The results of the field research on the 4+4+4 compulsory education system were announced

In the research, the options that stood out regarding the duration of the last 4 years of high school education were 2+2, that is, 2 years compulsory, 2 years optional or 3 years compulsory, 1 year optional.

Ali Yalçın, Chairman of Memur-Sen and Eğitim-Bir-Sen, made statements regarding the results of the research conducted to reveal the current status of the 4+4+4 compulsory education system and the aspects that need to be improved. In his statement, Ali Yalçın said, “As Eğitim Bir-Sen, we conducted a large-scale field research on "4+4+4" compulsory education. The study is the most comprehensive research we have conducted on this subject in the field to date. The study was conducted with over 36 thousand participants. The study covers the last 4 years of compulsory education. In this context, high school teachers, administrators, 11th and 12th grade students and their parents participated in the study. More than 17 thousand teachers, 7 thousand administrators, more than 5 thousand 11th and 12th grade students and again more than 5 thousand parents participated in the study. The study was implemented in all 81 provinces. The reality revealed by the study is this. There is a need to reconsider the last 4 years of our '4+4+4' compulsory education system. When we asked the expectations of the teachers and administrators who participated in the study, more than 93 percent of them stated that changes should be made in the last four years of the system. A similar expectation came to the forefront for the students. The last 4 years have not been a part of the education system. I would like to express that there is a need for discussion, cross-sections to be seen, and this issue needs to be discussed with social stakeholders. It has been very clearly stated by the participants as an expectation that the last 4 years should be reconsidered according to the expectations of the society and the realities of life. In the research, two options that received the most support regarding the duration of high school education came to the fore. The last 4 years were 2+2, that is, 2 years compulsory and 2 years optional or 3 years compulsory and 1 year optional, and especially in the high school education section, options came to the agenda and it seems that the participants put a little more emphasis on the 2+2 part. Therefore, we see that education authorities, social stakeholders, the Ministry of National Education, and therefore all stakeholders need to reconsidere this issue,” he said.

The study involved the participation of teachers, administrators, and parents from 81 provinces in Türkiye, while data was collected from 75 provinces for the student group. The study, which covered all geographical regions, was conducted with a total of 36,118 participants consisting of teachers, school administrators, high school students, and parents. Of those who participated in the study, 17,762 were teachers, 7,034 were school administrators, 5,415 were high school (11th and 12th grade) students, and 5,907 were parents of high school-age children. The provincial distribution of participants was balanced and weighted to reflect the country's population structure and the geographical distribution of public employees. The highest participation occurred in metropolitan cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir. 86.8 percent of the school administrators who participated in the study were male and 13.2 percent were female; 42 percent of the administrators had a postgraduate degree and 58 percent had a bachelor's degree. 59.6 percent of the teacher participants were female and 40.4 percent were male. 54 percent of students are female, 46 percent are male; 52.7 percent are in the 12th grade, and 47.3 percent are in the 11th grade. The gender distribution among parents is 51.6 percent female, 48.4 percent male; when educational background is examined, 42.3 percent of parents are university graduates, 14.1 percent have a postgraduate degree, and 22.5 percent are high school graduates. One of the important findings of the research was the widespread demand for a change in the duration of compulsory education. The vast majority of participants stated that they found the current 12-year compulsory education period long and wanted the system to be reorganized. 93.8 percent of teachers, 97.1 percent of school administrators, 78.5 percent of students, and 78.8 percent of parents stated that the current 12-year compulsory education period should be shortened. The rate of those who think that the current period is sufficient is 5.3 percent among teachers, 2.5 percent among administrators, 19.7 percent among students and 19.6 percent among parents. The rate of those who argue that the duration of compulsory education should be extended remained below 2 percent in all groups (0.9 percent among teachers; 1.7 percent among students).

In the survey, the majority of participants stated that the duration of compulsory education does not meet the expectations of the business world and prevents students from entering the workforce earlier. The rate of those who adopt the view that the duration of compulsory education does not meet the expectations of society and business life was measured as 75.2 percent among teachers, 82.8 percent among administrators, and 58.9 percent among parents. The rate of those who think that the duration makes it difficult for students to enter the workforce earlier was 83.7 percent among teachers, 90.2 percent among administrators, and 68.9 percent among parents. The view that the length of the compulsory education period makes it difficult to find intermediate staff in the business world also came to the fore in the survey. The rate of those who share this view was determined as 87.8 percent among teachers, 93.1 percent among administrators, and 71.6 percent among parents. The view that the length of the compulsory education period increases the risk of school dropout was also widely accepted in the survey. The rate of those who agreed with this view was recorded as 70 percent of teachers, 78.9 percent of administrators, 67.2 percent of students, and 52.6 percent of parents. Participants stated that students were not sufficiently guided in their career choices during compulsory education. The rate of those who shared the view that 'adequate guidance is not provided' was recorded as 66.6 percent of teachers, 71 percent of administrators, 50 percent of parents, and 33 percent of students. In addition, the rate of those who thought that compulsory education limited the social and emotional development of students was 61.1 percent of teachers, 66.2 percent of administrators, 61.8 percent of parents, and 77.2 percent of students.

The study yielded notable findings regarding the function of the high school senior year. The majority of participants stated that the structure of the high school senior year needed to change. The rate of those who shared the view that it was unnecessary for high school seniors to continue school in their final year was determined as 83.6 percent of teachers, 84.7 percent of administrators, 75.9 percent of students, and 47.3 percent of parents. The rate of those who stated that the high school senior year should be a university preparation or career planning year was 92.3 percent of students, 90.4 percent of teachers, 88.8 percent of administrators, and 89.9 percent of parents. The majority of participants in the study supported an individualized, flexible, and modular secondary education structure. The rate of those who stated that this structure was appropriate was recorded as 83.7 percent of students, 77.1 percent of teachers, 72.9 percent of administrators, and 65.5 percent of parents. In the survey, the models that received the most support regarding the duration of high school education were 3+1 years (3 years compulsory + 1 year optional) and 2+2 years (2 years compulsory + 2 years optional). The rate of those who expressed the 2+2 model opinion was determined as 34.5 percent of teachers, 32.5 percent of administrators, 38.9 percent of students, and 28.6 percent of parents. The rate of those who expressed the 3+1 model opinion was 18 percent of teachers, 14.7 percent of administrators, 31.4 percent of students, and 20 percent of parents. In the survey, the 4-year compulsory model in high school education was supported at a very low rate. The rate of those who support this model was determined as 2.9 percent of teachers, 1.7 percent of administrators, 9.8 percent of students, and 8.8 percent of parents.

In a statement made by Eğitim-Bir-Sen, it was stated that “We aim to convey the messages revealed by this large-scale research to all relevant parties and to create a roadmap. The research findings have shown that the current system should be re-evaluated holistically not only in terms of its duration but also its content and structure. In line with the findings obtained in our research, the duration of compulsory education should be brought into line with the expectations of society and the realities of life. Studies should be conducted on secondary education models with flexible and modular structures. Vocational guidance should be made systematic starting from secondary school. We hope that the research will contribute to the process of restructuring the compulsory education system and that all stakeholders will act in line with common sense.”

DHA

Reporter: News Center