II. Istanbul Education Conference

THEME

Critiques of mainstream modern education have taken on a new dimension in the post-pandemic era. Mass, standardized, compulsory, and ideologically framed education has, under the extraordinary conditions revealed by the pandemic, created a widely shared opportunity to experiment with new approaches. During this period of experimentation, learning and teaching processes, along with the traditional, political, and hierarchical roles between students and teachers, as well as the central position of the school, have been restructured both in practice and in mindset. Rapidly changing transformations in markets, production, and consumption habits and rules have made it necessary to reconsider learning outcomes and the competencies required.

Contemporary mainstream education, with more than two centuries of experience, continues to form a deeply rooted culture, institutional structure, and contextual framework. Today, with hundreds of institutions, professions, regulations, millions of workers, and dozens of sectors shaping everyday life, even the smallest proposed change in mainstream education can generate significant impact and wide-ranging debate.

SUB-THEMES

Is there an alternative path within the existing network and structure of mainstream education?
Does an alternative path require a complete rupture or a gradual transformation?
What roles and responsibilities are assigned to whom in this transformation process?

At the 2nd Istanbul Education Conference themed “Searching for a Path in Mass Education,” we aim to discuss these questions from a global perspective. In this process of inquiry, we bring together experts from different regions in Istanbul to ensure that we ask the right questions and engage with similar debates taking place across the world.

PROGRAM FLOW

2nd ISTANBUL EDUCATION CONFERENCE
Searching for a Path in Mass Education

Opening Speech
Prof. Dr. Mahmut Özer, Minister of National Education of the Republic of Türkiye

Keynote Speech
Dr. Saeeda Shah, University of Leicester (United Kingdom)

I. Session: Global Perspectives on the Search in Mass Education

Session Chair: Assoc. Prof. Ömer Avcı, Istanbul Medeniyet University

Prof. Dr. Üstün Ergüder, Education Reform Initiative
Prof. Dr. Birol Akgün, Maarif Foundation
Ambassador Isiaka Abdulqadir Imam, D-8 Economic Cooperation Organization

II. Session: The Search for Mass Education in Türkiye

Session Chair: Assoc. Prof. Yusuf Alpaydın, ILKE Foundation

Ömer Özkan, KODA
Dr. Akif Pamuk, Marmara University
Hüseyin Türkan, YEKDER