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Cifteler, the First Village Institute (Turkey 1937–1954)

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Pedagogies and Curriculums to (Re)imagine Public Education

Part of the book series: Cultural Studies and Transdisciplinarity in Education ((CSTE,volume 3))

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Abstract

This chapter discusses Cifteler, the first of the 21 Village Institutes established in Turkey in 1940. As intended by the Turkish government at the time, Cifteler directly targeted villagers and intended to educate them as modern citizens of the new Turkish Republic. To accomplish this goal, Cifteler addressed the practical needs of the villagers and adopted a school model which highlighted educational notions such as “learning by doing” and “work education.” Cifteler’s basic principles were democracy, community collaboration, and problem-solving in real-life situations. Due to the shortage of teachers working in rural areas, one of Cifteler’s explicit goals was to train teachers to teach in villages. To understand what made Cifteler successful in the short period of time it existed, this chapter provides a historical overview of the events and the social, political, and cultural changes that led to the establishment of the institute. The chapter further describes the pedagogies used and the curriculum and the organization of the school. The final section discusses the impact of the school and its educational, social, and political significance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

    Gokce Gokalp

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  1. Gokce Gokalp
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Correspondence to Gokce Gokalp .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Leadership, Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Encarna Rodríguez

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Gokalp, G. (2015). Cifteler, the First Village Institute (Turkey 1937–1954). In: Rodríguez, E. (eds) Pedagogies and Curriculums to (Re)imagine Public Education. Cultural Studies and Transdisciplinarity in Education, vol 3. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-490-0_9

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