Development of the concept of private sector in Turkey after 1980s and its place in the Turkish National Education system

Investment activities can be carried out by public sector and private sector in order for economic policies to be implemented. With regards to historical development, the Republic of Turkey has implemented statist and liberal economic policies. Therefore, private sector coexisted with public sector in Turkey. In the Turkish economy following 1980 neo-liberal policies were implemented, and private enterprise gained importance and the economic effectiveness of the private sector increased. Education service in the Turkish National Education System is provided by public and private educational institutions. There are pre-school, primary school, secondary school, and private course and training center institutions that altogether constitute the education system. At higher education level, according to the Constitution of 1982, foundations can establish higher education institutions besides state universities. Until 2007 the Law No. 625 dated 1965 regarding the private educational institutions remained in force, and in 2007 a new Private Educational Institutions Law No. 5580 was put in force.Private Educational Institutions regulation was changed from time to time, and in 2012 it was rearranged. Legal regulations cover topics such as types of schools, opening and operating of educational institutions, employment of personnel, etc. In the first part of the thesis, a conceptual framework was created by explaining liberal, neo-liberal and anti-liberal views with regard to the economy. In the second part, statist and liberal policies in the Turkish economy in the process of development, and the neo-liberal transformation in the economy after 1980 were explained. In the third part, Turkish Constitutions, legal legislation, governmental programs, development plans, incentives in educational investments, and decisions of the national education council were reviewed with reference to the historical development of the private educational institutions in Turkey, and the information about private educational institutions were assessed. In the fourth part, the features of the educational activities were defined with regard to the globalization and privatization. The position of private educational institutions was determined in the Turkish national education system, explaining the state of education, being public, semi-public and private service, with reference to individual and social needs. Public and private educational institutions were evaluated according to effectiveness and quality in education, and statistic data were used, regarding the number of types of institutions carrying out education and training activities. The position of private institutions in educational and training activities was evaluated in the Turkish national education system. Keywords: Education, Private Education, Public Service, Private Sector.