Abstract

The Turkish Enlightenment process started in the last century of Ottoman Empire and become more distinctive along with the changeover to a Turkish Republic in 1920s. Certainly, education took an important part in this enlightenment process. The basic purpose of education is to create an ideal Turkish community, which could catch up basics of modern life, think critically, consult scientific knowledge and experiments, be open-minded, fully rational and foresighted. This purpose underlines different philosophical assumptions of political and educational authorities of the era. This paper examines Atatürk’s thoughts about education by analyzing his speeches. The findings indicated that education occupied a broad part in his political leadership. The results suggested that, in addition to major political, social and economic issues, Ataturk showed a deep concern about the progress of the country in education. As a result, in his speeches, he proposed comments addressing major educational policy and educational philosophy issues such as principles of Turkish Educational System, educational planning, educational reform, teacher training and purposes of education. These results verified the key role attributed to education in the construction of the new Republic of Turkey’s identity.

Key words: Atatürk, Education, Educational Philosophy, Educational Thoughts, Educational R