From Minority to Immigrant: The Education and Cross-Country Teaching Experiences of Turks of Bulgaria
Keywords:
Education; teaching experience; migration from Bulgaria to TurkeyAbstract
Through the testimonies of those who have experienced teaching in two countries with different political and economic systems, the study aims to provide a portrayal of issues such as minority education, the transfer of origin capital, and the similari-ties and differences in the educational practices of the countries. This study delves into the experiences of four teachers who worked in two distinct countries, the communist People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the post-1980s Republic of Turkey where neo-liberal policies were implemented. The research was conducted through oral history interviews with four Turkish teachers who had studied and worked in Bulgaria and worked in Turkey after migration. Using the oral history method, teachers' experiences were collected, and each country's educational history and practices were followed through individual narratives. The study reveals that while traditional education models had similarities, there were differences in the preva-lence of vocational and preschool education, the connection between education and daily life, and applied education in both countries. As in this study the com-parison between Bulgaria and Turkey with their shared history and overlapping educational goals under the nation-state model, through firsthand accounts of individuals, can create a more accurate representation of the past.
References
Abazaoğlu, İ., Yıldırım, O. and Yıldızhan, Y. (2016). Teacher Training in the Turkish Education System from Past to Present. International Journal of Turk-ish Educational Sciences, 2016(6), 143-160.
Bahadır, Z. (2002). Village Institute. In Turkish Religious Foundation Islam-ic Encyclopedia (vol. 26) (pp. 283-285). İstanbul: Turkish Religious Foundation Islamic Research Center.
Başgöz, İ. (2016). Turkey's educational impasse and Ataturk. İstanbul: Pan Publishing.
Creswell, W. J. (2013). Qualitative Research Methods Qualitative Research and Research Design According to Five Approaches. Ankara: Siyasal Publishing.
Çelik, F. (2006). New trends in goals and goal setting in the Turkish educa-tion system. Süleyman Demirel University Burdur Faculty of Education Jour-nal, 7(11), 1-15.
Çetin, T. (2011). Geographic and Cultural Factors Affecting the Distribution of the Turkish Population Immigrating from Bulgaria. Ankara University Turkish Geography Research and Application Center (TÜCAUM) VI. National Geography Symposium, pp.71-82.
Daskalova, K. (2017). Developments in Bulgarian Education: from the Ot-toman Empire to the Nation-State and beyond, 1800-1940s. Espacio: Tiempo y Educación, 4(1), 1-29.
State Planning Organization Special Expertise Commission (2001). High Scool Education: General Education, Vocational Education, Technical Education, Specialization Commission Report. 8th Five-Year Development Plan. Ankara: DPT Publication.
Ersoy-Hacısalihoğlu, N. (2019). School and Education Problems of Turks in Bulgaria (1878-1918), In International Symposium on Political, Economic and Cultural Developments in the Turkish World from the Early 20th Century to the Present, Information Book. pp. 887-914. Ankara.
Georgeoff, P. J. (1968). The Social Education of Bulgarian Youth. Minne-sota: University of Minnesota Press.
Grant, N. (1970). Educational Reform in Bulgaria. Comparative Education, 6(3), 179-191.
Işık, M. (2016) Turkey-Bulgaria Relations in the Context of Assimilation and Migration as a Balkan Tragedy. International Postgraduate Balkan Studies Sympo-sium. (13-14 May - İstanbul).
İnce-Erdoğan, D. (2017). Reflection of the Migration of Turks in Bulgaria to Turkey in the Izmir Press (1950/1951). O. Köse (Ed.). Migration from past to pre-sent. Samsun: Canik Municipality.
Kenan, S. (2013). An analysis on the turning points of Turkish educational thought and experience. Ottoman Studies, 41(41), 1-31.
Leavy, P. (2011). Oral History, Understanding Qualitative Research. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lyubenova, R. (2017). Socialist Family as a biopolitical dispositive. B. Çitlak, S. Kurtenbach, M. Lueneburg, M. Zlatkova (Eds.), In The New Diversity of Family Life in Europe Mobile Ethnic Groups and Flexible Boundaries. Wiesbaden: Springer.
Iliycheva M. (2010). Education and Turkish communities in Bulgaria in the years of transformation (1989- 2007): A negotiated formal balance of educational outcomes. Language and Education at the Margins of the European Union: Poli-cies, Practices, Challenges. Vol. 46, No. 1, Special Issue (39), pp. 29-46.
Gülmen, O. (2011). Inspirations from Bulgarian History. İstanbul: Ayyıldız Publications.
Süleymanoğlu-Yenisoy, H. (2007). Case for Turkish Education of Turk in Bulgaria. Bursa: B.G.F Publications.
Süleymanoğlu-Yenisoy, H. (2017). New Developments in the Educational and Cultural Problems of Turks in Bulgaria (1990-2010). Journal of Turkish World Studies, 17 (2), 33-49.
Şimşir, B. N. (1986). Turks of Bulgaria: 1878-1985. Ankara: Bilgi Publica-tion.
Şişman, M. (2000). Introduction to Teaching. Ankara: Pegem Academy Publishing.
Thompson, P. (1997/2003). The voice of the past: oral history. R. Perks, and A. Thomson (Eds.), In The Oral History Reader (pp. 35-42). Londra: Routledge.
Toğrol, B. (1989). 112 Years of Migration (1878-1989). İstanbul: Boğaziçi University Printing House.
Kılıç, F. A. et al. (2015). Turkish education system and high school educa-tion. E. Türk (Eds.). Ankara: Ministry of National Education Publications.
Yasamee, F. A. K. (1997). Nationality in the Balkans: The Case of Macedo-nia. K. Saybaşılı and G. Özcan (Eds.) In New Balkans, Old Problems. İstanbul: Bağlam Publication.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 BALKANISTIC WORLDS
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
