US Influence On The Education System In Turkey: An Analysis Of Reports By American Education Specialists

Abstract

This study aimed to analyse reports prepared by American education specialists visiting Turkey from the Proclamation of the Republic till the end of the 1950s to inspect Turkeys education system. In accordance with this purpose, first, the foreign specialists reports are briefly introduced chronologically and then American specialist reports are analysed. This study examined reports prepared by J. Dewey (1924), Beryl Parker (1934), the committee under the presidency of E. Walter Kemmerer (1933-1934), W. Dickerman (1951), John Rufi (1951), R. J. Maaske (1953), and M. Costat (1955). These seven reports were selected for analysis as they were published by the Ministry of National Education. Since the main source of data for the study was the reports of American specialists, document analysis - a qualitative research method - was employed. It is important to check the originality of the written sources acquired for document analysis. As the Ministry published all the reports as a book, they qualify as original, first-hand sources. Secondary data sources were reviews or explanatory studies on Turkeys education history and foreign specialist reports. The study ascertained that the reports prepared by American specialists largely corresponded; the observations and recommendations in the reports essentially focused on the same issues. Based on these similarities, it can be inferred that all the specialists stayed informed of each other and correctly identified the problems in the Turkish education system.