A Review of Educational Philosophy From Different Perspectives Through an Analysis of Period Movies During the Era of the War of Independence and the Early Republic of Turkey (1920-1940)

Abstract

Movies, especially period movies, have the potential to convey information, ideas and experiences from previous era, are able to depict in a truthful manner fashion trends and the style of furniture that people used as furniture in their houses, can make the audience think and can even teach at times. This study examines the educational concepts and trends of the era spanning the War of Independence and the early years of the Republic through an analysis of the movies, Çalıkuşu, Vurun Kahpeye and Öğretmen Kemal. It involves the use of the document review and descriptive analysis method, which are qualitative research methods. The research data was collected using film observation forms developed uniquely by the authors. During the analysis process, firstly, the observation forms were decoded before identifying scenes in the specified movies pertaining to education and related themes. The results were underpinned by direct quotes from the movies, movie frames and direct references to the scenes themselves to improve reliability. According to the conclusions reached with the findings of the study, Re-constructionism was identified as the dominant educational philosophy of the time. The study also found that in the movies, teachers were shown to be expected to take up additional social duties, such as being community leaders, doctors or nurses, as well as their roles in teaching and education. Furthermore, according to the films, teachers perceive education as a tool for social development while it can be said that society sees education as a loss of labor and as culture poisoning. In this context, the conflict between teachers and society as a whole is included in the conclusions of the study.