Human angle

The place of the teacher in modern society

by Prof. Dr. Özer OZANKAYA

All developed societies were faced following World War II with very serious problems in the field of education. Aware of the vital importance of the issue, however, they made a serious effort to overcome them. An important element in the success of this effort was the policies adopted to improve the standing of teachers.

In Turkey, Republican education, with its secular and democratic content, had started to forge a scientific way of thinking. Yet although this was essential for the development and security of the pluralistic political-social structure that was being established at the time, it was not developed further, and its attentions were frustrated. The Republic had praised our teachers with the words, “The future generations will be your product,” but now they were downgraded and ill-treated. Educational institutions came to be smothered in the problems to which we have become so insensitive today, but which cause all citizens with a sense of responsibility to flinch.

What the Turkish nation, and especially its intellectuals, expect of the European Union (EU) is a reinstatement of the educational foundations on which the EU countries themselves rely – and which also constituted the basis of education in the Turkish Republic before they were undermined in the context of the Cold War.

This article is about the foundations in question – about the importance of the institution of education in today’s world, and about what is required in a contemporary society of the profession of teaching that stands in every respect at the centre of that institution. The standards referred to are none other than those which have been adopted by the Western European and North American countries ever since 1960, and turned into resolutions for achievement at the international level under the leadership of the UNESCO and ILO. They are the criteria enshrined in the report Teachers for the School of Tomorrow, published by UNESCO in 1969, and above all the norms effectively implemented for the Western nations by the Western countries.

Expectations of society

In today’s social conditions, education has become the largest organisation in any country and takes first place among the duties of the state. In Turkey, for example, it involves 500,000 teachers and 15,000,000 students. Together with the family members and relatives of these students and teachers, it directly concerns the whole nation.

Accordingly, all citizens take a close interest in educational problems via organisations of all kinds, including professional associations, trades unions, political parties and scientific bodies. Concern is shown and responsibilities are shouldered for the success of the educational service not only by governments, certain public officials or those responsible for “operating” the schools and universities concerned, but by everybody who is interested in the future of his or her country.

It has become evident, moreover, that there are not only moral and social reasons but also direct economic justifications for allocating a privileged status to education. Sociologists and development economists in particular have demonstrated the need for “the full utilisation of human resources” in economic development. The productivity of natural resources is no longer regarded as sufficient for economic development, and it has been “discovered” that the labour force needed to engineer, manage and operate large investments such as ports, dams, communications and transportation networks, and industrial systems can be trained in educational institutions. There is thus growing acceptance of the truth that to open a school, laboratory, library or institute higher education institution is to contribute to the national wealth.

What kind of education?

Education is the most expensive among all national activities, and it is clear that it must yield abundant and qualified products. Requiring huge resources, the education system should be able to account to the public for the way in which these resources are used. This leads to the question: what kind of education?

In the modern world, the role of education is not so much to convey certain information to the students, but to awaken their interest about what is going on around them, and to increase their appreciation of and capacity for continuous learning. There is no room within the context of productive education for teachers who remain at their chairs and students who are merely listeners. The required education involves mutual exchanges of communication and views between the teachers and the learners, and participation in joint activities. Computers, voice and visual (CD) recordings, TV and radio broadcasts and all other kinds of teaching devices have necessitated important changes in traditional methods of education and training. One slogan used in France in this context has been to “establish the school of tomorrow” (rebâtir 1'ecole de demain!").

In this rapidly changing era, only a selective use can be made of the cultural elements of the past, while it is essential to protect and foster cultural elements which are in line with the era. At the same time, it has become apparent that adherence to temporary fashions can yield particularly destructive results in the field of education. Even so, every society must try to foresee the form it will take in the future in order to survive and develop in the conditions of the present. Therefore, the education to be given to young generations should not be the education of yesterday but the education of today and even tomorrow.

The status of the teacher

All this can place great pressure on teachers, confuse poorly-informed parents and cause confusion in the minds of students, who may doubt the value of what they are taught. The answer lies in developing the professional capabilities and social position of the teachers. More generally, it is apparent that whatever measures are to be taken to tackle the hugely important and urgent issues of education, it is the teachers who will have to put them into practice.

To open an educational institution is not merely to provide a material resource. While the physical atmosphere and financial resources available to education are very important, it cannot be said that the best school is the one which is the most comfortable and best equipped; rather, what counts is the quality of education, and this depends on the qualifications of the people who are to teach there. This in turn requires that willing and sufficiently talented girls and boys should be attracted to the profession and given extensive training. And if there is to be a sufficient number of qualified teachers, then the profession must command respect within society.

One measure of the status and respect attributed to teachers within society is the extent to which the value of their work is appreciated and their capacity to perform it understood. Another is the working conditions with which they are provided, including the levels of their wages and other material benefits relative to those enjoyed by other professions. In a country where the value of teachers is not recognised, then neither will the most capable members of society desire to carry out the profession, nor can the existing teachers be expected to carry our their work with a high degree of motivation.

Multiple talents

In contemporary social conditions, teaching necessitates considerably more dynamism, joy and enthusiasm than other professions. If new generations are to display these characteristics, they must be present in their teachers.

It has been determined that no one should intervene in the direct relationship between the teacher and the student in the classroom. The productivity of this relationship depends on the exemplary behaviour and words of the teachers and the respect, confidence and interest which they arouse in their students. To this end, teachers should follow the latest developments in the profession and constantly seek to improve themselves.

It is difficult to find individuals who combine all the talents and capabilities needed for a contemporary education. It is equally true that such individuals are also required in other activities. However, the demands of education are huge when compared to other professions. Accordingly, continuous and determined efforts are needed to bring a well-trained young labour force into the teaching profession, while those who are already available should not be lost. Otherwise, there cannot be any improvement in education.

Rewarding talents

Teachers should be respected as distinguished experts who will develop the intelligence of new generations, train participating, democratic, individual personalities and take pains to ensure that young people acquire both knowledge and skills - in short, shape society according to the new conditions through their daily lives and work. In developed countries, teachers have often enjoyed this respect and the material rewards that go with it. But elsewhere, political authorities have sometimes suppressed the profession of teaching due to its potential effect on the masses. This was the case in Turkey after 1946. The Village Institutes which had made a very important contribution to the pedagogy and social-economic development of the Turkish Republic, were also closed around this time.

New educational arrangements have been made under all kinds of social conditions, but always without the participation of the teachers themselves. No effort has been made to correct the misperception of the profession of teaching in society as an easy occupation with long holidays and secure retirement. As for teachers’ material conditions, governments have cited lack of funds, and given the generally unequal distribution of income, the case for teachers has not been voiced sufficiently. With alarming frequency, teachers quit the profession at the first opportunity, and the essential contributions which an accumulation of knowledge and experience can bring to the teaching profession are foregone. The next few years will show whether the 21st century can reverse these trends.

(DIPLOMAT  -  January 2006 -  Ankara)