THE EFFECT OF THE EDUCATION MODELS ON PRIMARY SCHOOL STRUCTURES FROM THE EARLY YEARS OF THE REPUBLIC TO PRESENT

Abstract

Education systems have changed many times in Turkey during the last 91 years. School building typology underwent significant changes, particularly, in the early periods of the Turkish Republic. Village institutions, school of arts, vocational high schools, and especially primary schools constitute the leading structures of these periods. These structures have unique characteristics and are suitable for this period's social structure, and also suitable for economic and cultural conditions. However, school structures have been significantly affected by the changes of political, economic and social conditions during the past years. These changes also affect the architecture of primary school structures and create spatial differences. This paper aims to discuss these school structure changes in the past years. Following the analysis of the general conditions of primary schools, it appears that current problems are the result of changes within education systems over the years. The school system in the Ottoman Empire eventually became insufficient and several reforms were applied to primary schools to make them better once the era of Turkish Republic began. However, there are still many problems with the architecture of primary schools. This paper considers the primary school structures from the reformist days of the Ottoman Empire to the modern Turkish Republic. The paper also discusses the changes and transformations of architectural structures of primary schools within the context of educational systems from the Ottoman Empire to present. The methodology of this paper includes the analysis of architectural approaches on school structures over the years, while considering political, economic and social conditions. A detailed comparison of these factors is also included.