Turkey : the rise of the phoenix in education

Abstract

I was born in 1942, the fourth child in a family that lived in Malatya, a province in South Eastern Anatolia, where my father was a government official working in the Turkish State Railways. Nearly twenty years before my birth, in 1923, the Turkish Republic had been established. In those years the country, which had suffered great poverty under the invasion of foreign armies, achieved independence thanks to the solidarity and great sacrifices of its people. Simultaneously, reforms in all areas of life—social, political, economic—followed hot on the heels of each other, helping Turkey achieve standards similar to those found in other nations. Some of these reforms were readily adopted, while some met with resistance, and great efforts were needed before they could be implemented. Being immersed in these historical processes shaped my own development as a child, and as a citizen. While Turkey was struggling with its programme of development, surrounding countries were witnessing one of the most important events in world history, World War II. At that time, the best the Turkish government could do was to keep the country out of the conflict. It was a time when the wounds of battles past were not entirely healed, and the new Republic had just been created from the ashes of an empire in ruins. To give up neutrality and become embroiled in a new war would have jeopardised the reforms that were so badly needed in Turkey. In the early 1900s, my family, from both my mother’s and father’s side, migrated from the empire’s lost territories, today’s Balkan states. My parents witnessed, step by step, the fall of an empire and the establishment of the new republic. Since the family left all its assets in the abandoned lands, their arrival in the Motherland also meant a fresh start for them. Living during the years of the War of Independence and experiencing the adventure of the establishment of the new republic transformed my father’s conservative world view. He decided that education would be the only way forward, even for his daughters. He and my mother did their utmost to provide us with the support we needed right through our educational career. In many ways, therefore, my parents were much more broadminded: not many people from their social station encouraged their daughters to embark on a university track. Besides my sister, I had two elder brothers, the eldest of whom died when I was still very young. My older brother and sister thus became my role models many ways, and their different approach to life as well as their hobbies and leisure pursuits helped me grow up into a versatile person. I remember that the radio, our only means of communication and recreation, was the main reason for dispute between my brother and my sister because of their different tastes. My brother liked Turkish folk music whereas my sister was a fan of Western classical music and operas. These contrasting tastes, I think, helped me learn about both types of music and also encouraged me to like them both, opening doors to two different worlds of experience. Schooling was quite straightforward for me. As far as I can recall, I was successful during my primary school years, and did not have any difficulties. I remember being a calm, hardworking and sociable student, enjoying good relations with teachers and friends alike. I started junior high in a school for girls where my elder sister was studying, and where she was doing particularly well. Even though it was then legally possible to attend co-education settings, my parents preferred that both my sister and I attend a girls’ school in the neighbourhood. Some of our teachers compared me constantly to her, and I suspect that this affected me greatly: I tried to be different from her and to do things that she did not do. While she took up science and math, I opted for literature, history and arts. The years at high school were peaceful and calm, a time of self-discovery, where I could assert my identity as distinct. Our teachers, the ‘first generation of the Republic’, were people wholly dedicated to Atatürk’s reforms and ideas. They worked hard to mould us into good citizens, and while at the time I thought that some of them were unduly strict, and even somewhat intolerant, I can say that I had no difficulties adjusting to their expectations. Each and every one of them was a committed professional, most capable in the area they were teaching, and engaging with their job with great enthusiasm, commitment and seriousness. Their goal was the success of their students, and they, like us, wanted to make sure that the education we received contributed to the country’s development. I believe this was the main reason for their fastidiousness. During classes and in recess time they kept on explaining to us the importance of hard work, dedication, and commitment to the country. It is clear to me that they were imbued with a sense of mission, wanting to use education to prepare citizens of a fledgling democratic Republic, keen to assert its place in the developed world. The notion of ‘responsibility’ was primordial in the educational system at that time. Not much reference was made to student rights. I believe this affected me a great deal. It took a long time for me to establish a balance between my responsibilities and my rights. As time went by, the country’s political structure changed greatly. During my teenage years, many transformations impacted quickly on our lives due to developments in the political system: there was a change from a one party government to multi-political party government, and the idea of a statist government and economy was slowly replaced by a commitment to a free market economy and to capitalism. Changes could be seen everywhere, symbolised to me by the building of motorways, which replaced the railroads that I had been accustomed to, and which had been regarded as the apple of the country’s eye during the early years of the establishment of the Republic. Despite politicians’ promises, an increase in democracy did not necessarily bring about an environment that was more tolerant of freedom. The country’s commitment to servicing foreign loans represented an increasing burden. More radically, and during my last year in high school, in 1960, the country suffered a military coup d’état. The military overthrow of the government greatly affected life in the country.