The Viewpoints of Educational Managers on Educational Planning in Turkey.

Abstract

The Phenomenology Design was used in the present study which aims to determine the viewpoints of educational managers on how much the educational planning processes are successful in Turkey. The Phenomenology Design is one of the Qualitative Research Methods. In recent studies that aim to investigate the relation between development and education, it has been reported that the knowledge, skills and attitudes acquired with the help of education increase the incomes of the individuals and the country. The behaviors acquired by individuals with the help of education increase the productivity in economy. Planning is defined as a design process which will take an institution or an individual to a certain goal from the present position. Educational planning may be defined as a basic roadmap to cover the needs of the society and to realize the aims of it. Educational planning is not only a topic that interests the Ministry of Education. This is a common issue of ministries responsible for planning, economy and society. The Study Group was selected with the Maximum Variety Sampling Method, which is one of the Purposeful Sampling Methods. Ten principals (n=10) working in Ankara were selected as the sample of the study. Three main themes, which were developed by the author of the study, were used in the data collection tool. These themes were Planning Concept, Planning Activities, and Application of Educational Planning. A “Semi-Structured Interview Form”, which consisted of the sub-themes of these main themes, was also used as the data collection tool. Detailed interviews were made with the participants to collect the study data. The interview records were analyzed by the author of the study, and were then converted into text on computer. It was determined in the study that the participants knew the planning concept, and were aware of using it as a management process. It was also determined that the participants did not have adequate knowledge on educational planning concept. However, it is also possible to claim that the managers that had postgraduate education had knowledge on educational planning as well. It was observed that educational planning was generally made in Teachers Board at schools in school management. It was determined that educational managers point out the importance of an applicable educational planning. Article visualizations: