COMPARISON OF THE PRESCHOOL EDUCATION SYSTEMS OF TURKEY AND THE FOUNDING COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Abstract

In this research, the pre-school education systems of Turkey and the founding countries of the European Union were examined, and the pre-school education systems of Turkey and Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg were compared in line with the results obtained. As a result of this comparison, it is aimed to identify some problems in the pre-school education system in Turkey and to develop solutions for these problems. The research was carried out with a descriptive survey model. The data of the research were obtained through document analysis, one of the qualitative research methods. The data of the study were collected by criterion sampling method, which is one of the purposeful sampling types. In this context, the study is limited to Turkey and the founding countries of the European Union, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Descriptive analysis technique was used in the analysis of the obtained data.

According to the findings obtained as a result of the research; It has been observed that Turkey is generally similar to the founding countries of the European Union in terms of the purpose, structure, management and supervision of pre-school education, pre-school teacher training process, pre-school teachers' professional status and social role typology, and pre-school education program. However; It has been determined that Turkey differs from the founding countries of the European Union in terms of providing financial resources in pre-school education, wage status in pre-school education, freedom of choice of school, duration of education and availability of auxiliary staff in classrooms. In addition, it has been determined that Turkey is behind the European Union founding countries in terms of preschool enrollment rate, annual expenditure per child and the number of students per teacher.

Based on the results obtained in the research, the following suggestions have been developed to improve Turkey's pre-school education system in terms of quality and quantity: Legal arrangements can be made for local governments to provide more financial support to pre-school education in Turkey. In order to achieve the desired increase in the schooling rate in pre-school education, the age of 5 can be included in the scope of compulsory education and pre-school education can be provided free of charge. The amount of money spent per year in pre-school education can be increased by transferring more resources to pre-school education in education expenditures provided in line with the central budget. In pre-school education, an increase can be made in the appointment of pre-school teachers within the framework of a certain planning in order to reduce the number of students per teacher. In addition, it may be beneficial to allocate an assistant staff to each preschool teacher.