Education systems of Turkey and South Korea: A comparative study

The purpose of this research is to examine the historical development stages, organizational structures, administrative and supervision subsystems of educational systems of Turkey and South Korea, the similarities and differences between them. The research was carried out via literature survey method. In this regard, legislation of educational systems, documents on official websites, international organizations' reports, books, theses, and published papers on comparative education were utilized. With the help of experts from Permanent Representation of the Republic of Turkey and South Korea of UNESCO in Paris, Embassy of South Korea in Ankara, Ankara Korean Cultural Center and Embassy of South Korea in Doha, primary sources were reached. The Korea Section of Turkish National Library, various university and state libraries were also searched. Aforementioned education systems were examined as part of certain sub problems. Findings and comments regarding historical development stages of both were mentioned. Organizational structures and legislation were studied. In conclusion, relevant study findings about administrative, supervision subsystems and financing were shared. It was found out that both countries had encountered various difficulties influencing education. It was observed that they had centralized structure within the scope of legal legislation in their organizational implementation. However, in practice, South Korea is giving more authority to local governments. According to findings; frequent changes in legal regulations lead to irregularities, the high amount of financing allocated to education has positive effect on education. Furthermore, solving problem, having supervision and carrying out development studies can be made easier in institutions where centralization and bureaucracy decrease.