Policies for Ensuring Equality of Opportunity in Education for Economically Disadvantaged Students
Increasing access to education, improving the quality of education and teachers, disseminating information technologies, and increasing the share of the private sector in education are among the common goals for economically disadvantaged students in policy documents since the 2000s. The policies determined under the themes created within the scope of the research are as in Fig. 1
In the early 2000s, educational objectives were mostly included in the context of access to education. Access to education, on the other hand, has been addressed to increase schooling rates. It is seen that educational aids will be provided to increase the access of poor students to education, and thus, efforts are made to ensure the participation of these students in education. In the documents examined in this framework, it is seen that limited policy objectives are included in order to ensure the participation of poor students in education.
In this context, the 2002 Social Risk Reduction Project was implemented and included financial aid to poor families on the condition that they send their children to school (UNICEF, 2014). Cash aids for education are made by seeking the condition of attending school, if the family does not send the child to school, the aid is cut off (Esenyel, 2009). In studies on these aids in Turkiye, evaluations were made within the scope of poor children's access to school and their attendance. It has been found to increase school access and attendance and decrease school dropout rates (Dama & Toklucu, 2018). However, there are not enough studies on how poor children affect school success. This application should be revised and supported with different mechanisms in order to increase school success in order to break the cycle of poverty.
The policy documents is to prioritize the objectives of increasing access to lifelong learning and pre-school education. In recent documents, the statement that pre-school education should be included in the scope of compulsory education and that equality of opportunity in education will be ensured by increasing its quality and expanding early childhood education draws attention. In the recent documents, it has been stated that there will be common quality standards to increase the quality of early childhood education. In this framework, it is aimed to increase the quality of schooling at this level as well as to ensure it. It is seen that the efforts made to improve the quality and scope of pre-school education in Turkiye are still new (Öztürk, 2017). Some statements in policy documents are as follows;
In a few years, pre-school education will be included in the scope of compulsory education in 81 provinces (AK Parti, 2011, p.80).
It will be ensured that early childhood education is compulsory for the age of 5 and common quality standards will be brought to increase the quality of this education level (T.C. Cumhurbaşkanlığı Strateji ve Bütçe Başkanlığı, 2018, p.74).
In this context, the Ministry of National Education has tried to spread pre-school education by carrying out various projects. 4 models, namely “summer schools", "mobile teacher class", "mobile classrooms" and "transport center kindergarten model", have been developed by the Ministry of National Education to increase access to preschool education. As an alternative, within the scope of the implementation of the Mobile Kindergarten or Bus Project, 6 hours of daily education are provided in mobile classrooms and in scattered and sparsely populated settlements. These applications are some of the applications made by the Ministry of National Education to increase access to preschool education.
By mentioning schooling rates since the 9th development plan, it is seen that there are more concrete targets compared to the previous period, but by mentioning school dropout and absenteeism, access to education is discussed from different dimensions. However, it is stated that there is an inequality of opportunity by mentioning regional differences in the Turkiye education system. Some statements in policy documents are as follows;
In primary and secondary education, all children, especially the disabled and girls, will have access to school, and grade repetition and drop-out will be reduced (T.C. Kalkınma Bakanlığı, 2013, p.32).
Various activities will be carried out to ensure the continuity of education, especially for girls and poor students, and to strengthen transported education (T.C. Cumhurbaşkanlığı Strateji ve Bütçe Başkanlığı, 2018, p.73).
Improving the quality of education and teachers is among the situations most emphasized in policy documents. In the first period documents, the quality of education was mentioned in a limited framework due to the problem of access to education at all levels, and it is seen that the emphasis on quality increased in the following processes. It has been emphasized that there has been progress in access in 10. KP, and that the next stage will focus on quality in education. In the 64th government program, it is stated that measures will be taken to minimize the quality differences between schools and regions in secondary education. On the other hand, in the 64th government program, it was stated that disadvantaged schools would be supported with the school development model. With the said model, it was stated that support programs would be applied to the schools that failed.However, it is stated in the policy documents that the quality of education will be increased by establishing a quality assurance system in educational institutions.
As in every field, the Turk National Education system will also be restructured in line with the needs of the society and the requirements of modern civilization in order to move to a human-centered, qualified education model (Neziroğlu & Yılmaz, 2013, p.8111).
In order to increase the quality of education, applications such as the Planned School Development Model and Total Quality Management (TQM) were implemented and it was aimed to increase the efficiency of the schools by measuring their performance. On the other hand, ın the process, with the Public Financial Management and Control Law No. 5018, the legal infrastructure was created and the obligation to prepare a strategic plan was imposed on public institutions. The Ministry of National Education has started to make its first strategic plans covering the years 2010–2014, both at the level of the ministry and at schools. In 2011, MEB started the Primary Education Institutions Standards (İKS) application in order to establish minimum standards among schools in order to bring the quality of primary schools to a certain level (MEB İGM, 2009). Subsequently the Ministry of National Education published the National Education Quality Framework in 2014 and implemented a document that includes the quality of education, the basic learning outcomes of students, and the elements for monitoring and evaluation (MEB SGB, 2014). It was seen that these studies were carried out in a cycle by implementing different practices before the studies on the quality of the school could be continued. On the other hand, TEDMEM (2019) stated that when the goals, initiatives and plans for increasing the quality of education were examined in the last 20–30 years, some of them were not implemented and some of them were abandoned after being implemented in a short period of time. Considering the quality-oriented practices in the periods examined in the research, it can be said that it did not contribute to the development of the quality of education, in other words, these practices could not be productive.
As for increasing the quality of teachers, similar targets for employing teachers on contractual status and increasing their productivity are frequently seen in the policy documents examined. In addition, it has been stated that it will be distributed in a balanced way according to the places, regions and settlements where there is a shortage of teachers.
In order to realize the balanced distribution of teachers between provinces, a differentiated wage model will be developed and qualified and experienced teachers will be employed primarily in disadvantaged settlements (AK Parti, 2011, p.82).
The teaching profession will be made more attractive; interaction between teacher training faculties and schools will be strengthened; The teacher training and development system will be organized in a structure that is based on teacher and student competencies, constantly encourages personal and professional development, and is based on career development and performance (T.C. Kalkınma Bakanlığı, 2013, p.32).
In this context, contracted teaching practice was introduced in 2016, and the teacher shortage in disadvantaged regions is tried to be eliminated by ensuring that teachers stay in the region where they are assigned for at least four years. However, this practice is criticized in terms of compulsory keeping teachers in one place and their personal rights (Çalışoğlu & Tanışir). In the Teacher Strategy Document, it is stated that with the compulsory service obligation to teachers, teachers stay longer in disadvantaged regions and contribute positively to the distribution of teachers between regions (MEB ÖYGM, 2017). On the other hand, in many studies, it is stated that there are problems in many areas such as teacher training, professional development, status and employment in Turkiye (Akpunar & Erdamar, 2020; Bozbayındır, 2019). Therefore, the problem areas need to be improved by reorganizing the teacher training system and considering the factors affecting the teacher development process as a whole.
The emphasis on the dissemination of information technologies was frequently mentioned in almost all of the documents examined. On the other hand, it is seen in the documents examined that it is aimed to increase the access of individuals who have been excluded from education through methods such as e-learning, open education and distance education to educational resources. It has been stated that the FATIH project will be continued in the 61st, 62nd and 64th government programs and that electronic books will be provided to all students within the scope of this project, as well as smart classrooms will be created and the quality of education will be increased and equality of opportunity will be provided with other complementary infrastructure and tools. In the 2010–2014 MEB strategic plan, it was stated that information technologies would be used to eliminate regional differences.
In order to adopt a lifelong education approach in the society, non-formal education opportunities, including e-learning, will be developed, people out of the education age will be encouraged to benefit from open education opportunities, and skills and vocational training activities will be increased (DPT, 2006, p.86).
Information and communication technology infrastructure will be developed in formal and non-formal education institutions, and the competencies of students and teachers in using these technologies will be increased. The FATIH project will be completed and an impact assessment will be made by developing qualitative and quantitative indicators on the integration of technology into education (T.C. Kalkınma Bakanlığı, 2013, p.33).
The Movement for Increasing Opportunities and Improving Technology (FATİH) project was implemented in 2010 with the aim of disseminating information technologies in education, but the project was not realized only for economically disadvantaged students, but was implemented to include all students in the education system. The FATIH project, which is frequently discussed in the public, has been criticized for not being carried out with the principles of transparency and accountability in the process (Adıgüzel, 2020; T.C. Sayıştay, 2019).
When the policy documents are examined, the targets of privatization of education have taken place for similar reasons and many applications have been made. In these documents, it is seen that privatization policies take two aspects. The first is to ensure that successful poor students are educated in private schools. The fact that only successful poor students are allowed to study in private schools shows that equality of opportunity is handled with a meritocratic approach. On the other hand, the directing of successful poor students to private schools also reflects that the educational quality of private schools is seen better than public schools. Secondly, the expectation that the quality of education in public schools will be increased by reducing the burden of public schools on the state by transferring the provision and financing of education to the private sector through service procurement was expressed in the targets.
The share of the private sector in education is 3 percent. Private sector will be encouraged to invest in this area in order to increase this to 10 percent (T.C. 58. Hükümet Acil Eylem Planı, 2003, p.98).
The efforts to expand the private sector in education in Turkiye have been a common understanding for a long time, and education was shaped in line with the demands of the market in the early 1980s with the effect of neo-liberal policies. On the other hand, privatization of education is advocated by many international organizations and many actors. The reason for privatization of education is based on the fact that it will increase competition in education and provide efficiency, quality and equality (Yolcu, 2021). Therefore, it is argued that the role of the public in the provision and financing of education should be minimized and left to the conditions of the free market (Kishan, 2008). In this context, “Educational-Teaching Support” was implemented in order to encourage the private sector to invest in education in the 2012–2013 academic year, for economically disadvantaged students to study in private schools. However, it was revealed that poor children could not be benefited from the said application and in this context, the application did not serve its purpose and did not contribute enough to equal opportunities (Eğitim Bir Sen, 2017; ERG, 2016).
Incentives for privatization, together with Educational-Teaching Support contributed positively to the increase in the number of private schools. At this point, while the share of private education institutions was 3–4% in the 2014-15 academic year, this rate reached 8.81% in the 2020-21 academic year, and with the incentives provided and the transition process of private teaching institutions into private education institutions, this rate increased to 15% until 2023 is intended to increase. There are over 14 thousand private schools at all levels (Öztürk, 2018).
It is seen that the emphasis on the fight against poverty is frequently made in the policy documents. By evaluating the anti-poverty policies within the scope of economic development, it is aimed to strengthen the social position of poor groups with education in line with investing in people.
Within the framework of values such as social justice, equality of opportunity and solidarity, a development process covering all segments of the society will be implemented (62. Hükümet Programı, 2014).
Maintaining the success we have achieved in the fight against poverty and improving the income distribution are among our main goals (64. Hükümet Programı, 2015, p.52).
In the In the 58th government emergency action plan, the anti-poverty program has been comprehensively evaluated and 3 main targets have been determined to ensure fairness in income distribution. These are expressed as follows.
Families under the hunger limit will be determined urgently,
Effective assistance programs for families under the poverty line will be initiated (within three months),
Basic education and health assistance will be provided to the children of poor families (T.C.58. Hükümet Acil Eylem Planı, 2003, p.10).
In this framework, it was foreseen to eliminate the obstacles arising from the disadvantages in order for the poor groups to access many services, especially education. In other words, it was stated that social policies that ensure the redistribution of income and rewards in favor of social groups with positive discriminatory policies will be implemented.
On the other hand, in order to ensure equality of opportunity, the Ministry of National Education started the "Free Book Distribution Project in Primary Education" in 2003 and started to give textbooks free of charge to all students at the primary school and secondary education level. Thus, it is seen that all students are trying to provide access to resources. Educational support is given especially to disadvantaged students in order to provide equal and qualified education to everyone, with applications such as the Catch-up Education Program (CEP), Education Program in Primary Schools (IYEP) and Support and Training Courses. Although there are some deficiencies in these applications, it has been stated that the learning deficiencies of the students participating in the application are compensated (Canpolat & Göçer, 2017; Nartgün & Dilekçi, 2016).
With the 2002–2007 Basic Education Project II (TEPII) by the World Bank, and the Basic Education Support Program (TEDP) by the European Union in 2002–2007, to reduce poverty, increase access to education by ensuring the participation of children out of basic education and children at risk to education, and to improve the quality of education. Although these projects seem to support access to education, their contribution to the quality of education seems to be limited (Toker Gökçe, 2009)
Participant views on ensuring equality in access to education
As a result of the analysis of the interviews, the participants who expressed their opinions on the policies implemented to ensure equality of opportunity in education for economically disadvantaged students expressed that they had difficulties in accessing education in the last 20 years and emphasized access to quality education, especially within the concept of access. The majority of the participants stated that privatization practices in education increase the access of economically advantaged children to quality education, while limiting the access of disadvantaged students to education;
Especially with the privatization of schools and the increase in infrastructure problems in schools, this disadvantageous situation of disadvantaged children has become even higher. Equal access to education is starting to get a little harder. When we look at the annual time frame in the last period, it can be seen that the children of disadvantaged families are more disadvantaged and advantageous families have more advantage. The biggest reason for this is the privatization of education at work. K5
On the other hand, the majority of the participants stated that the most important factor preventing access to education was the socio-economic status of the student and emphasized that the conditional education aid given to poor students in this context was insufficient. participants evaluated access to pre-school at a low level when compared to other levels, and the fact that pre-school is not free and not compulsory is an important factor preventing access. The participant views on pre-school education are as follows:
There is a progress and an improvement in the preschool. When we look at the last 20 years, it is seen that the schooling rate has been much higher. However, although it has been targeted for years, pre-school education is not free, it is not compulsory, and the Ministry of National Education has aimed to make it free and compulsory for at least one year, but this has not been realized for many years. When we look at the schooling rates included in our official statistics, there is an improvement in the meantime, but even in public schools, the fact that there are official dues is an important obstacle, especially in the access of socio-economically disadvantaged children to education. The family of a child who will start preschool education in a state institution is asked for materials with a list that exceeds an A4 paper, and the total cost of these materials varies from school to school, according to an estimated calculation I made this year. There are pens, paints, toilet papers, A4 papers, colognes, everything in very good brands. It is stated with their brands in it. Usually very expensive brands. When I look at it, there are costs that reach 1000 liras to 1500 liras. Of course, it is not made accessible to poor families. K6
Participants claimed by whose schooling indicators are shown to be high with practices such as the automatic registration of students to schools with the address-based registration system, and the fact that students' access to quality education is affected by emphasizing that with the inclusion of apprenticeship education in the scope of formal education, working students are shown in education, and the spread of open education high school in secondary education causes students not to enroll in formal secondary education.
Within the scope of apprenticeship education, students studying at vocational high schools come to school once a week and are at work for five days. Look, these guys work six days. Sometimes it works for seven days. These children see the school as a hotel, as a resting place. He comes to school tired from work, doesn't understand the lesson, the brain is out. He has no academic success. The reason for the accessibility of this training to reach ninety percent is that they make it compulsory. What did people do when they said compulsory twelve years of education? They had to. Therefore, children are kept in school. When primary education was not compulsory after the eighth grade, children went to work. Now you've forced it on him again. When this formerly compulsory education apprenticeship training was received, the coefficient was immediately pulled up, as three hundred, four hundred thousand, maybe one million children were included in the scope of compulsory education here. K5
Participants who expressed a positive opinion that equal opportunity policies increase the access of economically disadvantaged students to education stated that enrollment increased as a positive result of investments in education. It was stated that the most economically disadvantaged students benefited from the educational expansion, but despite this, the access indicators were not at the desired level.
I think there is improvement in all indicators of Turkiye. In other words, when we look at the situation of these socioeconomically disadvantaged students in general in the last 20 years, there is an absolute improvement in all provinces in Turkiye, without exception, in terms of access. Here statistically it is seen very clearly from the data. Turkiye is actually praised in the international arena. Because of his efforts on this issue, because of the developments, but as I said, there is not enough public awareness in Turkiye. In fact, the most disadvantaged segments benefit from this expansion. However, when we compare it with the West, that is, in terms of access indicators at all levels, Turkiye lags behind. Because Turkiye is a country that has made its massification late. K10
While evaluating the access to education, the participants expressed their opinions on the policies implemented to ensure school attendance and reduce school dropout. Some participatory education policies to reduce school absenteeism and dropout of economically disadvantaged students were insufficient, while some participants stated that the education policies implemented increased the school absenteeism and dropout of economically disadvantaged students. It has been stated that the decrease in the chance of advancement through education of the socio-economically low segments in the education system lowers the expectations of these segments from education and as a result, they do not continue their education.
As the hope for education decreases, as the expectation for education decreases, absenteeism and school dropouts increase. As the chances of promotion from the bottom to the top and, in general, the merit-based assignment system among graduates deteriorate, the hope and expectation of the individual disappears as the chance of being able to rise from the lower sections to the top through education decreases. Thus, they either tend to create a chance through congregation and so on, or they drop out of school altogether. So he gives up hope of school. So, does the Ministry of National Education implement any serious projects to reduce absenteeism, why not? The 10 percent quota limitation is less than 5 percent, it is three percent for vocational high schools, the chance of a four-quarter group to move towards qualified Anatolian and science high schools, and the chance of entering the lower and middle classes within that four percent completely disappears. This breaks their expectations from the education in their schools even more negatively. K8
On the other hand, it has been emphasized that infrastructure problems in education are a factor that prevents access to education. The socio-economic status of the school was evaluated as a factor that increases absenteeism and dropout. Emphasizing that poor children study in schools with insufficient socio-economic status, it has been stated that the disadvantaged schools' inability to provide social opportunities to children causes these children not to attend school. It was stated that school opportunities should be rich, especially since poor children can only socialize at school.
Schools are the only environment where poor children can socialize, so it is very important to improve school conditions. Since the opportunities for children to socialize in disadvantaged areas are generally limited, certain opportunities should be given in schools. For example, maybe that child will be able to have opportunities such as cinema and theater through school, or maybe if there is a swimming pool, the child of the school will want to be at school. Therefore, the school needs to give the child more than academic skills. Since such opportunities are limited in our schools, school does not appeal to children. Therefore, he does not want to come to school.
It is frequently emphasized in many studies that school absenteeism and drop-out are an important problem in Turkiye (MEB, 2018; MEB SGB, 2019). In related studies, it has been determined that absenteeism and droupout cause problems such as committing crimes, substance use and violence tendency. On the other hand, increasing absenteeism from school results in a decrease in students' academic achievement and achievements, causing them to drop out of school (Börkan, Levent, Dereli̇, Bakış & Pelek, 2014). On the other hand, in studies on early leaving, children's having to work has emerged as one of the reasons for leaving school (Gökşen, Cemalcılar & Gürlesel, 2005). In a report made by NESSE, an independent research center on this subject, and presented to the European Commission, attention was drawn to the risk that socio-economic inequalities cause children to leave the education system and thus the inequality will be passed down from generation to generation (NESSE, 2010). In the study of TUIK on working children in Turkiye, similar results were obtained and it was revealed that economic inequalities are one of the most important factors that cause children to drop out of school. In the aforementioned study, many of the working children who could not attend school stated that they had to leave school because they could not afford the school expenses. From this point of view, it is seen that the low income level of the family is an important factor for the child to drop out of school.
When the indicators of access to education are examined, improvements are seen in the 20-year period. While the enrollment rate for the 3–6 age group in pre-school education was 8% in 2003, it increased to 42% for 3–5 years and 52% for 4–5 years in the 2019/20 academic year. It is seen that preschool education enrollment rate is lower than other levels. Primary school-aged children were 98% schooled in 2012, down to 93% in 2019. In secondary school, there has been an increase over the years and it has increased to 96% in 2019. In this context, if it is considered that 96% of the secondary school age is schooled, it is seen that approximately 4% still cannot attend school. Therefore, it can be said that the population of this age continues to have access to education problems. Enrollment rate on the basis of secondary education was 70% in 2012 and has increased over the years. In 2019, about 85% of the age population is in school. It is seen that the continuing schooling rate in secondary education continues to increase rapidly with the inclusion of this level in the scope of compulsory education. While there are improvements in access to secondary education, there are significant differences between provinces and regions. It is seen that the aim of eliminating the differences between regions in the 2023 Education vision document has not been realized (MEB, 2018).
Participant views on ensuring equality in access to opportunities
Ensuring equality of opportunity in education is not limited to access to school. Since the academic success of students is associated with access to quality education opportunities, it is important for all students to have these opportunities in terms of ensuring equality of opportunity in education. For this reason, most countries spend a significant part of their budgets on resource inputs in education in order to increase student success and performance. In terms of access to opportunities, the majority of the participants stated that the school facilities were insufficient and there were great differences between schools in terms of opportunities. The participants criticized the inefficient use of the budget for some practices and stated that the allocated budget could be spent in different areas.
…. Other than that, I think that there is a greater need for facilities such as libraries, playgrounds, gardens and laboratories in schools. Opportunities like these vary greatly from school to school.K3
Participants stated that the physical infrastructure in schools is insufficient regarding access to facilities. Participants stated that dual education negatively affects students' experiences, and despite dual education, there are crowded classrooms and class sizes differ between schools. However, it has been stated that school gardens differ between schools and there are no suitable school gardens for children, especially in metropolitan cities. It has been emphasized that the capacity of boarding schools is weak and they do not have the necessary equipment.
I think that the development in the physical infrastructure is very slow. Dual education is a very basic thing, of course, it affects all children's experiences, but apart from that, the school is not just a place for development in every aspect for the development of the child, so it is more difficult to use other areas at the same time in schools where dual education is provided. The library is an important problem, it is not an indicator that is followed very much. There is a library in some schools, but we did a research, for example, that library door is locked or there are no books suitable for children in it, or milk and raisins are distributed in schools and stored in the library. Because there is no warehouse in the school. In schools, these libraries are also changed and used as classrooms. There seems to be a laboratory problem, so there is statistics on paper. It may not actually be in the libraries that appear. It may not actually be the library that we really understand. The dining hall is important, it's a big deal. Not in most schools, not in many schools. He also has no data. There are many differences from garden to garden between schools. Since there is a land problem in big cities, it seems very difficult to find a school with a meaningful real garden. K6
Some participants stated that the school facilities were better but insufficient compared to previous years. Some participant opinions are as follows;
There are good developments in terms of education. With EBA, distance education and videos, of course. At this point, we cannot have the rest of our children in education. But I can't say that today. The child's notebook, the child's source book does not exist. Most children are given books. There is no internet environment in the family of the child. As you know, the state also gave internet support to children in this sense. It remains to direct and guide through social networks. In other words, it should reveal things that touch the essence of the issue. If we do not have the opportunity to isolate the impermeability in that wall by simply making two plasters and painting the wall, then this is not the case by simply tinning the visible face of the wall, having it painted and saying, look, we did it.. It is a funded ministry. Therefore, sufficient resources are allocated in this regard. But, as I said, in the last two years, there has been a contraction in employment, especially not in terms of training materials, but especially in terms of maintenance, repair, cleaning, etc. or security of training areas. K2
Within the scope of physical infrastructure in Turkiye, targets for reducing the number of students per classroom and teacher have been frequently included in policy documents for many years. There has been a decrease in the number of students per class and teacher over the years. However, there are differences between provinces and regions in Turkiye in terms of the number of students per class and teacher (MEB, 2021). However, despite the goals of terminating dual education, the rate of schools offering dual education is still very high. Despite the classrooms built for 20 years, it is seen that there is still a need for classroom construction in the education system. In this context, it can be said that the development of the physical infrastructure in education is not sufficient.
Participants expressed the view that reduced public spending on education would hamper efforts to solve infrastructure problems and improve the quality of education.Although it is very important to increase public education expenditures for socioeconomically disadvantaged students to access quality education in countries with high economic inequality, it is emphasized that increasing the amount of these expenditures does not mean that they are used effectively (Korlu, Bakioğlu & Gencer, 2021). Therefore, the decrease in education expenditures makes it difficult to realize the emphasis on increasing the quality of education.
It is observed that the education budget and investment budget have decreased in recent years in Türkiye. In order to achieve Goal 4, one of the Sustainable Development Goals, it has been determined as an international criterion to allocate at least 4 to 6% of the GDP or at least 15 or 20% of the total public expenditure on education, taking into account the situation of the countries in public expenditures (UNESCO, 2016). While Turkiye allocates 4.8% of GDP to education, OECD countries allocate 5%. Turkiye's share of education in total public expenditures is below 11% (OECD, 2018). Turkiye needs to increase the resources it allocates to education in order to reach the average of OECD countries, of which it is a member, and the criteria set in the Education 2030 Action Framework in the Incheon Declaration, and to achieve the goals set in the policy documents.
Ensuring Equality in Educational Outcomes for Economically Disadvantaged Students
Participants stated that the academic achievement of economically disadvantaged students is getting worse. For this reason, the participants put forward the success of students in national and international exams.
When we look at the PISA, TIMSS and ABIDE reports, there is always a clear difference between socio-economically disadvantaged students and other students. Has there been an improvement? But the difference is huge and even if there has been an improvement, the basic skills of the children in the lowest socioeconomic status are at such a low level that even if there has been an improvement, unfortunately it is still at the very bottom, so that segregation needs to be further reduced. I think that separation continues. K6
Improvements in the achievement of economically disadvantaged students were exemplified by the increase in scores in international exams by the participants. Despite this, it was stated that the difference in achievement among the students was very high and the majority of the students were successful in sub-learning areas.
When we look 20 years ago, you can see that disadvantaged students with low social level are more successful now. But when you look at the difference, I think it's similar to 20 years ago. The investment made is goodwill, but I think it should be done by revising the policies and by choosing a more focal point by touching more people. K7
When evaluated in general, student performance in Turkiye in international and national exams is parallel to each other, and the majority of students are at the sub-proficiency level. When the TIMSS and PISA exams are evaluated, the majority of the students can not answer the questions that measure their higher-order thinking skills while making the questions at the knowledge level. Another striking finding is that there are significant differences between regions and school types in all exams. Students in the Southeast and East Anatolia regions performed the lowest in almost all exams and areas. In particular, ABIDE exam results show that student performance in boarding school is significantly low.
The fact that the majority of students in the Southeastern and Eastern Anatolia regions perform poorly in all areas indicates socio-demographic and socio-economic advantages or disadvantages between the regions (TEDMEM, 2020). Çalışkan (2008) stated in his study that there is a relationship between the types of schools students attend and the socioeconomic status of students in Turkiye, emphasizing that the segregation between schools reflects the class segregation in the society. Social inequalities can continue through education and cause serious problems in terms of equality, economic and social risks. Therefore, by disseminating qualified education, compensatory measures should be taken against the socio-economic situation in front of education.
Participant Views on Policies for Ensuring Equalty of Opportunity in education for Economically Disadvantaged Students
Regarding the practices implemented for economically disadvantaged students and how these practices are carried out, the majority of the participants stated that the policies implemented deepen inequalities in education. They stated that the policies implemented do not get to the root of the problems, that most of the policies are implemented superficially and that there are no interventions that can eliminate inequalities.. However, the quality of the practices and implementation processes have been criticized, arguing that the efforts have not been made in a coherent manner and that the policies have not been stable and sustainable and have not spread throughout the system. As a result of some policies, schools have become increasingly segregated in recent years and inequality of opportunity has increased as a result.
The practices made have no value, no practice, no such seriousness, they are done for the sake of business. That is because we are doing these things in the European Union, here and there, in writing. It is in the middle in YKS, LGS and PISA exams. Do you want to fix this friend? Doesn't it say in its own reports that the biggest failure of the Ministry of National Education starts with the socio-economic level of the parents. The biggest variation is between schools, whether it explains the variation between schools or not. It sinks into the ground because it can see with the naked eye. It has come to the position of a country where schools are segregated, highly divided into classes, divided into neighborhoods, divided according to income level, and it does not reduce it in education. In the past, students used to go to a teacher's high school, at least through education, and they would go to more qualified vocational high schools. By getting into a university, the kid would have gotten away with it a little bit. Now he loses all his chances. In this sense, there has been no improvement in Turkiye, education is getting worse. K8
However, some of the participants stated that the policies made under equal opportunity are not made for economically disadvantaged students and that the policies applied increase the disadvantage. It has been stated that many applications are not accessible to disadvantaged groups. The participants stated that poor children could not benefit from this practice by exemplifying the education-training support to support their views.
Students who could get a certain education in primary and secondary school somehow went to Anatolian High School. There is no hope of going now. He takes such exams because he has no hope. The state, the public does not have any special measures for these children. There is goodwill in those who exist. For example, it gets stuck with the regulation. But these are problems that can be easily overcome. To what extent does giving money to a person without money solve the problem? Maybe just the things that will keep him alive. For example, a child wants to deal with music and art. How will it be, for example? In other words, in these twenty years, our education, especially painting, music and physical education, has regressed tremendously. Courses were brought as elective, weakened. K1
Considering these views, many participants stated that the policies do not contribute to reducing inequalities. Some participants stated that the practices were insufficient or not continuous. While it is seen that some applications made in this framework need to be developed, it is clear that there is a need to produce more policies for the economically disadvantaged.