The perception of professional competence of İmam Hatip High school students

Imam Hatip High Schools were opened with the name of Medresetü-l Himmeti ve Hutaba (Schools for Education of Islamic Clerics) during the Ottoman Empire and then these schools obtained with the name of Religious Vocational High School after proclamation of the Republic. Legal basis of Imam Hatip High School is the Tevhid-Tedrisat (Law of Unification of Educational Instruction)which was passed on 3rd of March 1924. This study examines the students' perception of professional competence in the Imam-Hatip High School and also changes taken place of this school since their foundation. In our study, documentation method and interview technique were used. The population of this study is the students of Ömer Özmimar Anatolian Imam Hatip High School, Saçaklı Adil Özberk Anatolian Imam Hatip High School and Şehitkâmil Anatolian Imam Hatip High School in 2014-2015 Academic Year in Gaziantep. The ınterviewees are consist of 16 female students and 14 male students. There are 16 questions in the interview. The students' perception of school, teacher, religiousness and professional competence are tested with these questions. The interviews are saved vocally. The students were promised for keeping secret of their identity and the students are wanted to express themselves inner peace. Key words: religion, religious education, Imam Hatip High Schools, youthfulness, professional competence