RURAL EDUCATION PRACTICES IN THE 20TH CENTURY

Abstract

The lack of education in the countryside is one of the biggest problems inherited by the Ottoman
Empire to the Republic of Turkiye.The fact that a large part of the population lives in the
countryside, that the educational institutions in the countryside provide religious-oriented education
and that this education is far from a common system has brought along the education problem.
The Republic of Turkiye has been aware of the education problem in the countryside since its
establishment and has tried to produce solutions. Before the teacher in the countryside eliminated
his/her deficiency, he/she connected all educational institutions to the Ministry of National
Education and ensured the teaching unity. As the first concrete step for the Village Teacher
problem, village children who can teach were made village teachers for three years with short-term
courses. The success achieved here has led to the institutionalization of these courses and first
Village Teacher Schools and then Village Institutes have been opened. One of the reasons for the
opening of village institutes is to reduce the difference between the city and the village, to develop
the village and the villagers, to increase the cultural level of the society and to meet the needs of
teachers and other occupational groups in the countryside. The institutes were merged with Primary
Schools for severe criticism nearly a decade after opening. In this way, these institutions only
started to train teachers again. Primary Teacher Schools have been transformed into higher
education institutions over time and have been connected to faculties of education.
In the 21st century, various private institutions and organizations produced and implemented
projects to support and encourage education in rural areas.