The foreign schools and minority schools in Turkey (1925-1926)

Foreign schools and minority schools are thought to have been the most significant component of missionary activities for centuries. These schools were distinguished with the non-educational activities and they were argued to have direct influence on the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The schools which encountered numerous legislative regulations in the period of the Ottoman Empire continued to grow with the external support day by day, especially in the 19th century. The Imperial Edict of 1839, the Reform Edict of 1856, the Statute on General Education of 1869, 1901 Lesvos Incident, 1913 Compromise, World War I and Mondros Armistice Agreement were only some of the events directly concerning foreign and minority schools. Outlining the position of the non-muslim schools in the education year 1925-1926, which survived after the declaration of a new republic, this study investigates the impacts of Lausanne Treaty, declaration of the republic, the Unity of Education Law and the other legislative regulations on these schools. The study also includes student and teacher characteristics, educational materials, school buildings, school inventories and history of the schools. In line with the aim of the study, statistical periodicals and educational annuals were initially examined; and the Ottoman Archives of The Prime Ministry, the Turkish Republic Archives of The Prime Ministry and the Archives of Ministry of National Education were used in data collection process. The studies and reports of Dewey and Kühne, who were influential in establishing fundamental principles of Turkish national education; legislative regulations, law registries, parliamentary minutes, official journal and the archives of newspapers were included as sources of data. Additionally, memoirs, books, articles and theses on the history of education are among the other sources. Consisting of three parts, the study examines the history of the foreign and the minority schools in the light of their legislative framework in the first part. The second and third parts of the study handle the foreign and the minority schools in the education year 1925-1926. Lastly, the discussion part takes place at the end of the study.