A comparative study on educational thoughts of Nurettin Topçu and Mümtaz Turhan

Primary way to reveal education understanding of a period is to examine productions, opinions and suggestions of leading intellectuals in that time. Because it is assumed that intellectuals' ideas about education greatly influences curriculum and philosophy their time and post times.Hence, in the research to understand educational philosophy, curriculum and keynotes of the early Republican period, Nurettin Topçu and Mümtaz Turhan?s educational insights, lived in that time and effected big masses with his own ideas, were tried to be proved by using historical methods and qualitative research methods with the help of his own works firstly and then auxiliary literature.In Nurettin Topçu and Mümtaz Turhan?s educational insights, besides many similarities, differences also were found there at various points. Both intellectuals made similar points culture and Islam, tried to create a synthesis between them. They opposed to unconscious Westernization activities in their period, emphasized values should not be sacrificed to Westernization. They told social development achieved only through knowledge and to realize this they defended to raise first-class scientists and staff trained in the mentality of the political science to make social development possible.For this, they claimed the most suitable road is to send intelligent students to Europe, create an effective education system in the country, to train high quality teachers.Both intellectuals gave great importance to the development to the spiritual development of villages and they argued that could be achieved with ?imams and teachers?. They argued to create an environment for scientific mentality in universities and emphasized that these institutions should be become a center of science.At the end of the study, it has been found that Nurettin Topçu and Mümtaz Turhan think different on some issues. Mümtaz Turhan argued that the European science and the scientific mentality might be transferred provided that the culture and he also argued that to train teachers and to solve housing problems of university students German and Anglo-Saxon systems, methods and expertise might be used. However, Nurettin Topçu oppesed to recept European science and scientific method. For him, it is impossible to catch a real progress without creating a domestic scientific method and the conceptual structure. For him, it is inappropriate to use of any foreign system. He want to create scientific methods in accordance with social values. Mümtaz Turhan argues that to create suitable educational envirenments, there is a need of financial assistance from the public. However, Nurettin Topçu opposes the ideda that mixing monetary affairs and education jobs might damage teachers? freedom and students might be beggar.İt was seen that,Nurettin Topçu and Mümtaz Turhan?s thoughts and suggestions about Education partly effected curriculum and practices after 1970. Nurettin Topçu had some ideas to make teaching job Professional and there should be an examination fort he people who wanted to be a teacher after B.A. Programme. Mümtaz Turhan thought secondary school should be aboushed and a unit should be created that prepares intelligent students for the exams to study at the universities (ÖSYM) and a mechanism should be created that controls all the universities (YÖK). These are may be shown as examples applications used today.Key words: Education, Early Republican Educational Philosophy, Nurettin Topçu, Mümtaz Turhan, Westernization, Primary School, Secondary School, University.