2023 vision for education in Turkey in the shadow of 1968 curriculum

ABSTRACTIn 2018 the Turkish Ministry of Education published a new vision document describing system changes over the next few years. This study describes factors common to the 1968 primary education curriculum and the new 2023 Education Vision Document as well as gathering the opinions of retired primary school teachers who implemented the 1968 curriculum for a long time. The study used a qualitative case study design and data documents and interviews were subjected to content analysis. The results indicated that there is considerable common ground between the 1968 curriculum and the 2023 Vision document. The teachers interviewed were of the opinion that the process control model of education, which grants teachers autonomy over the curriculum, should be implemented nationwide. To harmonise educational theories and policies from other countries with the Turkish context, it would be better to get insight from reforms on policies that have been successful in the past.