Teaching or testing, which matters more? Transition among education levels in Turkey
Abstract views: 174
/ 
PDF downloads: 153
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52380/ijcer.2023.10.2.376Keywords:
Educational policy recommendations, secondary school education, primary educationAbstract
This study analyses the alignment between educational policy of Turkey and high stakes tests administered for transitioning from secondary to high schools. Research questions focus on the opinions of secondary school teachers about the alignment between the transit exam questions and curricula, course books, and materials as well as their opinions on high stakes testing. Research was conducted based on a mixed methods study model utilizing the triangulation design. A total of 109 teachers from six different majors working in Ankara participated in the study. An online survey consisting of eight questions was used to get teachers’ opinions. The first three questions were analyzed by chi-square tests and percentages, the fourth by arithmetic means and the last four questions by qualitative content analysis method. Results showed that in the current Turkish learning-teaching process, education is serving dominantly for tests emphasizing an evaluation oriented education system which is in contrast with education policy documents targeting the year 2023.
References
Aslan, G. (2017). Determinants of Student Successes in Transition from Basic Education to Secondary DOI: https://doi.org/10.15390/EB.2017.6371
Education (TEOG) Examination: An Analysis Related to Non School Variables. Education and Science, 42(190), 211-236.
Atılgan, H. (2018). Transition Among Education Levels in Turkey: Past-Present and a Recommended Model.
Ege Journal of Education, 19(1), 1-18.
Au, W. (2017). What the Resistance to High-Stakes testing can Teach Us About Urban Classrooms. In DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6351-032-5_3
Between the World and the Urban Classroom. Edited by George Sirrakos Jr. & Christopher Emdin. Teachers College, Columbia University, Sense Publishers.
Aydın, (2021). Dershaneler Kapatıldı, Kaçak Okullar Açıldı! [Dershanes were Closed Down but Illegal Schools
Opened up]. Received from https://www.sozcu.com.tr/2021/egitim/dershaneler-kapatildi-kacak-okullar-acildi-6518941/ on 3 July 2021.
Bemmoussat, N.D., & Bouyakoub, N. (2019) English Language Education in Algeria: Hostage of an Exam- DOI: https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/pjcz9
Centric Education System. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ), 10(3).
Berliner, D. (2011). Rational Responses to High Stakes Testing: The Case of Curriculum Narrowing and the DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2011.607151
Harm That Follows. Cambridge Journal of Education 41(3), 287–302.
Caner, H.E., & Bayhan, S. (2020). High-Stakes Examination Policies and Transformation of the Turkish DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2020.102263
Education System. International Journal of Educational Development 79.
Coşkun, Y.D. (2017). ERG Öğretim Programları Arka Plan Raporu. [ERG Background Curricula Report].
ERG Educational Reform Initiative. Received from https://www.egitimreformugirisimi.org/wpcontent/uploads/2017/03/Ogretim_Programlari_Arka_Plan_Raporu.pdf on August 10, 2021.
Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (3rd ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Çelik, Z. (2015) Ortaöğretime ve Yükseköğretime Geçiş Sınavlarının Kıskacında Ortaöğretim Sistemi
[Secondary School System Under the Pressure of Transition to Secondary and Higher Education Exams] In, Türkiye'de Eğitim Politikaları [Education Policies in Turkey] (pp.273-298 Edition: 1. Publisher: Nobel& ILEM Publishing. Ed. A.Gümüş.
DP. (2019). Eleventh Development Plan, 2019-2023. Decision of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.
Received from https://www.sbb.gov.tr/wp content/uploads/2022/07/Eleventh_Development_Plan_2019-2023.pdf on 15.04.2022.
Emery, K., & Ohanian, S. (2004). Why is Corporate America Bashing Our Public Schools? Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E., & Hyun, H. H. (2012). How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education (8th
ed.) New York: Mc Graw Hill.
Gedikoğlu, T. (2005). Turkish Education System during European Union Membership: Problems and Solutions.
Mersin University Journal of the Faculty of Education, 1(1), 66-80.
Hacker, J. S., & Pierson, P. (2010). Winner-Take-all Politics. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Hamilton, L.S. (2011). Testing What Has Been Taught. American Educator. Received from
https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/periodicals/Hamilton.pdf on 15 November, 2021.
Hatipoğlu, Ç. (2016). The Impact of the University Entrance Exam on EFL Education in Turkey: Pre-service DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.10.038
English Language Teachers’ Perspective. International Conference on Teaching and Learning English as an Additional Language, GlobELT 2016, 14-17 April 2016, Antalya, Turkey.
Jackson, M. (2020). Raising the Stakes: Inequality and Testing in the Russian Education System. Social Forces DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soz152
(4), 1751–1773.
Kartal, S. (2013). The Points to Change by Candidate Teachers Perceptions about our Education System. Uşak
University Social Sciences Journal. Special Volume, 248-262. DOI: 10.12780/UUSBD185 DOI: https://doi.org/10.12780/UUSBD185
Miles, M, B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook. (2nd ed).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
MoNE. (2017). Life Sciences Curriculum. Turkish Ministry of Education Publications.
Musoba, G. (2011). Accountability Policies and Readiness for College for Diverse Students. Educational
Policy, 25(3), 451-487.
Neyişci, N., Turabik, T., Gün, F., & Kısa, N. (2020). Problems of the Turkish Education System According to
the Prospective Teachers and Their Possible Solutions. Kastamonu Education Journal, 28(6), 2257-2270. doi: 10.24106/kefdergi.4095.
Nichols, S. L., Berliner, D.C. (2007). Collateral Damage: How High-Stakes Testing Corrupts America's
Schools. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press
OECD. (2020). Education Policy Outlook, Turkey. Education Policy Outlook.
Pham, H. (2021). Challenges Defining a Life Purpose in an Exam-Driven Culture: A Case of Vietnam.
Proceedings of the 17th International Conference of the Asia Association of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (Asia CALL 2021). DOI https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210226.028 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210226.028
Roth, G., Assor, A., Kanat-Maymon, Y., Kaplan, H. (2007). Autonomous Motivation for Teaching: How Self-
Determined Teaching May Lead to Self-Determined Learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99(4), 761-774.
Semerci, Ç., & Batdi, V. (2015). A Meta-Analysis of Constructivist Learning Approach on Learners’ Academic
Achievements, Retention and Attitudes. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 3(2).
Shohamy, E. (2001). The Power of Tests. A Critical Perspective on the Uses of Language Tests. London:
Longman/Pearson Education.
Sirotnik, K.A. (2004). What Ought to Matter in Public Education (pp 118-119). In Strange, yet Familiar:
Assessment-Driven Education. Linda Mabry Editor. Teachers College, Columbia University New York and London.
So, K., & Kang, J. (2014). Curriculum Reform in Korea: Issues and Challenges for Twenty First Century DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-013-0161-2
Learning. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 23, 795–803.
Sung, Y., & Kang, M. (2012). The Cultural Politics of National Testing and Test Result Release Policy in South DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2011.621691
Korea: A Critical Discourse Analysis. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 32(1), 53–73.
Şad, S.N., & Şahiner, Y.K. (2016). Students’ Teachers’ and Parents’ Views about Transition from Basic
Education to Secondary Education (BESE) system. Elementary Education Online, 15(1), 53-76.
TTKB [Board of Education and Discipline]. (2017). Müfredatta Yenileme ve Değişiklik Çalışmalarımız
Üzerine. [Upon Renewal and Changes on Curricula]. Received from
http://ttkb.meb.gov.tr/meb_iys_dosyalar/2017_07/18160003_basin_aciklamasi-program.pdf on 15 September, 2021.
VFO (2021). Turkey’s Education Vision, 2023. Received from
https://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/sites/default/files/ressources/turkey_education_vision_2023.pdf on 15.03.2022.
Wang, Y. (2020). Does a Test-Driven Education System Fulfill General Education Expectations? A study on the
National College Entrance Exam in China. M.A Thesis, Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Georgetown University, Washington D.C.
Wheatley, K.F. (2015). Factors that Perpetuate Test-Driven, Factory-Style Schooling: Implications for Policy
and Practice. International Journal of Learning, Teaching, and Educational Research, 10(2), 1-17.
Xue, H., & Ding, X. (2009). A Study on Additional Instruction for Students in Cities and Towns in China.
Educational Research, 348, 39-46.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Erdem aksoy
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
