THE SECONDARY EDUCATION: THE DISTINCTIONS THAT SHAPED BETWEEN OBLIGATIONS AND EXPECTATIONS “THE SAMPLE OF ANATOLIAN HIGH SCHOOL”

ORTAÖĞRETİM: ZORUNLULUKLAR İLE BEKLENTİLER ARASINDA BİÇİMLENEN AYRIŞMALAR “BİR ANADOLU LİSESİ ÖRNEĞİ

Abstract

There were 150 types of secondary education institutions (schools) in Turkish education system, when the present study had been planned on the secondary education institution in 2009. At first sight, this number of school type can be seen as a richness of options that responds to the diversity of the students who are in the transition phase from primary education to secondary education. However, recent developments and some observations suggested that the separation of education given in secondary education may have other meanings. It is possible to list some of these developments and observations in the following way: The large community segments are in a disadvantaged position in society. This situation has led to the widespread recognition that university education is seen as an exit from the disadvantaged position in society. Besides, the policies which were applied based on the exam for transition in all levels of education, especially the entrance to the university. In this case, the degree of success in education has been reduced to achieving the examination by the school components (administrator, supervisor, teacher, student, and parent). Due to this reductionist approach, the multilateral enforcements and suggestions were formed on students. Successful and unsuccessful dissociations have been experienced in the secondary education field. There are also divergences in the economic possibilities of the parents and schools. The cost-benefit debates have been another development which was observed in the field of education. In this point, these developments and the observations have showed that there was a relationship between education and social positions. This situation has given rise to thought that education field, which has enforced, has played an important role in determining social positions, regulating relationships among these positions, and creating legitimacy for all of them. I believe that my Ph.D. study, titled "The Secondary School as a Distinctive Practice: Mamak Sample", which was completed in 2010, has contained findings about this topic. Considering the six-year period, it was thought that these findings could contribute to the evaluation of today's education field. The aim of this study is to problematize what kind of policies, practices and strategies were being put into practice in the field of education that included sanctions, determining social positions, regulating relationships among these positions, and creating legitimacy, through the experiences of stakeholders of the school in the sample of Anatolian high school. STRUCTURED ABSTRACT There were 150 types of secondary education institutions (schools) in Turkish education system, when the present study had been planned on the secondary education institution in 2009. At first sight, this number of school type can be seen as a richness of options that responds to the diversity of the students who are in the transition phase from primary education to secondary education. However, recent developments and some observations suggested that the separation of education given in secondary education may have other meanings. It is possible to list some of these developments and observations in the following way: The large community segments are in a disadvantaged position in society. This situation has led to the widespread recognition that university education is seen as an exit from the disadvantaged position in society. Besides, the policies which were applied based on the exam for transition in all levels of education, especially the entrance to the university. In this case, the degree of success in education has been reduced to achieving the examination by the school components (administrator, supervisor, teacher, student, and parent). Due to this reductionist approach, the multilateral enforcements and suggestions were formed on students. Successful and unsuccessful dissociations have been experienced in the secondary education field. There are also divergences in the economic possibilities of the parents and schools. The cost-benefit debates have been another development which was observed in the field of education. In this point, these developments and the observations have showed that there was a relationship between education and social positions. This situation has given rise to thought that education field, which has enforced, has played an important role in determining social positions, regulating relationships among these positions, and creating legitimacy for all of them. I believe that my Ph.D. study, titled "The Secondary School as a Distinctive Practice: Mamak Sample", which was completed in 2010, has contained findings about this topic. Considering the six-year period, it was thought that these findings could contribute to the evaluation of today's education field. The aim of this study is to problematize what kind of policies, practices and strategies were being put into practice in the field of education that included sanctions, determining social positions, regulating relationships among these positions, and creating legitimacy, through the experiences of stakeholders of the school in the sample of Anatolian high school. The research was conducted through a field study, which is a qualitative research style. The method of qualitative research is a method that examines phenomena that are built on social realities and cultural meanings, and the relationships and interactions between them and their applications in their own natural sites and stakeholders (Neuman, 2008). On the other hand, the field research is a style of the qualitative research that data bases on the researcher's own direct observation and participation (Neuman, 2008: 541). The research area was a type of an Anatolian High School located in Mamak district in Ankara. Within the scope of the study, one teacher, one school manager, seven teachers from different branches, 13 students from different classes and 5 parents were intervie

Özet

Türkiye'de eğitim alanının verili sürecine bakıldığında eğitim olgusunun bir ayrıştırma ve araçsallaştırma aracı olarak işlev gördüğü çeşitli tartışmalara konu olmuştur. Bu açıdan bakıldığında ortaöğretim düzeyinde eğitim-öğretim yapılan kurumlar yaklaşık 150 türe ayrılmıştır. Okul türü sayısının bu kadar çok çeşitli olması, ilk bakışta, çocuğu ilköğretimden mezun bir velinin tercihine sunulmuş bir seçenekler zenginliği olarak görülebilir. Fakat çok yönlü toplumsal eşitsizlikler içerisinde bulunan geniş toplum kesimlerine eğitimli olmanın/okumanın (diploma sahibi olmanın) bir çıkış yolu olarak sunulması ve günümüzde mit haline gelen bu olgu üzerinden eğitim alanının "kar-maliyet" anlayışıyla biçimlenmesi ve rekabet ilişkilerine açılması okul türü çeşitliliğini seçenek zenginliğinin dışında yorumlamalara açmıştır. Bununla birlikte, "okuma/eğitimli olma" mitinin "üniversiteyi kazanma" somutluğunda algılanması, rekabet ilişkilerini daha da anlamlı kıldığı düşünülmüştür. Bu doğrultuda bakıldığında, rekabetin en büyük taşıyıcısı olan sınavlar bir değerlendirme ölçütü olmanın dışında başka anlamlar ve pratikler de içerdiği kanaatini oluşturabilmiştir. Tam da bu nokta da sınavlarda gösterilen "başarı" düzeyi üzerinden ortaöğretim kurumları ve buralardaki eğitim paydaşları "başarılı", "başarısız" olarak ayrıştırıldığı gözlemlenebilmektedir. Bu kapsamda bu çalışmanın amacı, zorlayan ve bu doğrultuda yaptırım içeren eğitim alanının toplumsal konumları belirlemede, bu konumlar arasındaki ilişkileri düzenlemede ve tüm bunlara meşruiyet oluşturmada ne tür politikalar, uygulamalar ve stratejiler ortaya konulduğunu sorunsallaştırmaktır. 2010 yılında tamamlanan ve alanda eğitim paydaşlarının deneyimleri üzerinden nitel verilere dayanan "Bir Ayrıştırma Pratiği Olarak Ortaöğretim: Mamak Örneği" başlıklı doktora çalışmamın kanısındayım. Bu yönüyle doktora çalışmamdan derlediğim bu bölümde bu sorunsallaştırmaya yönelik bulgular içerdiği bulgulanan dinamiklerin aradan geçen 6 yıllık süreç temelinde geçerliliğinin ya da değişiminin gözlemlenebilirliği açısından da bu çalışmanın önemli olduğu düşünülmüştür