inspector became more of a mentor to the teacher, thus allowing the two groups to more effectively work and communicate together.

Parents are often the most difficult sector of society to influence regarding their own children. Although they want the best for their children, parents must also make sure that they provide for the needs of the family as a whole. When putting enough food on the table to feed the family is the top priority, as is often the case in the village, a father will often forfeit his children’s attendance at school for their help in the fields. Parents tend to raise their own children in the same manner in which they themselves were raised. Traditionally, within village society, work and family support are given higher priority than education. This cycle generally continues as children grow to adults and begin to raise their own children. Many village parents do not see themselves as active participants in the formal education process of their children. The UPE project, however, brought parents and the community into the educational process, making them active participants in the life of the school and educating them to the importance of education for all children within the village. Through empowerment by access to information, parents and the community became more accepting of the new education program.

Education is the sole method of changing the attitudes and traditions of people. As more children undergo schooling, societal attitudes shift to see the myriad benefits of education. When these children become parents later in life, they instill these same attitudes concerning education as a positive force into their own children. Gradually, traditional views change. The UPE project was a step in this changing process for Turkey. This project provided positive educational change and an attitude of acceptance from children, teachers, inspectors, parents, and the community as a whole. From a qualitative perspective, the Universalization of Primary Education project was a success. Yet this project was only a small first step in a larger process of reaching out to all the children of primary school age in Turkey.

Under the framework of the Government of Turkey (GoT)-UNICEF Plan of Cooperation for 1991-1995, the Basic Education Program, including the UPE project, was to be completed by the end of 1995. As the assessment tests had shown, strengthening curriculum through new education materials and teacher-trainings had improved the quality of rural education in the project schools. Thus, the UPE project was extended into 1996 as plans were finalized to expand the education activities on a larger national scale.

The World Bank, which had been funding a National Education Development Project (NEDP) within Turkey, agreed to collaborate with GoT to reallocate funds to continue these education activities. The World Bank was interested in the rural focus of the UPE project. Thus, GoT allocated $2,433,000 to be managed by UNICEF from 1996-1998 for the rural component of the Basic Education Pilot Project (BEPP), an expansion of the UPE project.

The BEPP was comprised of four components, only one of which was under the management of UNICEF -- the Rural Education Component. As with the UPE project, the rural component of the BEPP continued to upgrade the quality of basic education at the village level and increase the enrollment and schooling rates of children, especially girls. Of the three remaining components, the New School Construction Component, under the management of an independent construction firm, dealt with the building of new urban schools and the renovation of select rural schools. The State Institute of Statistics (SIS) managed the component on Evaluation Activities, working to quantitatively assess the impact of the pilot project on the education process. The fourth component, the preparation of the Basic Education Program (BEP), a national education program, aimed to utilize lessons learned throughout the UPE and BEPP to provide 8-year basic primary education for all the children of Turkey.

The Rural Component of the BEPP

The rural component of the BEPP was comprised of six sections,() each section monitored with UNICEF/GoT/World Bank collaboration throughout the two years of the pilot project. This rural component expanded upon the scope of the UPE, extending into nine provinces covering 274 multigrade schools and 28,000 children (Table 9).

Experience with the UPE project and the BEPP has shown that the quality of basic education will increase if teachers, students, and the community are empowered. Teachers are empowered through the acquisition of active learning and teaching skills, students through the acquisition of basic education materials, and the community through the acquisition of responsibility towards and ownership in the education process. Empowerment leads to a favorable learning environment, which, in turn, leads to increased enrollment, higher attendance rates, and a higher level of learning achievement. These basic education projects have increased the motivation and participation of teachers, students, and community alike, thereby raising the overall quality of basic education at the village level.

The long-term goal of the education project in Turkey is the education of all children within the primary education system. However, there has been a move within GoT/MoNE to close village schools where enrollment falls below certain levels due to the costs and difficulty of retaining teachers in remote rural areas. These students then have the option of being bussed to regional primary education schools or attending boarding schools. There exist several inherent problems for these systems. Winter weather and bad road conditions in much of eastern Turkey makes bussing systems unreliable, if not impossible. Many parents refuse to bus their children away from the village -- especially younger children and girls of all ages. Most boarding schools effectively eliminate girls and young children from the education process due to traditional views and parental concern. Both bussing systems and boarding schools incur high recurrent costs. Every village needs a school. The BEPP has shown that schools can become focal points and centers of learning for the whole village. Closing a school in one village deprives some child of an education to which he or she has a basic right. Keeping village schools open and active is the most beneficial and cost-effective education and community alternative.

Experience has shown that the resources and infrastructure exist within Turkey to make the goal of Education For All a reality. The Government of Turkey has shown a commitment to this goal by bringing UNICEF and the World Bank on as collaborative partners in an effort to make EFA part of the national agenda of the country.

Lessons learned from the UPE project and the BEPP have shown that strong cooperation must exist between the education sector and the community in order to successfully meet basic learning needs. At the district, provincial , and village levels, an investment must be made in all available human resources -- from inspectors to teachers to parents to students. Simply investing in primary education is not enough. To achieve EFA, investments must continue in early childhood education, parental education, and non-formal education. These areas serve as preparation for primary education, lead to greater parental support of children’s education, and create continuous learning opportunities for those in need. Educational needs also differ by location. Thus, within each project area, a needs assessment should be conducted. The community at the local level should be a part of this needs assessment, so that the local conditions are well-understood before project implementation. Innovative education solutions, such as distance learning methods, may need to be implemented to reach children inaccessible by conventional methods. Most importantly, rural basic education must continue to be emphasized if EFA in Turkey is to become a reality.

The Government of Turkey, through education, is investing in the future of the nation. The collaborative partnership with UNICEF and the World Bank is beneficial for creating the framework and base for enhancing education in Turkey. The resources provided by these partners, coupled with manpower and material resources of GoT, are invaluable in the process of extending education throughout the country. Emphasis is now being placed on re-teaching educators in active learning techniques, and in conducting an analysis of the education needs in project provinces throughout Turkey. These actions are being taken due to lessons learned through the UPE project and the BEPP.

National education policy is advancing. In August 1997, the Government of Turkey passed a law expanding compulsory basic education from a 5-year to an 8-year program. Turkey has thus proven its willingness on both the program and policy level to commit to achieving Education For All. 

Under the Basic Education Program from 1991-1996, emphasis was placed upon raising the primary school enrollment and increasing the quality of education in terms of learning achievement. The primary focus of the program was on girls and rural education. Based upon the successes attained, these objectives were continued and expanded upon under the Basic Education Pilot Project of 1996-1998, a collaborative effort of the Government of Turkey/UNICEF/World Bank. At the completion of this project in July 1998, plans were underway for the future direction of basic education in Turkey, including rural education. Rural communities must continue to be empowered in order to value education as highly as urban communities.

The Basic Education Program (BEP)—Phase 1 (not to be confused with the earlier Basic Education Program of 1991-1996) is the planned continuation of the Basic Education Pilot Project (BEPP). The BEP is a national program of action set up by GoT to provide basic education for all in Turkey. The overall objective of the project is to ensure the universalization of 8-year primary education in Turkey by providing quality educational opportunities for all children of compulsory schooling age (7-14 years of age). 

The BEP is an ambitious project which seeks to fulfill all educational objectives by the year 2001, a 3-year time frame. The World Bank has agreed to increase and extend funding to GoT for allocation to this project. Ideally, the Basic Education Program will foster an ongoing national education policy for Turkey, a policy built upon the reality of Education For All and 8 years of lessons learned with the Universalization of Primary Education (UPE) and the Basic Education Pilot Project (BEPP). This program, implemented and monitored by the Ministry of National Education, could be the final realization of taking a project all the way from the planning stages to national scale.

UNICEF continues to maintain concern for the education of girls and reaching out to those with little access to basic education, especially in the rural areas. In an effort to expand and upgrade access to rural basic education under the BEP, UNICEF recommends a continued effort to build upon the resources and knowledge generated from the UPE and BEPP experiences. Those projects taught that empowering local officials, teachers, parents, and the community with active learning and teaching skills served to enhance the quality of education. UNICEF also recommends maintaining a close collaboration with existing education faculties in carrying out the training strategies of the BEP. In this way, academicians will play a key role in the ongoing education reform within Turkey.

From the inception of the UPE project as part of the Basic Education Program through the BEPP and beyond has been a long process, just as the education of an individual from childhood through to adulthood is a long process. UNICEF remained involved in the basic education process of Turkey for close to a decade. Throughout that time, the organization continually monitored, analyzed, and assessed the successes and failures of each step of the basic education process. The lessons learned along the way have been integrated into each successive project phase. The education program continues to evolve, just as the child continues to grow. During this time, basic education has become more than child-centered. Basic education has become community-centered. The idea of education as a lifelong pursuit has begun to take hold, even at the rural level. Traditional values are being tested as more women and girls gain access to education. Teaching methods continue to evolve towards a more active, hands-on approach. Throughout all these changes, UNICEF kept the focus on the rural basic education process.

Ataturk once described the common villager as "the backbone of Turkish society" who had historically been "deprived of the light of education". UNICEF understands that Education For All in Turkey will never be achieved without a concerted effort to strengthen this ‘backbone’ and reach all of the unreached. Focusing upon this ideal, UNICEF, in collaboration with the Government of Turkey and the World Bank, has shown that the attainment of Education For All within Turkey is now more possible than ever before in the history of the country.

As early as 1961, the Turkish Law of Primary Education had stated the need to increase the time frame allotted for compulsory primary education from 5 years -- for children 6-11 years of age -- to 8 years -- for children 6-14 years of age -- through the merging of the 5-year primary schools with the 3-year middle schools. Enrollment in the middle school system had not been high enough to merit a nationwide transition to this 8-year plan, however. This project aimed to improve the quality of the basic education curriculum, train teachers, enhance community participation in the education process, and encourage more children to not only complete the first five years, but also to continue their education.

Education has a significant impact on the conditions of maternal and child health -- teaching the merits of greater spacing between births and increasing the chances of survival of children. The level of women’s education also adds to their individual sense of well-being and self-esteem. By 1992, the nationwide literacy rate for women of child bearing age (14-44 years old) in Turkey was 72%, with approximately 6.5 million women considering themselves illiterate. The project on Adult Education and Literacy was aimed at reducing adult illiteracy, especially among women beyond primary school age. The definition of literacy was expanded to include a continual process of learning beyond basic reading and writing. Under this project, a series of literacy books and videos were produced to convey health and parenting messages. Non-formal education programs on Mothers Training and Home Day-Care Givers Training were also implemented, benefiting over 6000 low-income women and leading to the training and certification of 800 home day-care givers by 1996. A 1995 assessment of the Mothers Training program showed that the participants had successfully attained higher learning achievement levels and were better able to prepare their young children for school.

Education of children begins at birth. During the early childhood years, the family plays a large role in the educational development of the child. In Turkey, many parents, due to low education levels, lack the necessary knowledge and skills regarding basic child development. This project aimed to move away from the conventional Turkish preschool system and introduce alternative, community-based childhood education and care programs that were accessible to the general population. The training programs and parenting materials produced for the Adult Education and Literacy project (Mothers Training and Home Day-Care Givers Training Programs) were also instituted under the ECDPE project. By 1997, these programs had expanded to become national, overseen by the Ministry of National Education (MoNE), with minimal input from UNICEF. In addition, a model preschool center was established in a low-income area of Istanbul in 1995 under the joint support of GoT, UNICEF, and Marmara University. This preschool, using both institutional and non-formal teaching methods, serves as a learning center for children and a training center on early childhood education for parents. The curriculum is based upon input from both children and parents in the community. Due to the success of this center, MoNE plans to establish 50 similar learning centers.

Each year, seasonal agricultural migrant workers and their families travel throughout the southern provinces of Turkey to gather cotton, rice, and fruit harvests for income. The environmental conditions of this lifestyle foster poor health and nutrition among the migrant families as well as little, if any, access to primary schooling for their children. The objective of this project was to provide these children with access to an education that would serve to increase the quality of life for their families and themselves. Primary education classes were offered in the evening, thus fitting into the workday of the migrant children, and transportation was provided to and from school. A meal was also provided to each child while at school in an effort to teach lessons in basic health and nutrition. Using a Child-to-Child active learning approach, the children would teach their families and friends lessons learned in school on health, nutrition, and lifestyle. By 1995, approximately 600 migrant children had been directly affected by this project, and MoNE began planning to extend the project to new provinces. This project also led to institutional change within the education system. Regulations were prepared and endorsed by MoNE obliging local educational officials to provide non-formal primary education opportunities for children in difficult circumstances around the country.

Of the approximately one million children between the ages of 4-18 registered as disabled in Turkey in 1993, 13% suffered hearing disabilities and 5% had visual impairment. The objectives of this project were to increase awareness of these disabilities in children. When undetected, hearing and visual disabilities significantly hinder the learning process. Children would be empowered through education to better cope with these disabilities. A community-based screening program was initiated by UNICEF in a low-income area of Ankara to provide early detection of these disabilities, and a series of guidebooks were produced to facilitate the care of disabled children by parents, teachers, and health workers at home and at school. MoNE soon extended this project into a nationwide program, and, by 1996, more than 5 million primary school children had undergone screening. A Congress of Disabilities was also organized to focus on programs and needs of disabled children and adults.

A persistent problem within the basic education system is the low schooling and high dropout rates of girls, especially in rural areas. Traditionally, the education of girls is not given priority within the family. Culturally, the idea of girls attending the same school as boys, even at the primary school level, is not always deemed proper. This project commissioned an anthropological study to better understand why girls are traditionally kept out of formal education. On this basis, the project then introduced approaches to increase the schooling and retention rates for girls, such as enlisting female teachers as role models and revising existing basic education curriculum to be more ‘girl-friendly’. Girls were also reached via non-formal education strategies (i.e. outside of the formal school environment). Between 1985 to 1995, the schooling rate for girls in primary school rose from 86% to almost 89%.

The project on School and the Environment was implemented to educate children and the community on prevalent environmental issues. Under this project, children served as the advocates of environmental change for the community. School Environment Groups, consisting of teachers, parents, and students, were organized in 8 primary schools to raise health and environmental consciousness. These groups were responsible for organizing environmental education activities within the school and community, such as renovating or building latrines on the school grounds or using recycled materials to produce education aids. The project produced educational materials -- an environmental game, a coloring book, and short films -- to raise environmental consciousness among the children and parents. Environmental messages were also incorporated into the newly-revised primary school curriculum. Although the materials produced are still used in the schools, the project was stopped in 1994 due to low funding and lack of community participation and supervision.

 SECTIONS OF THE BASIC EDUCATION PILOT PROJECT RURAL COMPONENT (1996-1998)

Officials and members of Provincial Planning Implementation Teams (PPIT) from the 9 selected provinces attended a seminar in June 1996 to become acquainted with the overall planning and implementation of the BEPP. These PPITs, one team per province, were organized for the specific purpose of providing ongoing monitoring of project activities. A series of four orientation/follow-up meetings, designed to allow the PPIT’s to provide updates on the project monitoring process, followed the seminar. A final review meeting in June 1998 provided an overall evaluation of the pilot project and offered feedback on future directions, marking the official completion of the BEPP.

The Teacher Guides and Student Activity Books produced under the UPE were revised and delivered to all the BEPP schools. Also, extra school supplies, such as pencils, notebooks, rulers, globes, and other teaching aids, including traditional folkloric costumes, musical instruments, and sports equipment, were purchased and sent to the project schools. These materials, along with aiding in the learning process, served to increase the interest of both students and parents in school activities.

In-service trainings were held to educate both inspectors and teachers. The inspectors were taught friendly monitoring processes and training techniques. Teachers were briefed on implementation techniques and methodologies of multigrade classroom teaching and community interaction. An innovative series of monthly trainings in each project province was implemented under this section. These continuous teacher-training activities, each one-day in length, covered various teaching and classroom topics, and were designed "to create a climate of communication and interaction between the teachers and instructors, [and] to help the teachers overcome the feeling of loneliness in their efforts to provide quality education [in the multigrade classroom]." Usually taught by inspectors, these trainings opened a further line of communication between inspectors and teachers. The trainings were open to all rural primary education teachers in the province, not solely BEPP teachers, thus helping to expand the BEPP philosophy outside of the project schools.

This program extended the parameters of the UPE. The School Funds Program aimed to raise school attendance rates, retention rates, and learning achievement through the enhancement of school/community relations and social mobilization. Under this program, School Funds Committees were set up in select villages to encourage community participation in improving the village education process. The School Funds Committee, comprised of the school principal, the muhtar (village chief), the imam (religious head), the village midwife, and 3 school parents, submitted project proposals for approval to the PPIT and GoT/UNICEF. Some villages established a community library and an activity/education center for use by the school and the village. Under this program, the village could create a feeling of civic pride and community interest in the school.

The School Promotion Campaign produced brochures, calendars, and a documentary film for the purpose of highlighting project achievements and raising public awareness on the merits of the transition to an 8-year basic education. The campaign aimed to strengthen cooperation between schools, parents, and the community and to increase acceptance of the education program through expanded access to information.

Project implementation was monitored in the field by inspectors, UNICEF, and members of MoNE. Continual monitoring had not been possible in the past due to limited resources (i.e. money, gasoline, available manpower) on the part of the Education Ministry. Now, with the added inputs from the World Bank and UNICEF, implementation problems and questions were addressed in the field on a timely basis, and the timeframe of the BEPP could progress as scheduled.

BEP.........................Basic Education Program

BEPP.......................Basic Education Pilot Project

CEA.........................Comprehensive Education Analysis

ECDPE.................….Early Childhood Development and Preschool Education

EFA.........................Education For All

GoT.........................Government of Turkey

IBRD.......................International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank)

MoNE......................Ministry of National Education

NEDP......................National Education Development Project

PPIT........................Provincial Planning Implementation Team

UNICEF...............….United Nations International Children’s Education Fund

UPE.........................Universalization of Primary Education

WCEFA...................World Conference on Education For All

1. Ataturk: Biography, Turkish National Commission for UNESCO / Turk Tarih Kurumu Basimevi, Ankara, 1981, p.154.

2. Developments in Turkish National Education System: 1990-1992, Republic of Turkey -- Ministry of National Education, Ankara, May 1992, p. 7.

3. Government of Turkey-UNICEF Programme of Cooperation: Mid-Term Review 1988-1989, UNICEF-Ankara, April 1990, p. 30.

4. The Situation Analysis of Mothers and Children in Turkey, Government of Turkey-UNICEF Programme of Cooperation, Country Program: 1991-1995, Ankara, April 1991, p. 188.

5. The Situation of Children and Women in Turkey: An Executive Summary, Government of Turkey and UNICEF, May 1998, p. 16.

6. The Situation Analysis of Mothers and Children in Turkey, loc. cit., p. 188.

7. UNICEF-Turkey 1990 Annual Report, UNICEF-Ankara, September 1990, p. 10.

8. N. Serpil Altuntek, An Anthropological Study: Education of Girls in the Villages of Aritopak (Van) and Hacimahmutlu (Sinop), Ankara, December 1992, pp. 41-42.

9. The Situation Analysis of Mothers and Children in Turkey, op. cit., p. 196.

10. Situation Analysis: Children and Women in Turkey, UNICEF-Ankara, September 1987, p. 33.

11. The Situation of Children and Women in Turkey: An Executive Summary, op. cit., p. 19.

12. Mary B. Anderson, Education For All: What Are We Waiting For?, UNICEF Programme Publications, New York, September 1992, p. 21.

13. Situation Analysis: Children and Women in Turkey, op.cit., p. 34.

14. Nurettin Fidan and Yasar Baykul, Meeting Basic Learning Needs in Primary Education Schools, UNICEF-Ankara, April 1991, p. 35.

15. The Situation of Children and Women in Turkey: An Executive Summary, op.cit., p. 20.

16. Government of Turkey-UNICEF Programme of Cooperation: Master Plan of Operations 1991-1995, Programme II: Basic Education, UNICEF-Ankara, October 1990,

pp. 4-43.

17. UNICEF Report to Mid-Term Review: 1991-1993, Government of Turkey-UNICEF Programme of Cooperation, Ankara, January 1994, p. 120.

18. Universalization of 8-Year Basic Education (UPE) Project: MONE/UNICEF-Turkey, UNICEF Position Paper, UNICEF-Ankara, May 1994, p. 7.

19. 1993 Progress Report on Country Programme Implementation, UNICEF-Ankara, December 1993, p. 64.

20. Turkish National Programme of Action for Children in the 1990's, Republic of Turkey, 1991, p. 2.

21. The Situation of Children and Women in Turkey: An Executive Summary, op.cit., p. 18.

22. Fidan and Baykul, Meeting Basic Learning Needs, op. cit., pp. 24-37.

23. Data taken from UNICEF-Turkey Annual Reports for the years 1991-1996.

24. UNICEF-Turkey 1995 Office Workplan, Ankara, March 1995, p. 14.

25. National Education Statistics -- Formal Education: 1995-1996, State Institute of Statistics Prime Ministry--Republic of Turkey, Ankara, December 1997, p. 1.

26. Yasar Baykul, "Developing Education in Multigrade Schools" Project Assessment Report on First Year Implementation, Ankara, June 1994, pp. 2-4.

27. Ibid., p. 14.

28. Zafer Turgay et al, Evaluation Report for the Project on the Universalization of Primary Education, Ministry of National Education -- General Directorate of Primary Education, Ankara, 1997, p. 12.

29. Ibid., p. 13.

30. Ibid., p. 12.

31. UNICEF-Turkey 1996 Annual Report, UNICEF-Ankara, January 1997, p. 11.

32. Turgay et al, Evaluation Report, loc. cit., p. 12.

33. Government of Turkey-UNICEF Programme of Cooperation: Master Plan of Operations 1997-2000, Ankara, 1997, p. 10.

34. 1996 Annual Report, op.cit., p. 1.

35. Basic Education Pilot Project (Rural Component): Progress Report I (June-December 1996), Government of Turkey/IBRD/UNICEF, Ankara, February 1997, pp. 4-5.

36. Basic Education Pilot Project (Rural Component): Addendum, Section II: Workplan, Government of Turkey-UNICEF, Ankara, August 1997, pp. 2-3.

37. Basic Education Pilot Project (Rural Component): Progress Report VI (January-March 1998), Government of Turkey/IBRD/UNICEF, Ankara, May 1998, p. 12.

38. Basic Education for All in Turkey: UNICEF’s Experience and its Position, Draft Position Paper, Ankara, April 1998.

39. Progress Report VI, op. cit., pp. 9-10.

40. UNICEF-Turkey 1997 Annual Report, UNICEF-Ankara, January 1998, p. 5.

41. Basic Education Program in Turkey: Capacity Building in Schools, UNICEF Draft Position Paper, Ankara, June 1998, p. 1.

42. Ibid., p. 2.

43. Ataturk: Biography, loc. cit., p. 154. 

44. Fidan and Baykul, Meeting Basic Learning Needs, op.cit., p. 12.

45. Better Child at 2000, Government of Turkey : Turkey National Programme of Action for Children, Ankara, 1993, p. 35.

46. UNICEF-Turkey 1995 Annual Report, UNICEF-Ankara, December 1995, p. 11.

47. The Situation of Children and Women in Turkey: An Executive Summary, op. cit., pp. 18-19.

48. 1995 Annual Report, op. cit., p. 19.

49. UNICEF-Turkey 1994 Annual Report: Updated Version, UNICEF-Ankara, March 1995, p. 22.

50. 1996 Annual Report, op.cit., p. 11-12.

51. The Situation of Children and Women in Turkey: An Executive Summary, op. cit., p. 22.

52. Ibid., p. 21.

53. Altuntek, An Anthropological Study, op. cit., p. 61.

54. Better Child at 2000, op. cit., p. 24.

55. 1997 Annual Report, op. cit., p. 6.

56. 1993 Progress Report, op. cit., p. 34.

57. Basic Education Pilot Project (Rural Component): Progress Report V (October - December 1997), Appendix 2a: Observations and Recommendations, Government of Turkey/IBRD/UNICEF, Ankara, February 1998, p. 12.

58. Progress Report I, op. cit., p. 3.

59. Basic Education Pilot Project (Rural Component): Progress Report IV (July-September 1997), Government of Turkey/IBRD/UNICEF, Ankara, 1997, p. 6.

The author wishes to thank the members of the UNICEF-Turkey Education Team, without whose guidance, support, and friendship this document would not have been possible: Nurper Ulkuer -- Social Research and Education Project Officer; Osman Adikutlu -- Assistant Project Officer in Education; Nil Ayhan -- Education Consultant; and Mine Altin -- Education Program Secretary. And to all the staff of UNICEF-Ankara: May you continue to work for the good of the children in Turkey.