The European Union and the Modernization of the Turkish Education ...

2.2. Turkish Commitment to EU Membership

A prerequisite for validation of this study is the degree of dedication Turkish leadership has for ensuring a place for Turkey in the EU. The commitment is clear: Since Turkey declared its desire to be a candidate for membership in 1963, the Ministry of National Education established several committees in support of this objective, including (a) an advisory council chaired by the undersecretary of national education; (b) an executive council chaired by the foreign relations general director; and (c) the European Union Education Research and Development Committee, whose directives define its duties, authorities, and responsibilities. This last committee has already addressed such topics as teaching programs, weekly schedules, school terms, the duration of compulsory education, enrollment rates, student/classroom ratios of European Union countries, and the adaptation of the Turkish Education System through comparative education methods. Furthermore, to ensure conformity to the education system and standards of existing EU countries, a European Union desk, within the Ministry of National Education, reports all activities as they relate to various areas of education (retrieved June 12, 2005, from http://www.meb.gov.tr/english/indexeng.htm).

Due to the nature of this study and the sociopolitical conditions, consideration of historical issues occurs from two perspectives: (a) the historical framework of Turkish education and (b) the historical framework of the relations between Turkey and the European community.

2.3. Historical Framework of Turkish Education

Subsequent to the establishment of a republic after a successful war of independence in 1923, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the new republic, said in 1925,