Initial Teacher Education in Turkey and England: Comparing Competencies and Standards

Problem Statement: There have been major reforms in the Turkish educational system within the framework of the requirements for full membership of the EU. One requirement is that there should be conspicuous development in educational spheres, including teacher education. In this context, Turkey has given particular attention to teacher education and defined a set of Teacher Competencies for teachers. The new Teacher Competencies are largely based on the Teacher Standards of England and Wales, with Britain being considered a model of good practice in teacher education. Purpose of the Study: This study investigates how the Turkish and English educational systems were compared according to the use of Competencies and Standards for teacher education in a European and global context. Method(s): In this study, document analysis was used to investigate the similarities and differences between the Turkish Competencies and the English Standards in Ministry of National Education (MONE) and Teacher Training Agency (TTA) documentation. The categories were developed in terms of the English Standards. Findings and Results: Both the Turkish Competencies and the English Standards are structured around a series of sub-areas. The similarities between the two countries are numerous. There are fewer differences, however, but some are significant. In terms of our analysis here, similar categories are Relationships with children and young people, Framework, Communicating and working with others, Personal professional development, Assessment, monitoring and giving feedback, Subjects and curriculum, Literacy, numeracy and ICT, Achievement and diversity, Planning, Teaching and learning, Reviewing teaching and learning, Learning environment, and Team working and collaboration. The differences were determined as Health and well-being, Knowing the students, Teaching and learning process, and attaching importance to National and Global values. Conclusions and Recommendations: We conclude what the reasons for the differences might be and what Turkey should take account of when revising the Competencies. Similarly, English educational policy makers scrutinizing the Turkish Competencies could usefully draw on their notion of the democratic classroom and on their focus on national culture. We have made some recommendations to contribute to two countries’ teacher education by shedding light on the Standards and Competencies. It is difficult to take all suggestions into account because each country has a different cultural context. In Turkey, however, some Standards might be incorporated in order for Turkey to come into line with other EU countries.