HISTORY EDUCATION AND TEACHING IN VILLAGE INSTITUTES

Abstract

Village institutes have held a pivotal position in the development of the Turkish education system. Within the framework of the comprehensive educational initiative launched following the proclamation of the Republic, the mission of training teachers for rural areas was entrusted to these institutions. The preparatory work necessary for the establishment of these institutes began in 1935 and officially commenced operations with the legal regulation that came into effect on April 17, 1940. Village institutes demonstrated remarkable effectiveness in addressing the educational and development-oriented problems of rural areas. Through educators serving in rural settlements, students were equipped with practical production-based skills alongside theoretical knowledge. These institutions initiated an endeavor aimed at enabling citizens living in rural areas to benefit from scientific thinking systems through the teachers they trained. This initiative served as a concrete indicator that education could reach all strata of society. In this academic examination, the pedagogical model of village institutes, which hold an exceptional position in our educational history, and the methodology of history teaching in these institutions are addressed. The establishment rationale, educational philosophy and perspective of these institutions implemented with a vision of educational transformation, particularly the manner in which history lessons were conducted, their approaches to the discipline of history, curriculum programs, application methods, and educational materials are also included within the scope of the research. Village Institutes can be considered a manifestation of Atatürk’s foresight, and therefore, the infrastructure of the institutions was shaped during his leadership period, and the establishment process was initiated. In rural settlements constituting the majority of the country’s demographics, the aims were to instill national consciousness through education, foster human-centered values, bring rural areas and their inhabitants to a productive position, and develop villages directly where they are located by training educators and students with multifaceted equipment. The idea of creating a contemporary and modern individual profile, which was among the goals of the Republican administration, could be embodied through the importance attributed to education. The most effective application area for this understanding and thought was history education. In past periods, delivering education to rural areas had always posed a problem, with the issues of illiteracy and the education of the peasant population added to this. At this point, the institutes would step in to undertake the mission of eliminating these problems. With their unique structure, the institutes, which adopted a scientific, participatory, and democratic educational understanding, were also ensuring their formation as pioneers of progress and enlightenment while training individuals. With the emergence of various groups that could not grasp the educational philosophy of the institutes and began to criticize these institutions, inevitable changes began to appear in the institutes. With newly introduced reforms and legal regulations, first the basic philosophy and spirit of the institutes were eliminated, followed by the process of closure. It has been observed that history lessons in Village Institutes were attempted to be conducted in accordance with the principle of work education. When analyzing the curriculum program, textbooks, educational materials, teaching methodology, and application of the course, it has been determined that they present a coherent unity with each other. It has been concluded that the history course was conducted in line with an applied teaching approach that ensures the active participation of students, taking into consideration the conditions and realities of the period.