Based on this information, write a new short title in English: Ministry of Education: Criticisms will be taken into consideration

The Ministry of Education made a statement about the changes and updates in textbooks that have been on the agenda recently.

In the statement made by the Ministry, it was stated that the criticisms made by the public were taken into consideration and announced that the updates in the books will continue along with the opinions and suggestions that may come from teachers.

The Ministry stated that 16 teachers and 7 selected experts were assigned to 65 textbooks, and also informed that approximately 10 thousand pages and 7 thousand visuals were reviewed during the updating phase of the books in question.

The explanation is as follows:

“After the discussions that arose in the public regarding the updates made in the textbooks taught in our schools, there was a need to clarify the issue. First of all, it should be known that updating studies in the books are carried out routinely every year. In the past years, books at various levels and levels have been corrected and updated by evaluating the opinions of teachers and different segments of the society. The books are prepared by following a student-centered and constructivist educational approach, based on the approaches in the Curriculum as per contemporary approaches. Constructivist learning approach is a decision-making process based on the learner’s own abilities, motivations, beliefs, attitudes and experiences. The individual is selective, constructive and active in the learning process. Since every individual’s life is different; Knowledge is not independent of the individual. People who listen to the same lecture in the same environment do not understand the same things. Because knowledge is subjective. The individual’s prior knowledge, prior experiences, values ​​and attitudes, etc. occurs depending on many factors. The control of learning lies with the individual. He directs learning together with his teacher. Within the scope of the comprehensive study initiated in the 2021 – 2022 and 2022 – 2023 academic years, the Department of Education visited more than 30 schools and held focus group meetings, discussed with teachers about books and curriculum and received their suggestions. In the interviews with the project managers and commission chairmen, it was determined that some programs and book contents were incompatible. In addition, a similar situation determination was made in consultation with the Board of Education and Discipline of the Republic of Turkey. The most important of the data obtained was the problems created by the formation of a multicultural structure in our schools. In addition, it has become evident that Turkish books, especially at the 4th and 5th grade levels, mainly include grammar subjects, apart from comprehension skills (reading, listening) and expression skills (speaking, writing). In addition, Social Studies produced within the framework of the TEPGEP project It has been determined that the learning outcomes in the program are not sufficiently included in the prepared Social Studies books. A similar situation is seen between the Mathematics Curriculum and mathematics books. In line with the data obtained from these studies, studies to update the textbooks to be taught in primary schools and secondary schools in 2023 – 2024 have been initiated. In this context, studies were carried out on 65 textbooks. The updated textbooks are: Life Sciences 1-3, Social Studies 4-7, Science and Technology 4-8, Turkish 1-8, Mathematics 1-8, Informatics and Coding 6-8, History of Cyprus 6-8, Religious Culture and Moral Knowledge 6-8, Social Skills Education 1-5. To take part in these studies, 16 teachers and 7 experts who were experienced in their fields and had no connection with any commercial institution were selected and assigned on a voluntary basis. As a result of the update studies carried out, the 65 textbooks mentioned above were harmonized with the relevant curriculum and updated to support the learning outcomes in the programs. In total, approximately 10,000 pages and 7,000 images were reviewed. Just as learning and teaching are a dynamic process, curriculum and books are also a natural part of this process. In particular, one of the most important elements of curriculum is monitoring and evaluation processes. As a result of these processes, it is necessary to update and make changes in course materials. Our first priority is to produce course materials that are in line with contemporary approaches, are at equal distance to all segments of society, are multicultural, give importance to gender equality, are inclusive, and are prepared according to the needs of the learner. We attach great importance to the criticisms made about the textbooks. However, when the books are examined as a whole, it will be easily seen that an understanding that rejects all kinds of discrimination prevails in the textbooks in all disciplines, that women’s rights are particularly emphasized, and that great importance is given to raising awareness of disadvantaged students. Apart from those mentioned above, of course there will be some deficiencies and errors as in the past programs and course materials. For this reason, curriculum development and, accordingly, textbook updating efforts are a continuous, dynamic process. In other words, the updating process of textbooks is never a process that will be completed. Based on this context, public criticisms of textbooks are noted for consideration and evaluation. In parallel, update studies will continue with the opinions and suggestions from our teachers, who are one-on-one practitioners. As always, our determination to exchange opinions with all segments of society and to evaluate and process the data obtained continues. It is announced to the public with respect.”