Education International Research
and humanities whilst expanding the teaching of religious studies. In Year 9, five courses (chemistry, physics, biology, philosophy and geography) have been integrated into one course (“Basic Science”), and the number of hours spent on the subjects has been reduced from ten hours to one. According to teacher representatives, the Islamicisation of the education system also hinders the achievement of educational gender equality for SDG 4.5. The erosion of the public education system comes hand in hand with increasing education privatisation. Just as parents who disagree with the government’s political interference in education choose to send their children to private education institutions, the government is supporting the conversion of dershanes (private tuition centres) into fully private schools.185 Eğitim Sen’s view is that the government want to ensure that teacher profiles are in harmony with these pillars. By creating a climate of fear within the teaching profession, the government is moulding teachers into public servants whose teaching is controlled by government rather than professionals who are committed to the needs of their students.
Conclusions This case study demonstrates the importance of peering beyond the veil of government rhetoric. Too often, governments use language of participation, inclusion and professionalism in relation to teachers and the SDGs whilst simultaneously introducing policies and taking actions that limit freedom of expression, attack teacher professional autonomy and attack fundamental trade union freedoms in contravention of international law. If SDG 4 is to be achieved, international labour conventions must be respected, and governments must take seriously the agreed strategies for implementation outlined in the Education 2030 Framework for Action. “Official” government statistics that countries provide to monitor SDG commitments are far from sufficient to monitor the reality on the ground. Above all, the Turkish case shows the difficulty of achieving the full scope of the 2030 Agenda in countries in which the political standpoint of the government clashes with the transformative vision of the SDG agenda. In Turkey, there is some hope for change, as the 2018 local elections (which had a turnout of over 50%) showed that AKP’s hold on urban areas is weakening. However, as long as there is still repression of trade union rights, teachers’ freedom of expression and the teaching of science and sustainable development, SDG 4 will remain a far-off dream. Urgent change is vital.
There is insufficient institutionalised and meaningful social and policy dialogue
GRO.EI-IE
The FFA affirms that governments should “set up or strengthen mechanisms for institutionalised social dialogue with teachers and their representative organisations, ensuring their full participation in the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of education policy”.186 However, the graph below shows that 59% unions responding to the question believed that since 2015, teachers’ and education support personnel’s involvement in developing education policy has remained low, and 11% said that it had decreased. Thirty-three per cent (33%) of unions responding to the Status of Teachers survey reported that they are not consulted on the development and selection of teaching materials, and 25% reported not being consulted on curriculum development. 29% responded that they were rarely or never consulted on education policy.
0302 NOITA CUDE
According to SNEPPCI, the Côte d’Ivoire government “is not quick to include unions and teachers’ organisations in implementing the SDGs. Unions are kept out of major decision-making and are seen as troublemakers”. In Portugal, FNE187 say that unions in the education sector are working together to improve poor dialogue between government and education unions.
185 Buyruk, H. 2015. Current Developments in School Education in Turkey: education “reforms” and teacher trade union responses, Forum. 57(2). pp. 147–166. Retrieved from: http://doi.org/10.15730/forum.2015.57.2.147 186 Education 2030. 2015. Incheon Declaration and Framework of Action for the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 4. p. 55. Retrieved from: https:// unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000245656 187 Federação Nacional da Educação
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