Institutions, Education Models and Levels

Pre-service teacher education of pre-school teachers, primary and secondary teachers are carried out by tertiary teacher education programs. The major source of teacher education is the faculties of education. All of the teacher education programs last four years. In addition, Teaching Profession Knowledge Master's Programs without Thesis will be opened in order to provide pedagogical formation for those who graduated from departments other than the faculty of education that constitute a resource for teaching. Council of Higher Education is the only administrative body that designs the teacher education programs. In this process, the Ministry of National Education also cooperates with the faculties of education. In 2018, all of the teacher education programs begun to offer "special education" course.

With the organization actualized in 2006-2007 academic year, all of the teacher education programs (including music, physical education, painting, and foreign languages education) included a ‘special education’ course. Universities are able to offer further -courses or criteria but those cannot be at a lower standard.

22th and 33th Articles of the Law of Council of Higher Education set the minimum criteria and work conditions of the faculty staff as well as their employment and promotion standards. Universities may dictate further criteria to those standards, but not at a lower criterion.

Pre-service teacher education models, institutions and duration are as follows: Pre-service teacher education has been carried out at universities since 1982. The major model of teacher education in Turkey is concurrent model and the major institutions are faculties of education. Within this model, general knowledge, field knowledge and teaching practicum are offered in the program. In addition to this program, Pedagogic Formation Training Program is offered, initially to the graduates of faculties of science and letters, and teacher education is also actualized accordingly. In addition to this model, teacher training was also provided through the "Pedagogical Formation Education Certificate Program" organized for graduates of other faculties, especially the graduates of science and literature faculties.

Admission Requirements

Access to all higher education institutions in Turkey is regulated by Article 45 of the Law on Higher Education 2547. Accordingly, it is necessary to have a high school diploma for admission to higher education institutions. Higher education entrance examination center is done twice a year by OSYM, Higher Education Institutions Examionation (TR:YKS). This examination offers three stages, which are Basic Competency Test (TR: TYT), Field Competency Test (TR: AYT) and Foreign Language Test (TR: YDT). All of the candidates are to take TYT, but the rest are optional. Candidates are placed in the higher education entrance examination to higher education institutions. This system applies to all faculties of education according to their scores and their preferences, and school grade points. There is an exception to this practice: Teacher training programs accepting students with an aptitude examination (art, music, physical education and sports). Each faculty of education admits students by aptitude exams in addition to the points TYT. The regulations relating to special aptitude test are determined by the faculties and colleges. 

Curriculum, Fields of Expertise and Learning Outcomes

In pre-service teacher education, the duration for the teaching profession courses (theoretical and practical) composes the 25-30% of the total program, for both primary and secondary level teacher education programs. Teacher candidates appointed for all of the education cycles, pre-school, primary and secondary, are to go through a ‘candidate teacher’ process at least for a year and at most for two years. Candidate teachers may serve in cities different than their appointment city. They are subjected to 654 hours of cultivation in the period they are appointed and two periods of performance evaluation at the same time. Candidate teachers have to work at least for a year and complete the performance assessment process successfully, and then they become eligible for the oral and written exam. Those who successfully complete this process are appointed as ‘tenured teachers’. The general framework of the candidate teachers was issued in 2014, as follows:

• Criteria to refer in performance assessment and the processes related to the examinations as well as those for the oral examinations;
• General regulations concerning the appointment of the tenured teachers and of the unsuccessful teachers as well as the repetition of the examinations;
• Concerning law depicting the circumstances in which teachers are fired from their posts;
• The regulation on teachers’ discrediting from the post in case of a failure during candidateship process and examinations even if they worked in an institution covered by 657th Law and completed their candidateship procedures initially.
• Regulations concerning the establishment of the examination commissions;
• The concerning Articles of the 657th Law dated 14.07.1965, in which it is stated that completion of the candidateship in state officers does not secure the candidateship in teaching posts;
• Criteria set to establish examination commissions;
• Criteria set to construct a running regulation;
• A temporary 4th Article was added to the abovementioned law in which it is stated that those regulations shall be applied to those who were employed after the enforcement of the law 6528 put into effect on 14.03.2014.

Special Skills and Expertise

According to the 43 Act of the Major Act of National Education numbered 1739, teacher training programs are to cover following three fields in all fields of teacher education, as follows:

• General Culture
• Field Education
• Teaching Profession Courses

CoHE is ultimately responsible for preservice teacher education programs. Faculties of education possess a partial autonomy (25% of the whole program). As stated above, teacher training programs are to cover following three fields in all fields of teacher education and the percentages of each are as follows:

• General Culture 15-20%
• Field Education 50-60%
• Pedagogic Formation 30-35%

The undergraduate programs of the Faculty of Education-Educational Sciences have been renewed as of the academic year 2018-2019. The undergraduate programs which are renewed by being fully in line with the Bologna process consist of 25% elective courses.

Elective courses are in the dimension of general culture, pedagogical formation and field education courses. Some changes in pedagogical formation courses;

•The School Experience course has been abolished since it cannot be performed in a functional and effective manner and it is included in two semesters, namely Teaching Practice 1 and Teaching Practice 2.

•Courses “Sociology of Education”, History of Turkish Education”, “Philosophy of Education” which, are not included in the old programs or in very few programs as elective courses, have been included as common vocational courses in all language programs. In addition, “Ethics and Ethics in Education” is given in all programs related to ethics and ethics.

Some changes in general culture courses;

• The contents of the courses of Foreign Language 1 and Foreign Language 2 have been updated with the daily life in order to gain functional language skills and to remove the grammar teaching.

• The names of the courses are “Turkish 1: Written Expression” and “Turkish 2: Verbal Expression” and “Turkish Language 1 and Turkish Language 2” in the new programs. The content of the course “Turkish Language 2” has been reorganized in the form of academic language and writing.

• Courses “Computer 1 and Computer 2” have been removed from the programs and “Information Technologies”, which includes current technologies, and technologies related to education and training, have been added instead of these courses.

• Course “Community Service Practices” has been updated as a common course in all programs.

Some changes in field education (AE) courses;

• Courses “Special Teaching Methods 1 and Special Teaching Methods 2” have been removed in undergraduate programs. Instead, courses on the teaching of the related field have opened.

• In the programs consisting of more than one sub-field, Field Education courses are structured by taking into consideration the learning areas of the curriculum of the Ministry of Education. For example, Teaching of Numbers”, “Teaching Geometry and Measurement”, ”Teaching Algebra“, and “Teaching Probability and Statistics “are included in the Elementary Mathematics Teaching program.

• In order to enable pre-service teachers to select and use more qualified textbooks, course “Textbook Review” has been added to the programs by introducing the related field.

• A standardization in terms of course names, terminology and contents has been achieved between the programs in accordance with the general trends in the courses of closely related programs (eg language education programs).

Teacher Educators

Teacher educators of all fields are to hold a PhD diploma at faculties of education (including the early childhood education and pre-school), and are educated in graduate programs of universities. Those programs educate teacher educators in field, field education and educational sciences. Graduates of those programs give the courses to the student teachers based on their fields of expertise. In addition, during the practicum session performed in the schools of Ministry of National Education, selected veteran teachers get in touch with the student teachers as mentors.

Qualifications, Evaluation and Certificate

Faculties of Education students; faculty and course of their teaching practice in schools are monitored by teachers and are assessed. Measurement and evaluation of student achievement in the course of the written exams, assignments, portfolio assessment, and observation of teaching performance are carried out this way although the students are obliged to enter at least one midterm and one final exam for each course according to different faculties. In order to graduate, to achieve the projected total loans and teaching practice should be successful from the course. There is also a final exam. In the diplomas, students of the field they graduate (eg, classroom teacher, history teacher, etc.) is specified. Furthermore, together with a diploma transcript (course lists, notes and loans) and ECTS in accordance with "diploma supplement" is given. However, this diploma does not automatically entitle to recruit a teacher. Recruitment requires satisfying the other conditions. From faculties other than the Faculty of Education (eg, science and / or literature faculties) two semi-annual pedagogical training of graduates is held to be able to get the right teacher (1 year). With the abolition of this certificate program, this training will be given through the Teaching Profession Knowledge Master's Program without Thesis.

Alternative Training Pathways

In pre-service teacher education, until 2012, normally conducted in faculties of education (day-full-time) and secondary education (evening programs) in addition to the program, the teacher needs to be very busy "English teacher" and "preschool teacher" for a temporary period of time in the field Anadolu University Open Education Faculty by distance education programs at the undergraduate level. English Teaching Program in the first two years while face to face education, distance education was done in the last two years. It was removed in 2012 and was given the right teaching only graduate faculty of education. In addition, Pegagogic Formation Certificate Program was abolished by the Ministry of National Education in 2020.