Evaluation of A Nationwide ICT Reform Movement inTurkey: Insights from the Fatih Project

Volume 13 Issue 1 June - August 2017

Research Paper

Evaluation of A Nationwide ICT Reform Movement inTurkey: Insights from the Fatih Project

Esra Kizilet* , Kemal Sinan Ozmen**

* Research Assistant, Department of English Language Teaching, Gazi University, Turkey.

** Associate Professor, Department of English Language Teaching, Gazi University, Turkey.

Kizilet, E., and Özmen, K.S. (2017). Evaluation of A Nationwide ICT Reform Movement in Turkey: Insights from the Fatih Project. i-manager’s Journal on School Educational Technology, 13(1), 33-48. https://doi.org/10.26634/jsch.13.1.13700

Abstract

Turkey has recently embarked on a country wide endeavor of integrating technology into compulsory educational system with a 2.5 billion-dollar project called FATIH. The project consists of multiple intertwined stages, including hardware installation, equipment supply, software and content development as well as teacher training. These diverse and ambitious objectives make FATIH project a rare macro project with various insights and lessons for international educational arena and academia. The major objective of the project is also unique for the CALL literature: Providing equal opportunities for students during twelve years of compulsory education in state schools by means of educational technologies. The present study focuses on English language teaching context and amendments peculiar to English language students. The data were collected from 1,600 students with a survey questionnaire. The investigation focused on the perceptions about the project tools and materials as well as ICT related competencies of English language students. The results revealed that although there is a positive perception toward the innovations of the projects, there is still a long way to go in terms of full adoption of the ICT as a means of learning and development.