Unlike many professions, the education of a prospective teacher consists of three components, because a teacher must know not only their own field but also how to teach it. In this lesson, which completes the eleventh unit, we examine the content structure of teacher education programs, program models, global trends in duration, level, entry requirements, and the definition of competencies, and the historical development of the training of preschool, classroom, and subject teachers in Türkiye.

Period note: The program structures, durations, and appointment requirements described in this episode reflect the situation in 2008, when the source was published. Teacher education programs and the requirements for appointment to teaching have since changed through later regulations; for the current situation, please refer to the official sources of the Council of Higher Education and the Ministry of National Education.

What will you learn in this episode?

• Explain the three content areas of teacher education programs and their relative weight
• Compare the concurrent and consecutive program models
• Explain global trends in teacher education in terms of duration, level, entry requirements, and the definition of competencies
• Summarize the historical development of the training of preschool, classroom, and subject teachers in Türkiye
• Explain the main features of models such as instructor courses, village institutes, and higher teacher training schools
• Evaluate general trends in teacher education and the structural reforms in Türkiye

Summary of this episode

The three content areas of teacher education

All professions requiring special expertise share a two-dimensional content made up of subject-matter knowledge and general cultural knowledge. In teaching, a third dimension is added: the knowledge and skills of what to teach, to whom, why, where, and how, that is, professional teaching knowledge. Teacher education programs therefore consist of courses in general culture, subject-matter knowledge, and professional teaching knowledge.

The weight of these areas in a program varies by country, teaching field, and program model. In the widely accepted distribution, roughly 10–15 percent of courses are devoted to general culture, 60–65 percent to subject-matter knowledge, and 20–30 percent to professional teaching knowledge. Some propose a standard distribution for four-year programs of 12.5 percent general culture, 62.5 percent subject-matter knowledge, and 25 percent professional teaching knowledge. The general principle is that the share of subject-matter knowledge should not fall below 60 percent, and that of professional teaching knowledge should not fall below 20 percent.

From the 1970s onward, many European countries increased the weight of professional teaching knowledge, especially by reorganizing the length and content of its study. In Türkiye, too, the 1998 “Restructuring of the Programs of Teacher Training Institutions” required that all teacher education programs in faculties of education include the same professional teaching knowledge courses. Alongside general teaching knowledge, importance was given to subject-specific teaching methods, the hours of teaching practice in schools were increased, and at least three semesters of professional teaching knowledge became compulsory for secondary subject teaching.

Program models: concurrent and consecutive

Depending on when and in which institution the three content areas are given to prospective teachers, there are two common models:

• Concurrent model (integrated or parallel model): Courses in general culture, subject-matter knowledge, and professional teaching knowledge are given together, spread across terms or years throughout the program. In some practices, candidates take subject courses and professional courses at different institutions, but during the same period.
• Consecutive model: Candidates first complete their subject studies at a faculty, then take professional teaching knowledge courses at an institution that provides teacher education, and receive a teaching certificate at the end of the program.

In many countries, the concurrent model is used for preschool and classroom teaching, while both models are used for subject teaching. At the time the source was published, the concurrent model was used in Türkiye in the primary teaching programs of faculties of education and in faculties of vocational and technical education, while from the 1998–1999 academic year onward the consecutive model was used for secondary subject teaching through a non-thesis master’s program (4+1.5).

Duration and level

Rapid developments in information and communication technologies made it necessary to improve both educational programs and the pre-service and in-service training of teachers. From the 1970s onward, in many countries, teacher education was raised from the secondary to the higher education level, transferred to universities, and lengthened; France and Finland are examples of countries that made such changes. In Türkiye, too, the training of classroom teachers was raised to the higher education level in 1974, teacher education was transferred to universities in 1982, and in 1989 the length of training was increased to four years in all teaching fields; from the 1998–1999 academic year onward, secondary subject teaching was set at five to five and a half years, at the master’s level.

Entry requirements and appointment to the profession

The quality of teacher education depends not only on programs and teaching staff but also on the cognitive and affective characteristics of the students entering the programs. For this reason, almost every country applies a selection approach. In European Union countries, the requirements for entering higher education, which also underlie teacher education, fall into three groups:

• A secondary school leaving certificate granting access to higher education (for example, Germany, France, and England)
• A higher education entrance examination held centrally or at the institutional level (for example, Greece, Spain, and Portugal)
• Completing a secondary program suited to the intended program with a certain level of success, together with special requirements set by the institution (such as a foreign language, aptitude, or suitability test)

In Türkiye, students are placed in teacher education programs according to their scores in the central university entrance examination and their preferences. There are also different routes for appointing graduates to the profession: in some countries candidates are appointed through an examination, while in others they are assigned directly to a school suited to their field. At the time the source was published, a sufficient score in the central selection examination was required for appointment in Türkiye. In almost every country, teachers new to the profession go through an induction (probationary) period of one to two years.

Developing standards and defining competencies

One important way of assuring quality is to develop standards for teacher education programs and to define the competencies teachers should have. In Germany, the two-stage State Examination, a requirement for entering the profession, assesses candidates’ subject and professional knowledge; in England, program standards and teacher competencies have been defined and the practice of accreditation (evaluating and approving programs against set standards) has been introduced. In Türkiye, too, the Ministry of National Education and the Council of Higher Education have carried out extensive work to define teacher competencies and their indicators.

The development of teacher education in Türkiye

Teacher education initiatives began in the Tanzimat Period (1839–1876); a teacher training school for men opened in 1848 and one for women in 1870. However, because these schools could not be extended across the country, the need for teachers could not be met. The Republic saw education as the main tool of development and modernization and gave special importance to training teachers.

Preschool teachers: In the early years of the Republic, a short-lived Ana Muallim Mektebi (preschool teacher training school) was opened. For many years the most influential institution was the department opened within the Girls’ Technical Higher Teacher Training School in Ankara, later named Child Development and Education. For a time, the child development departments of girls’ institutes also trained teachers for this field; however, this role ended in 1973 when higher education became compulsory for all teachers. After 1982 schools of education and the relevant faculty departments, and from the 1990s onward faculties of education, took on this task; from the 1998–1999 academic year onward, preschool teaching became a separate division within the primary education departments of faculties of education.

Classroom teachers: Between 1923 and 1954, primary teacher schools were used for city and town primary schools, while separate models were applied for village primary schools. The first attempt, village teacher schools, was short-lived. In the second attempt, instructor courses (eğitmen kursları), literate village youths who had completed their military service were trained over a few months as instructors for three-year schools in their own or nearby villages; the instructors also took on the educational and social activities of the village. The success of these courses led, through a law adopted in 1940, to the founding of village institutes (köy enstitüleri). Village institutes aimed to train successful village children who had completed primary school, through a five-year education, as teachers who would both teach children and educate villagers; alongside teaching courses, their programs included agriculture, health, construction, handicrafts, arts, and technical subjects. This model, unique to Türkiye, ended with a legal change in 1954, and the institutes were converted into primary teacher schools. Thus primary teacher schools became the only institutions training classroom teachers. After 1974 this task passed to two-year institutes of education, and after 1982 to schools of education affiliated with universities; the length of study at schools of education was increased to four years in 1989–1990, and from 1992 onward classroom teacher education began to be given in faculties of education.

Subject teachers: The first institution to train subject teachers for middle schools (later the second stage of primary education) was the school opened in Konya, soon moved to Ankara, and named the Gazi Institute of Education. As the number of middle schools grew, institutes of education were also opened in Balıkesir, Istanbul, and İzmir; in 1978–1979 some of the institutes were closed, while the length of study at the remaining ones was increased to four years and they were renamed higher teacher training schools. The higher teacher training schools that trained subject teachers for high schools fell into two groups. In the academic higher teacher training schools (Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir), boarding students on full scholarships took subject courses at university faculties and professional teaching courses at their own schools; these schools trained well-qualified subject teachers for many years and began to close in the late 1970s, after the primary teacher schools that supplied their students ceased to train teachers. Vocational and technical higher teacher training schools (Girls’ Technical, Boys’ Technical, Commerce and Tourism, Girls’ and Boys’ Arts, Industrial Arts), on the other hand, trained workshop and vocational course teachers for vocational high schools and applied the concurrent model. In 1982 all of these institutions were affiliated with universities and took names such as faculty of education, faculty of technical education, or faculty of vocational education.

In the 1997 restructuring, faculties of education were reorganized into departments: preschool, classroom, primary mathematics, science, and social studies teaching were grouped in the primary education department. Secondary subject teaching was extended to five years (three and a half years of subject-matter knowledge and one and a half years of professional teaching knowledge), and a three-semester Non-Thesis Master’s Program in Secondary Subject Teaching was opened for graduates of faculties of arts and sciences.

General assessment

The source summarizes the common trends in developments around the world as follows:

1. Teacher education has been raised to the higher education level, lengthened, and transferred to universities with autonomy in teaching and research.
2. The concurrent model is common in preschool and primary teaching, and the consecutive model in secondary subject teaching; in both models, the weight of professional teaching knowledge has been increased.
3. Efforts to raise subject teacher education to the graduate level are increasing.
4. Selection for entry into the profession is becoming more widespread.
5. Growing importance is being given to developing standards and to accreditation.

The structural reforms in Türkiye have also followed these trends. They took into account economic and social developments, advances in science and technology, and practices in other countries. The source identifies the entry of well-qualified students into faculties of education, teaching staff and facilities, and the economic and social conditions of teachers as areas that need attention in order to improve the quality of teacher education.

In short

Teacher education consists of general culture, subject-matter knowledge, and professional teaching knowledge; these areas are given either together, concurrently, or consecutively, after subject studies. Around the world, teacher education has moved to universities, become longer, and selection for entry and competency standards have gained importance. In Türkiye, a rich body of experience has developed, from the first teacher training schools of the Tanzimat to instructor courses, from village institutes to higher teacher training schools and faculties of education; teacher education was transferred to universities in 1982, and the 1997 restructuring increased the weight of professional teaching knowledge and school practice.

Key concepts

• Teacher education: Pre-service education that provides prospective teachers with the knowledge, skills, and competencies the profession requires.
• Concurrent model: A model in which courses in general culture, subject-matter knowledge, and professional teaching knowledge are given together throughout the program; also called the integrated or parallel model.
• Consecutive model: A model in which subject studies are completed first, followed by professional teaching knowledge courses.
• Non-thesis master’s program (4+1.5): A three-semester program that provides professional teaching knowledge to those who have completed their subject studies.
• Accreditation: The evaluation and approval of teacher education programs against set standards.
• Teacher competencies: The knowledge, skills, and attitudes a teacher needs to practice the profession effectively.
• Induction (probationary) period: The period of one to two years that a new teacher spends before becoming a fully appointed teacher.
• Instructor courses (eğitmen kursları): A practice that trained village youths, through short-term training, as instructors for village schools.
• Village Institute (Köy Enstitüsü): An institution unique to Türkiye that trained village children who had completed primary school as village teachers through a five-year education.
• Primary teacher school (ilköğretmen okulu): A secondary-level school that trained classroom teachers until 1974.
• Higher teacher training school: An institution that trained subject teachers for high schools until 1982.
• Faculty of education: A higher education institution, affiliated with universities, that has trained teachers since 1982.

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Sources used:
Sağlam, M. (2008). Öğretmen eğitimi [Teacher education]. In M. Gültekin (Ed.), Eğitim Bilimine Giriş [Introduction to Educational Science] (Unit 11). Eskişehir: Anadolu Üniversitesi Yayınları.

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