An assessment of the office management and secretarial training programme according to teaching staff as part of the vocational schools curriculum development project of The Ministry of National Education (Meb) and The Higher Education Council (Yök)

This study aims to uncover the problems posed by the Office Management and Secretarial Training Programme as part of the MEB-YÖK project of curriculum development for vocational schools, and to put forward proposals for the improvement of this curriculum. The content universe comprises the teaching staff of the vocational schools and foundation vocational schools offering office management and secretarial training programmes within the 81 cities. A representative sample was selected from the teaching staff of 54 vocational schools, one in each vocational and technical education zone, and the seven foundation vocational schools, with a total of 61 vocational schools offering the office management and secretarial training programme in the 2006-2007 academic year. The research findings reveal that the basic principles of the Common Curriculum Development Project are widely accepted, although occasionally critiqued, by the vocational schools.Despite this acceptance, it is considered useful to have the curriculum regularly assessed and updated so that it can reflect the latest technological advances and respond to an ever changing and growing need for information. vii Based on the research findings, it can be argued that the Office Management and Secretarial Training programme needs to be revised and updated in line with the sector demands and the relevant undergraduate degree programmes so as to reflect the rising technological level and to meet local, regional, national, and international requirements. Therefore it is concluded that this revision should be undertaken in collaboration with the MEB for vocational and technical secondary education, and relevant university departments and sector representatives for undergraduate degree programmes