The Evolution of Higher Religious Education in Turkiye: Historical Continuities, Contemporary Challenges, and Prospects for Reform

Yüksek din eğitimi kurumlarında, din öğretimi faaliyetinin yürütülmesinin tasarlama aşamasından başlayarak, uygun yöntem, teknik ve materyallerin belirlenmesi, eğitim ortamının hazırlanması, sosyal alanların oluşturulması konularında eğitimin en önemli paydaşı olan öğrencilerin katılımının aktif olarak sağlanması, ilahiyatlardaki akademik başarıya ve eğitimin niteliğine katkı sağlayacağı muhakkaktır. Bu bağlamda öğrencilerin başta eğitim-öğretim olmak üzere, sosyal ve kültürel alanlardaki düşüncelerinin alınması, sorunların tespit edilmesi, ilgili alanlarda istatistiki verilerin ortaya konması ve bu verilerden yararlanılması oldukça önem arz etmektedir. Nitekim ortaya çıkan fikir ve düşünceler ile öğrencilerden gelebilecek teklifler ışığında öğrenciler arasında dayanışmaya, sosyalleşmeye, bilgi paylaşımına, öğrencilerin entelektüel gelişimine katkı sağlayacak fikirlerin uygulamaya konulması ve din öğretiminin daha etkin yürütülmesi için uygun yükseköğretim zemininin öğrenci ile birlikte oluşturulması gerekliliktir. Bu çalışmada ilahiyat fakültesi son sınıf öğrencilerinin fakülte içerisinde eğitim-öğretim sürecini etkileyebilecek genel unsurlara karşı görüşlerini ortaya koymak amaçlanmış olup, bu amaç doğrultusunda Siirt Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi 2018-2019 eğitim öğretim yılı son sınıf öğrencileri ile anket çalışması yapılmıştır.

An effective education system is an environment where students feel cared for, included and are able to deliver critical dialogical input in their learnings on Learning Management Systems (LMS) platforms. The article aims to epitomizes quality education where skills, values and equal distribution of resources can be accessed by all. This includes effectively trained lecturers who manages diversity and teach effectively, to foster success, and to provide a safe and friendly classroom environment for students. This article comes from a larger work done on how to administer clear dialogical and caring aims (policy) in higher online education spaces where students grow holistically and critically. The paper focuses on the kind of space lecturers need to create online in-order to provide students the opportunity to be part of a caring teaching and learning process in order to form part of an active citizenry beyond their immediate context. This article employed a qualitative research methodology, where a questionnaire was used for lecturers at the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of the Free State. These questionnaires covered 30 lecturers who made use of the University’s LMS’ platform. The data was analyzed through the interpretivist paradigm. The finding in this article reveal that the little to no cultivation of critical pedagogical action vis-à-vis the enactment of activism and justice in and through higher education in the context of real pedagogical action in online (LMS) higher education spaces are important. The study is significant because it emphasizes a topic that are helpful in understanding how critical pedagogical action through Freire’s dialogical theory in the online (LMS) higher education platforms ought to be engaged.Contribution: The contribution in this article is an amendment to Freire’s pedagogy frame work framed with the Faculty of Theology and Religion and extending his notion of dialogical engagement to deliberative action in the online (LMS) higher education space is critical tenant for student wholistic growth.

An Investigation on the Compulsory Arabic Preparatory Program in the Faculties of Theology in Turkey

This study examined the reliability and convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of the Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) version of the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale. The MIRECC GAF measures occupational functioning, social functioning, and symptom severity on three subscales. MIRECC GAF ratings were obtained for 398 individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder who were receiving treatment at three Veterans Affairs mental health clinics. Assessments were completed by using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and the Quality of Life Interview at baseline and nine months later. All three MIRECC GAF subscales exhibited very high levels of reliability. The occupational and symptom subscales showed good convergent and discriminant validity. The social subscale was related to measures of social functioning and, to a greater degree, symptom severity. The occupational and social subscales significantly predicted their respective domains at the nine-month follow-up. The symptom subscale predicted negative symptoms at follow-up; however, it did not predict positive symptoms or cognitive disorientation. Instead, the social subscale was predictive of cognitive disorientation at follow-up. When the standard GAF was routinely administered by clinicians, scores demonstrated little validity. The three MIRECC GAF subscales can be scored reliably, and they have good concurrent and predictive validity. Further work is needed on brief measures of patient functioning, especially measures of social functioning.

In 1548, eight years after its foundation by Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556), the Society of Jesus founded its first college in Messina, Sicily and three years later in 1551, the Collegio Romano in Rome. The Collegio Romano became a university in 1553, with the right to award doctoral degrees in philosophy and theology. Throughout the first centuries of the Society, the Collegio Romano served as a model for the approximately 625 Jesuit colleges and universities founded in Europe before the Society’s suppression. Colleges were of two types minor colleges, equivalent to primary and secondary schools today, with teaching of grammar, oratory and poetics, and major colleges, with faculties of philosophy and theology. Major colleges provided higher education and some of them were actually called universities. In 1710 there were in Europe 24 universities run by Jesuits, but many of the major colleges had a similar level of higher education. For example in France, 46 out of the 89 colleges had faculties of theology. The method of teaching in these colleges was based on the system used in the University of Paris, where Ignatius and his first companions had studied. Modified through the teaching experience in the new Jesuits colleges, the method was formalized in the Ratio Studiorum, first published in 1586 and in its definite form in 1599. The Ratio Studiorum specified the programs and methods of teaching which were to be followed in all Jesuit colleges. Among the disciplines in the curriculum of the faculty of philosophy, an important place was given to mathematics, which included at that time astronomy, mechanics and optics Mathematics was established as an obligatory subject in all Jesuit major colleges which had studies of philosophy. Mathematics was generally taught in the second or third year of the philosophical studies. However, not all philosophy students were obliged to attend the courses of mathematics. For example, according to the Jesuit historian of education, François de Dainville (1978), in 1627 in the colleges of Paris and La Flèche in France out of the 873 students following the philosophy courses, only 64 took the courses in mathematics. As we will see not all major colleges had stable chairs of mathematics.KeywordsSolar EclipseAstronomical ObservationMajor CollegeNewtonian PhysicLunar EclipseThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Higher education continuously perpetuates systems of domination through the (re)production of Western knowledge systems that inherently marginalize and “other” Indigenous people and knowledges. Through a postcolonial approach to competency-based curriculum (re)design, we propose a framework that centers the knowledges and voices of marginalized people as a way to dismantle oppressive systems in higher education. In this chapter, we define colonialism; discuss higher education’s role in perpetuating colonialism; define and discuss competency-based curriculum design; define and discuss higher education’s role in postcolonialism and curriculum design; and discuss our framework for competency-based curriculum (re)design. Stage One is characterized by “denaturalization” which is guided by a “thick inclusion” of traditionally marginalized knowledges (Stein in Comparative Education Review 61:S25–S50, 2017). Stage Two creates spaces of (un)learning and (un)knowing and is contextually based on traditionally marginalized knowledges. Through this framework, we seek to decolonize higher education and support traditionally marginalized individuals.

With the development of the times and the reform of educational concepts, higher education in music faces the real challenge of transforming from traditional teaching models to modern, informational, and diversified methods. Traditional music teaching methods emphasize the inheritance of skills, emotional cultivation, and technical reproduction, with strong cultural accumulation and historical continuity; while modern teaching methods focus more on the student's subjectivity, the use of technological tools, and global perspectives, emphasizing individual expression and interdisciplinary integration. Currently, universities still face multiple issues in the process of integrating these two teaching models, such as conflicts in teaching philosophies, imbalanced resource allocation, fragmented curriculum structures, and structural shortcomings in faculty abilities. This paper analyzes the basic characteristics and differences between traditional and modern music teaching methods, identifies the main barriers in the integration process of higher music education, and proposes strategies for optimizing the curriculum system, restructuring faculty capabilities, and improving the evaluation mechanism. These suggestions aim to provide practical references for the reform of music education in universities.

In 2017, the Faculty of Theology celebrates its centenary at the University of Pretoria. Celebrating a centennial is as much as looking back as looking forward. In a changing world with changing paradigms how does one remain relevant? Different challenges and expectations presented to tertiary institutions of education in a new dispensation puts all concerned with higher education in South Africa under pressure. The question addressed in this article is how will a Faculty of Theology (in this case at the University of Pretoria) remain relevant to such an extent that it is continued to be viewed as desirable to have such a faculty present at a university, participating in the academic process and simultaneously continues to contribute to the well-being of the South African society. The author suggests the following guidelines for consideration. In order to remain relevant for the next couple of hundred years the Faculty of Theology should engage contextually with society, practise interdisciplinary Theology, engage in interreligious dialogue while still remaining connected to faith communities. A paradigm of post-foundationalism enables Theology to exercise Theology in a relevant and meaningful manner.

Before the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, from the medieval age, Madrasas and other Islamic educational institutions were well-known to be in process of their reformation and development activities in the last period of the Ottoman Era. Religious instruction was also held in those madrasas under some departments such as; 1- Department of Islamic (Shariah) Sciences, 2- Department of Law and Legal Sciences, 3- Department of Fünun (Science), 4- Department of Medical Sciences, 5- Department of Literary Sciences. That Dar al- Funun built in the 1908's Emrullah Efendi's Sharia Sciences (Ulum-ur Şer'iye) as Faculty of Theology in Turkey may be the first core fort his model. On March 3 1924, the Article of "Unification of Education" was issued out. With this constittutional article, a faculty of theology affiliated to Istanbul Darul Fünun was opened. The Faculty of Theology was closed in 1933 and soon after subsequently, the Institute of Islamic Studies was established in Istanbul however in 1936 this institute was closed as well. There has been experienced a dramatic process until 1949 when Ankara University has opended its doors to a newly founded Faculty of Theology. The Democrat Party, which came to power after the 1950 elections, opened Imam Hatip Schools (IHO) in the first year of its ruling times, as it promised for election periods, and this was followed by the opening of Islamic Institutes. In the following periods, schools and faculties providing many religious education were established. The Faculty of Theology belonged to Kastamonu University is one of these institutions. Although it is a newly established young faculty, it has achieved great success and made a fame and global name.  In this article we will deal with its contributions to the global religious studies.  Keywords: Religion, Religious Education, Faculty of Theology, Higher Religious Education, Democracy

Since 1980, higher education access and endorsement have grown more dramatically in Asia than in any other area of the world. Both developed and developing nations are witnessing rapid expansion in the higher education sector. Nor is this progress entirely quantitative: a number of Asian universities are on a par with the finest institutions of higher education in the U.S. and Europe. Until now, however, there has been little historical analysis and virtually no comparative analysis of Asian higher education. This volume offers a detailed comparative study of the emergence of the modern university in Asia, linking the historical development of universities in the region with contemporary realities and future challenges. The contributors describe higher education systems in eleven countries-Korea, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Phillippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, India, and Japan-and explore similarities and differences through two comparative essays. Each case study includes a discussion of the nature and influence of both indigenous and European educational traditions; a detailed analysis of development patterns; and a close examination of such contemporary issues as population growth and access, cost, the role of private higher education, the research system, autonomy, and accountability.

Interdisciplinary learning improves cognitive skills and increases motivation for learning and teaching in higher education. Interdisciplinary education, which requires the collaboration of different disciplines, contributes to the development of students by integrating disciplinary knowledge and providing a multidimensional perspective. Thus, interdisciplinary education has become an alternative approach to discipline-centered education in higher education. Interdisciplinary learning is necessary for postmodern life because it eliminates the limitations of disciplinary education. The complex nature of the problems posed by postmodern life requires the collaboration of many disciplines. Current political, economic, social, religious, and legal issues are too complex to be solved from the perspective of a single discipline. Discipline-centered education may not be sufficient to provide solutions to current problems or to equip students with problem-solving skills. For this reason, this study reveals that interdisciplinary learning, which is increasing in higher education, can also be applied to higher religious education. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the outcomes of interdisciplinary learning in higher religious education through a sample training. In the academic year 2023/2024, an interdisciplinary training was conducted on the common problems of theology and other disciplines, and the results were revealed through the views of 16 participants. The research was conducted as a case study by using the qualitative research method, and the research data were coded under four themes: (1) need for interdisciplinary learning in higher religious education, (2) disciplines associated with higher religious education, (3) outcomes of interdisciplinary learning, and (4) suggestions for interdisciplinary education. According to the research findings, the participants believe that courses in higher religious education have interdisciplinary content, that interdisciplinary education is necessary in higher religious education, and that interdisciplinary learning contributes to personal and professional development. It is recommended that studies be carried out using alternative approaches to improve higher religious education.

The purpose of this study is to reveal the post-graduation career orientations of senior female students of higher religious education. The quantitative study was conducted using a descriptive survey model. The sample consisted of 191 female students in their final year at the Faculty of Theology at Fırat University who voluntarily participated in the study. The data ofthe study were obtained through a two-part questionnaire developed by the researchers after reviewing the relevant literature and consulting with experts. The data obtained were analyzed using the SPSS software package in terms of frequency (f) and percentage (%) and presented in tables. According to the results, it was determined that 92.1% of female students in their final year at the Faculty of Theology wanted to work after graduation, while 7.9% had not yet decided whether to work after graduation. It was found that 64.8% of female students wanted to become teachers of Religious Culture and Ethics Course, 8.1% wanted to become Quran course instructors, 7.1% wanted to become academics, and 5.1% had not yet decided on the profession they wanted to pursue after graduation. The study revealed that senior female students pursuing higher religious education do not show interest in professions within the Presidency of Religious Affairs. It was determined that 53.9% of these students stated that compatibility with their beliefs was an influential factor in their career choice, while 34% believed that compatibility with their gender was influential. Additionally, 67.5% of female students in their final year believed that injustices or difficulties in the examination system posed obstacles to achieving their career goals. Furthermore, 70.7% of female students believed that they would obtain their preferred profession after graduation, and 80% stated that if they failed to obtain their preferred profession in the first year, they would prepare again to achieve it. The study also revealed that more than half of the students (68.6%) believed they would graduate from the Faculty of Theology with at least some of the necessary skills for their chosen profession. Finally, it was concluded that although students considered gender an important factor in their career choices, they believe it will not create disadvantages in their future professional lives.

This paper examines IS higher education, concentrating on issues of ‘coherence’ in IS curricula. While curriculum coherence can be jeopardized by poor curriculum design, misalignment between module content and/or misalignment between module or course aims can cause serious coherence issues over time. Misalignment of this type is exacerbated by the traditional processes of curriculum (re)design, which rely heavily on the (singular) interpretation of highly abstract documents, such as module syllabi and course specifications – often produced by curriculum designers in isolation. To improve curriculum coherence, this paper examines the use of a programme management framework as a means of (a) ‘humanizing’ the abstract aims and goals of curricula schemes and (b) managing the delivery and evolution of curricula in relation to the stakeholders in the process of delivery. The practical use of the framework is examined in the context of a Masters-level course in ‘Information Systems Management’. An action research approach is used to demonstrate the practical utility of the framework in terms of (a) improving communication of curricula, (b) improving the coherence between modules and between modules and course and (c) removing content redundancy. Analysis of outcomes demonstrates a significant positive impact of the use of the framework in relation to the above points from the perspective of all stakeholders. Guidelines are presented that generalize the findings in order that key practices may be adopted by others.

<p>The purpose of this research study was to explore the role of leadership in supporting the Basic English curriculum design and delivery at two selected Vietnamese non-language major universities specialising in Finance and Accounting. Studies on academic leadership and distributed leadership in higher education are well documented in Western literature (Bolden, Gosling, O’Brien, Peters and Haslam, 2012; Bryman, 2007; Cardno, 2012); however leadership in higher education is largely under-researched in developing countries like Vietnam. Moreover, curriculum design impacts on the wellbeing and effectiveness of higher education (Barnett & Coate, 2005). Leadership is necessary to effect change (Oliver & Huyn, 2010) and therefore potentially to impact on curriculum design and delivery. The role of leadership in making the Basic English curriculum more relevant for graduate students and ensuring that they are better prepared for the workplace is of particular interest in the Vietnamese university context. This qualitatively-focused case study design, with a small quantitative component, guided by an interpretivist/ constructivist theoretical framework aimed to explore how academic leaders promote the Basic English curriculum design and delivery in the Vietnamese university context. Data were collected through in-depth individual interviews with senior academic leaders and company directors, focus group interviews with English as a foreign language (EFL) lecturers, observations of a curriculum meeting, and an online survey by graduates from the two selected universities. The study employed thematic data analysis techniques. Research shows that the curriculum framework in Vietnamese universities promulgated by the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) results in heavy workloads for academic staff (Gropello, Thomas, Yemenez, Chchibber, & Adams, 2008; Van, 2011). This negatively affects their wellbeing and may reduce their effectiveness as teachers and researchers. The findings from the study provided evidence that leadership practices in Vietnam were influenced by Confucian values. It also showed that the personal barriers academic leaders and EFL lecturers face vary according to gender. However, academic leadership in Vietnamese higher education contexts in this study reveals a mixture of distributed and collaborative leadership in curriculum design and delivery which can provide insights for other Vietnamese universities. It also revealed that senior leaders and EFL lecturers appear to work collaboratively to solve the issue of curriculum design and delivery. The findings have implications for policy development and practice. Suggestions made by employers and graduates to institutional leaders, curriculum developers and lecturers are to consider redesigning the curriculum to have a more communicative focus and more oral practice to ensure graduates are better prepared for work. The study has brought insights for senior leaders on how to create successful collaboration with their colleagues and partners in curriculum design and renewal and provided guidance on the enhancement of educational leadership practices in the two chosen universities. The results of this study have contributed to closing the current gaps in understanding how leadership at all levels in higher education impact on curriculum design and delivery. This study will be useful not only in the Vietnamese context but also in other countries where English is taught as a second or foreign language.</p>

<p>The purpose of this research study was to explore the role of leadership in supporting the Basic English curriculum design and delivery at two selected Vietnamese non-language major universities specialising in Finance and Accounting. Studies on academic leadership and distributed leadership in higher education are well documented in Western literature (Bolden, Gosling, O’Brien, Peters and Haslam, 2012; Bryman, 2007; Cardno, 2012); however leadership in higher education is largely under-researched in developing countries like Vietnam. Moreover, curriculum design impacts on the wellbeing and effectiveness of higher education (Barnett & Coate, 2005). Leadership is necessary to effect change (Oliver & Huyn, 2010) and therefore potentially to impact on curriculum design and delivery. The role of leadership in making the Basic English curriculum more relevant for graduate students and ensuring that they are better prepared for the workplace is of particular interest in the Vietnamese university context. This qualitatively-focused case study design, with a small quantitative component, guided by an interpretivist/ constructivist theoretical framework aimed to explore how academic leaders promote the Basic English curriculum design and delivery in the Vietnamese university context. Data were collected through in-depth individual interviews with senior academic leaders and company directors, focus group interviews with English as a foreign language (EFL) lecturers, observations of a curriculum meeting, and an online survey by graduates from the two selected universities. The study employed thematic data analysis techniques. Research shows that the curriculum framework in Vietnamese universities promulgated by the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) results in heavy workloads for academic staff (Gropello, Thomas, Yemenez, Chchibber, & Adams, 2008; Van, 2011). This negatively affects their wellbeing and may reduce their effectiveness as teachers and researchers. The findings from the study provided evidence that leadership practices in Vietnam were influenced by Confucian values. It also showed that the personal barriers academic leaders and EFL lecturers face vary according to gender. However, academic leadership in Vietnamese higher education contexts in this study reveals a mixture of distributed and collaborative leadership in curriculum design and delivery which can provide insights for other Vietnamese universities. It also revealed that senior leaders and EFL lecturers appear to work collaboratively to solve the issue of curriculum design and delivery. The findings have implications for policy development and practice. Suggestions made by employers and graduates to institutional leaders, curriculum developers and lecturers are to consider redesigning the curriculum to have a more communicative focus and more oral practice to ensure graduates are better prepared for work. The study has brought insights for senior leaders on how to create successful collaboration with their colleagues and partners in curriculum design and renewal and provided guidance on the enhancement of educational leadership practices in the two chosen universities. The results of this study have contributed to closing the current gaps in understanding how leadership at all levels in higher education impact on curriculum design and delivery. This study will be useful not only in the Vietnamese context but also in other countries where English is taught as a second or foreign language.</p>