Turkish education policies and practices: inclusive or exclusionary?

ABSTRACT

This research aims to determine the opinions of teachers and educational administrators about how inclusive the Turkish education system is and attempts to provide a profound picture of inclusive education policies and practices in Turkey. In this qualitative-phenomenological study, sampling technique was used. Thirteen general education teachers and seven administrators, who participated in inclusive education in-service teacher training activities, constituted the working group of the study. The data were collected with a semi-structured interview form. The obtained data were analysed through the content analysis method. The findings revealed that inclusive education is still considered in terms of increasing the rates of schooling, and the policies and practices regarding it have not gone beyond mere integration. Although there have been remarkable steps regarding the inclusion of students, who are disadvantaged in terms of their disability, ethnicity and refugee, the Turkish education system is still far from being inclusive and fair. Hence, it was suggested that discussions on inclusion in the education system should go beyond the quantifiable indicators and be organized to include all disadvantageous groups of students, not just the visible ones.

KEYWORDS:

• Inclusive
• exclusionary
• disability
• ethnicity
• refugee

Memorial note

This study is dedicated to the memory of the co-author of Prof. Dr. Kadir Beycioglu, who has passed away while this study is in peer review process. He has always been an inspiration for me through both his personality and distinctive academic stance. With these feelings, thank you one more time my dear teacher, brother and colleague for all the meanings you brought to my life…

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Fatma Kesik

Fatma Kesik received her Ph.D. in the Department of Educational Administration. She is an English Teacher at the Ministry of National Education in Manisa, Turkey. Her research interests are critical pedagogy, critical theory in educational administration, social justice and inclusion in education, religious education policies, etc.

Kadir Beycioglu

Kadir Beycioglu works as a Professor of Educational Administration at Dokuz Eylul University, BucaFaculty of Education Izmir, Turkey. His study topics are educational change, school development, and educational leadership. He is a member of the International Study of Principal Preparation (ISPP) project and International School Leadership Development Network – Social Justice Leadership Strand by BELMAS and UCEA. He has published several articles in leading international journals and in national journals. He has also acted as guest editor for some international journals and books and has published chapters in books. Dr. Beycioglu is the founding editor of the Research in Educational Administration & Leadership (REAL), the Journal of the Turkish Educational Administration Society and has been a Council Member of the European Educational Research Association, the British Educational Leadership, Management & Administration Society, and the Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management.