ERIC Number: EJ1080063
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0305-0068
EISSN: N/A
Social Change, Competition and Inequality: Macro Societal Patterns Reflected in Curriculum Practices of Turkish Schools
Somel, Rahsan Nazli; Nohl, Arnd-Michael
Comparative Education, v51 n4 p502-518 2015
Curriculum reforms provide a unique opportunity to investigate how in times of social change education is not only influenced by, but also itself a driver of, competition and inequality. This article sheds light on a specific instance of how macro-societal patterns in education intermingle in twenty-first century Turkey by inquiring into a major curriculum reform in primary schools. To compare the diverse ways newly introduced curricula were put into practice across the country, five schools located in the countryside or in socio-economically varying urban neighbourhoods were investigated. The interpretation of group discussions with parents and teachers, as well as expert interviews with school principals using the Documentary Method, revealed divergent classroom practices related to three areas: generational differences among teachers, unequal access to resources for certain schools and for parents' milieux. These areas are all the result of social change in Turkey.
Descriptors: Social Change, Competition, Urban Areas, Neighborhoods, Interviews, Parent Attitudes, Teacher Attitudes, Classroom Techniques, Foreign Countries, Principals, Administrator Attitudes, Social Differences, Equal Education, Conflict, Parent Teacher Cooperation, Teaching Methods, Slums, Test Preparation, Disadvantaged Schools, Rural Schools, Middle Class, Curriculum, Elementary School Students, Elementary School Teachers
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Turkey
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A