Education in the European Union is primarily the responsibility of the Member States. However, as stipulated in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, it is foreseen that cooperation between the Member States should be promoted in order to increase the quality of education in the EU, to preserve the cultural richness and to develop a common culture. In this context, the Open Coordination Method adopted by the European Union in the 1990s has been used in the field of education with the Lisbon Strategy prepared in 2000. In the open coordination method, targets and indicators are identified and good practice examples and policies are shared among countries to achieve these goals.
Within the framework of the Lisbon Strategy, which aims to have a more competitive and dynamic economy, the European Union has created 8 peer learning groups within the framework of the Education and Training 2010 Work Program. The aim is to exchange experiences and cooperation through Peer Learning Groups and Peer Learning Activities of policymakers and practitioners at the European level. Subsequently, within the framework of the European 2020 Strategy, prepared in 2010, mutually supportive targets for employment, education, social inclusion, R & D, climate and energy were defined within the framework of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. It is aimed to lower the rate of early school drop-outs to below 10% and to raise the graduation rate of young people in the age range 30-34 to at least 40%. Within the context of the EU 2020 Strategy, the outputs obtained from the "Education and Training 2010" work program were evaluated and the Education and Training 2020 Work Program was prepared. The program aims to reach the targets set by the Education and Teaching 2020 Strategy by using the working groups and the open coordination method.
Education and Training 2020 "Strategy presents four strategic objectives:
Increasing the quality and efficiency of educational systems;
Promoting equity, social cohesion, and active citizenship, and
Fostering the efforts for developing innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship at all levels of education
Basic indicators of Education and Instruction 2020 are:
Ensuring that at least 15% of adults have lifelong learning participation,
Lowering the rate of failure to 15% in reading, mathematics, and science in the age group of 15
Lowering the rate of early termination of education and training (18-24 years) to below 10%
Increasing the rate of tertiary access in the age range 30-34 to at least 40%
Ensuring at least 95% of the children between 4 and compulsory primary education age have pre-school education participation
Ensuring that at least 20% of higher education graduates and some of the education of 6% of those who are in the age range of 18-34 years have received education abroad
Ensuring that at least 82% of graduates are employed (between 20-24 years of age, at least high school graduates and graduates from 1 to 3 years ago)
Turkey, which adopted the Education and Training 2010 objectives, of European Union and the goals of Education and Training adopted in 2020 later, has been working in line with these targets.
Turkey continues to make progress in its Education and Training 2020 indicators. For example, early school dropouts decreased from 48.8% in 2006 to 36.4% in 2015, while the rate of higher education increased from 11.9% in 2006 to 23.6% in 2015; life-long learning participation rate rose from 2% in 2006 to 5.5% in 2015; Participation in early childhood education (4-5 years) increased from 23.2% in 2006 to 51.7% in 2014 and the employment rate of new graduates was 46.9% in 2006 and 55.5% in 2015.
• Our country actively participates in the European Union's mobility activities in the field of education and youth within the scope of Erasmus +. The National Agency of Turkey, which is responsible for the implementation of the EU Education and Youth Program, has been carrying out its operations since 2004.
• Turkey showed a significant improvement in primary education participation, especially in the higher education system of the Bologna Process, with the Lifelong Learning and Youth programs and gender balance.
• As investment in education increases, participation in education has increased considerably. The targets for the 2012-13 academic year were 50% for early childhood education and 100% for primary and secondary education. In addition, a significant increase has been observed in recent years, especially for students with special education needs and in the infrastructure of educational facilities in basic education technology investments.
• Turkey agreed to the 2010-2013 Lifelong Learning (LLL) Strategy in June 2009 and to Action Plan and in February 2010. This strategy includes government agencies, non-governmental organizations, universities, and local government bodies. This multi-dimensional strategy aims to encourage and cooperate with the stakeholders in the LLP processes of disadvantaged groups, female students and adult students seeking access to education.
The European reference tools have exerted an influential impact on the re-organization and reforming process of the Turkish educational system. The reference tools that created this impact can be referred to as Bologna Process, Quality Assurance Systems, and the 2020 European Educational Strategy. Turkey has recently become much more active both in student mobility and teacher/teaching staff mobility and exchange through EU programs. Topics of student mobility and teacher and teaching staff mobility and exchange are addressed in detail in as follows.
International student mobility in Turkey is seen mostly at the higher education level. Turkish students willing to have an education abroad generally prefer the USA and European countries (especially Germany, France and Britain) while mobility from abroad to Turkey is mostly included in Asian countries. Within EU countries, it is seen that a relatively limited number of students prefer Turkish universities.
In terms of outgoing students, Turkey's share in Erasmus mobility is close to half of its share in budget allocations. Given that Turkey has only begun to take place in Erasmus since 2004-05, it is expected that the student movement in high schools in the stocks will continue to increase in the coming years. Turkey is currently the second country in the European Higher Education Area with the highest number of students after Russia. This human capital contributes to the social and economic development of the country.
The share of Turkey in Erasmus mobility in terms of outgoing students is close to half of its share in budget allocations. Considering that Turkey has started to take place in Erasmus only since 2004-05, it can be expected that the shares will continue to increase in forthcoming years. The main factors affected student mobility is listed as follows in the national reports (Ulusal Raporlar).
In line with the Strategic Framework for European cooperation in Education and Training 2020, such competences as innovation and creativity need to be fostered regardless of the education levels. It is a must that cooperation between enterprises and educational institutions to ensure mutual bonds should be made so as to create more flexible communication environments.
In terms of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship, there are national resource centers in place to promote science and mathematics education and stimulate interest among pupils and teachers for mathematics, science, and technology, as well as to promoted activities fostering teacher collaboration. The Turkish National Agency is supporting the components such as innovation and entrepreneurship with the projects that include these terms. Also, the Ministry of Science, Industry, and Technology is encouraging the programs developed by any kind of institution to activate eco-innovation.
Reform movements in Turkey with the goal of joining the EU can be discussed under the Lisbon and Bologna processes. Turkey embraces both of those important steps and in terms of the correlation between development and education, the country scrutinizes the objectives fo the Lisbon.
Turkey, adopting the goals of the Education and Training proposed in 2010 by the European Union and objectives of Education and Training 2020, has been working in line with these targets.
General and special purposes of primary education are defined in the Basic Law of National Education:
• To give each Turkish child basic knowledge, skills, attitudes, and habits necessary to become a good citizen and train them appropriately in the national spiritual sense,
• To prepare each Turkish child to a higher education level by developing his own interests, abilities, and abilities.
The Regulation on Primary Education Institutions defines the purposes of primary education in a more comprehensive way. The Regulation also emphasizes the objectives to be gained in order to learn about national and universal cultural values, to follow multi-dimensional developments, to recognize and protect nature, to use modern technologies and to obtain information on information access techniques. This framework aims to develop students in the areas of communication, problem-solving, reasoning, inquiry, information technology and entrepreneurship, as well as skills such as scientific thinking, entrepreneurship, effective and competent use of the Turkish language, critical thinking, and creative thinking.