Citizenship education courses in primary schools in modern Turkey (1920s-1950s)

Abstract

According to Mustafa Kemal, salvation is possible only through national education. The consciousness of freedom should be taught in schools. Teachers also had duties on the path to national awakening and organisation. After the Grand National Assembly was established in Ankara, the government gave the students and teachers the task of enlightening Turkish people. The idea was that future generations should be raised with a national, scientific, and secular education to protect Türkiye's independence and strengthen the republic regime. The feelings of virtue, self-sacrifice, order, discipline, and self-confidence should be reinforced in the new generation. The "citizenship education at primary school," which the intellectuals of constitutionalism focused on within the scope of the "new man-new society" project, constituted an important dimension of nation-building. In this study, citizenship education courses with different names such as Citizenship, Homeland, Malumat-i Vataniye, etc. will be evaluated by using official course books from the 1920s to 1950s in the Republic of Türkiye. © 2023, IGI Global. All rights reserved.