Economism and Education in Turkey: The National Education Development Project

Tracy Lord

The following is a selective overview of a recently proposed project to reform the Turkish educational system (grades K-12). The project's objectives are mostly concentrated on improving the living standard of the Turkish people by better preparing them for the labor market, and hence also on improving the economic position of Turkey internationally. I raise some questions about how local culture might be affected by the project's goals and methods, since such questions are not its primary focus. The premise that improved economic well-being should be education's primary mission is questioned in light of certain historical and contemporary socio-political factors. Finally, these issues appear to be influenced both by Turkey's post-Cold War geopolitical position as well as by the spread of what some call economistic thinking, a trend apparently integral to the process of economic globalization.

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