Elementary School Mathematics in the First Curricula of Turkish Republic

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the status of elementary school mathematics education in the curricula developed after the act of unification of education (Tevhid-i Tedrisat Kanunu). The study was carried out on “1924 İlk Mektepler Müfredat Programı” and “1924 Orta Mektepler Müfredat Programı” which are the first curricula of the Turkish Republic. The research related to education history of the republican era has generally been interested in Turkish, Turkish Literature, History, Geography, Citizenship, and Religious
education with the thought that the Turkish Revolution has changed them most however the research neglected its impact on science and mathematics education. One of the most important reasons of this is the belief that science and mathematics have been seen as parts of positive sciences, and that they were not affected by time, space, political and social characteristics. When the curricula are examined, with the transition to the Republican era, a curricular approach that is based on practice, connections to the needs of daily life, that aims to develop such mental skills as interpretive, creative, and questioning skills in children, instead of the curricula of the
Ottoman Empire that emphasize the memorization of definitions and theorems.