Turkish Private Schools Association: Final declara
Antalya, Turkey | 29 - 31 January 2015
The symposium with the title “Teacher of the Future” organized by the Turkish Private Schools Association in Antalya Kaya Riu Palazzo Hotel has taken place between January 29 and 31, 2015. The Minister of Education Prof. Dr. Nabi Avcı was present at the opening ceremonies, and the event was well attended by the General Manager of Private Schools Mr. Ömer Faruk Yelkenci, Ministry Bureaucrats, Governor of Antalya, Antalya Provincial Asst. Director of National Education, İstanbul Provincial Asst. Director of National Education, 10 Association Presidents representing Private Educational Institutions, Istanbul Chamber of Commerce Members, President of ECNAIS, 6 international academicians, 46 scientists and educational specialists from the pioneer universities of Turkey, members of written and visual media and 1200 private school founders, administrators and teachers.
The theme of this year’s conference was “The Teacher of the Future” considering the fact that the balances in education have shifted not only in Turkey, but all over the world. Stunning changes have taken place in the information and communication technologies effecting the education sector, however, the teacher will always remain in the center of the educational activities together with the student. Therefore, we need to discuss and determine what the future will be like for the teachers, and what do we need to do to get them prepared for the future.
In this three-day symposium, it was emphasized that as people shaping the society and the young generations, the teachers have an important role. Therefore, they need to continue their professional development in order to be prepared for the future and help their students with the challenges of the 21st Century. During the symposium, the theme “Teacher of the Future” was addressed by Turkish and international experts and academicians from different perspectives such as the philosophical, sociological, humanistic and technical dimensions in trying to draw the portrait of the teacher of the future, and issues such as how the teachers will keep up with the fast pace of the age, how they can help the students in getting prepared for the future, what needs to be protected from today to tomorrow, what needs to be changed/improved were discussed in eight conferences, four panels and eighteen workshops.
Mr. Simon Steen, the President of the European Independent Schools Association (ECNAIS) who addressed the audience in the opening ceremony expressed his appreciation of the active role the Turkish Private schools association plays in ECNAIS and stated that the educational alternative offered by the private schools are accepted as a human right in Europe. In the presentations, the opinions of all the stakeholders, the teachers and candidate teachers, students and parents were expressed. In the examples provided by the international speakers they stated that success doesn’t come with competition and test results. In order to make a reform in the educational system cooperation of the parents, educators and policy makers is as important and necessary as improving the leadership skills, and developing equity in the whole social system.
The change in the environment is reflected upon the educational needs, and in the symposium the challenging factors for this era and the coping strategies were discussed. It needs to be taken into consideration that teachers are acting as role models for the future generations also with their attitudes and behaviors. In order to develop the high level thinking and critical thinking skills and transform today’s students into self-learners we need to support teachers with effective professional development to make them use methods such as cooperative learning, holistic educational methods, formative assessment and evaluation effectively and to focus on transforming the schools into learning environments by moving from quantity to quality through sustainability, professional development and high quality teacher training.
In today’s world where the concepts of education, school, learning and teaching are rapidly changing and transforming, it is essential to speed up the transformation of the teacher’s role from the transmitter of information to a moderator who leads students to discover information in order to support their own learning. In order to make the professional development programs more effective in the schools of the future, rather than asking the question “what do we do?” we should focus on “why and how we do it” and encourage the teachers to be researchers. To be able to keep up with the complicated life of our age in our schools, research and development departments need to be established and interdisciplinary work has to be increased. Extra-curricular programs where life skills can be developed as much as academic knowledge, and cooperation with fields other than education and making use of their solutions could be very beneficial in education.
In conclusion, as Mr. Minister stated in his opening remarks, it may seem like a ridiculous effort to try and make estimations about the future in especially such fast changing times. However, we will still continue with our efforts and determination in supporting our teachers to help them be more beneficial to their students and develop themselves, and knowing that you are by our side in this struggle like you were in this symposium, will give us strength we need. Thank you.
Best Regards,
The theme of this year’s conference was “The Teacher of the Future” considering the fact that the balances in education have shifted not only in Turkey, but all over the world. Stunning changes have taken place in the information and communication technologies effecting the education sector, however, the teacher will always remain in the center of the educational activities together with the student. Therefore, we need to discuss and determine what the future will be like for the teachers, and what do we need to do to get them prepared for the future.
In this three-day symposium, it was emphasized that as people shaping the society and the young generations, the teachers have an important role. Therefore, they need to continue their professional development in order to be prepared for the future and help their students with the challenges of the 21st Century. During the symposium, the theme “Teacher of the Future” was addressed by Turkish and international experts and academicians from different perspectives such as the philosophical, sociological, humanistic and technical dimensions in trying to draw the portrait of the teacher of the future, and issues such as how the teachers will keep up with the fast pace of the age, how they can help the students in getting prepared for the future, what needs to be protected from today to tomorrow, what needs to be changed/improved were discussed in eight conferences, four panels and eighteen workshops.
Mr. Simon Steen, the President of the European Independent Schools Association (ECNAIS) who addressed the audience in the opening ceremony expressed his appreciation of the active role the Turkish Private schools association plays in ECNAIS and stated that the educational alternative offered by the private schools are accepted as a human right in Europe. In the presentations, the opinions of all the stakeholders, the teachers and candidate teachers, students and parents were expressed. In the examples provided by the international speakers they stated that success doesn’t come with competition and test results. In order to make a reform in the educational system cooperation of the parents, educators and policy makers is as important and necessary as improving the leadership skills, and developing equity in the whole social system.
The change in the environment is reflected upon the educational needs, and in the symposium the challenging factors for this era and the coping strategies were discussed. It needs to be taken into consideration that teachers are acting as role models for the future generations also with their attitudes and behaviors. In order to develop the high level thinking and critical thinking skills and transform today’s students into self-learners we need to support teachers with effective professional development to make them use methods such as cooperative learning, holistic educational methods, formative assessment and evaluation effectively and to focus on transforming the schools into learning environments by moving from quantity to quality through sustainability, professional development and high quality teacher training.
In today’s world where the concepts of education, school, learning and teaching are rapidly changing and transforming, it is essential to speed up the transformation of the teacher’s role from the transmitter of information to a moderator who leads students to discover information in order to support their own learning. In order to make the professional development programs more effective in the schools of the future, rather than asking the question “what do we do?” we should focus on “why and how we do it” and encourage the teachers to be researchers. To be able to keep up with the complicated life of our age in our schools, research and development departments need to be established and interdisciplinary work has to be increased. Extra-curricular programs where life skills can be developed as much as academic knowledge, and cooperation with fields other than education and making use of their solutions could be very beneficial in education.
In conclusion, as Mr. Minister stated in his opening remarks, it may seem like a ridiculous effort to try and make estimations about the future in especially such fast changing times. However, we will still continue with our efforts and determination in supporting our teachers to help them be more beneficial to their students and develop themselves, and knowing that you are by our side in this struggle like you were in this symposium, will give us strength we need. Thank you.
Best Regards,