A Comparative Analysis of Mother Language Teaching Curricula of Turkey, Singapore and Ireland

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Year-Number: 2020-Volume 12, Issue 3
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Number of pages: 10-28
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Abstract

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Abstract

Reading, which takes parts at comprehension dimension of a language, is one of the basic skills that is necessary for learning. In this study, it is aimed to analyze the mother language teaching curricula that are the major tools for bringing in this skill and accordingly the curricula of Turkey, Sıngapore and Ireland have been analyzed in accordance with PIRLS reading skills. This study, that is an example for qualitative research, has been conducted in accordance with case study model and document analysis method has been used for analyzing the curricula. According to the findings of the study, It has been concluded that the majority of the attainments identified as similar to the PIRLS skills in the mother language curriculum of Turkey is associated with low levels of skills and there are 3 attainments related to the high-level reading skills. It is concluded that there is not any attainments in the curriculum that overlaps with intermediate or advanced reading skills. It has also determined that in the Singapore mother language curriculum, different skills for each level are included and similarly mostly high and advanced skills are included in the in Ireland's 1999 and 2016 mother language curricula

Keywords


  • Turkey, Singapore and Ireland mother language teaching curricula are the data sources used in this study. In determining the countries to be compared in the study, the scores that countries have received in PIRLS in the previous years are considered as the determinants. Accordingly, when 2016 PIRLS results and 2011 PIRLS results were analyzed together, it was seen that Singapore and Ireland concurringly increased their successes and Singapore rose from 4th to 2nd place and Ireland increased from 10th to 4th place. Although there are many different variables that can be effective in these achievements of the countries, it is a fact that the most basic element determining the quality of the said processes is the curriculum which is guided in the planning and implementation of the education-training processes. For this reason, by examining the curriculum that is thought to contribute significantly to the successful scorecards of the said countries, it was tried to obtain tips and feedback regarding the curriculum development processes (PIRLS, 2016).

  • The curricula have been accessed through the official websites of the countries and they have been examined comparatively within the scope of PIRLS reading skills. As the 2018-2019 academic year in which the research was carried out due to the gradual curriculum transition process in Ireland, both curricula were handled during the comparison process. Since the name of the curriculum is frequently used in the study, TMLTC (Turkey Mother Language Teaching Curriculum) SMLTC (Singapore Mother Language Teaching Curriculum) and IMLTC (Ireland Mother Language Teaching Curriculum) abbreviations were sometimes used to avoid repetition. Data Analysis

  • In the study, document analysis method was used in the analysis of curricula. The document analysis, which is used in the vast majority of qualitative research, includes the analysis of written materials that contain information about the phenomenon or cases intended to be investigated (Madge, 1965). This method makes it possible to analyze the documents produced in a certain time frame about a research problem or documents produced by more than one source and at different intervals based on a wide timeframe (Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2013). In this study, the curricula that used as documents were examined within the framework of research questions and the findings obtained were interpreted and presented.

  • • Begin to evaluate visual and textual elements to consider the author’s point of view (PIRLS, 2016).

  • • Wide Range of Reading and Monitoring (SMLTC, 2010).

  • embedded across the text. (High) As shown in Table 2, although all of the PIRLS reading skills were not met in SMLTC, there were different skills of each level in the curriculum. Considering the levels of these skills, it is noteworthy that all of the skills offered within the scope of low level and advanced criteria were included in the curriculum. Three of the intermediate skills and five of the higher skills were not included in the curriculum. Although there are some deficiencies in terms of these skills determined according to this, it can be said that the curriculum has a very competent content in meeting PIRLS skills. Similarities and differences between the objectives of the Ireland Mother Language Curriculum and the PIRLS reading skills By the year of 2019, two different curricula are implemented simultaneously in the Irish mother tongue education process. The first one is the curriculum implemented at primary school level since 1999. The other one is is the 2016 mother language curriculum, which has started to be implemented gradually at the 1st-2nd level and will completely replace the previous curriculum by 2020. Both curricula were examined in the comparison process in order to handle the Irish mother tongue teaching process and the related curriculum as a whole. Since only the grade levels in practice were included in the content of the 2016 curriculum, the reviews of this curriculum were limited to the 1st and 2nd grade levels. When 1999 Curriculum, which was the first of the curriculum, was considered; it was seen that the content was divided into learning areas; and each of these learning areas was divided into the units offered under the titles “Verbal Language, Reading and Writing” and the curriculum objectives were presented within

  • the scope of these units (IMLTC, 1999). As a result of comparing the mentioned objectives with the PIRLS

  • The Objectives in Ireland Mother Language (1999) Finds the information and shares it with others. (1st2nd Classes) Uses the information in simple texts using the table and index. (1st-2nd Classes)

  • Another curriculum examined in the study is the 2016 mother language teaching curriculum, which was being implemented at the 1st and 2nd grade levels in the Irish mother tongue education process. The most striking difference in this curriculum, where the language teaching process was defined as a developmental process, was the flexibility of practice it offered to educators. The curriculum was divided into “verbal language, reading and writing” learning areas and a general objective statement named as "learning outcome" was included under each learning area. This objective was divided into eight sub-learning objectives, called "milestones", which were directed towards the same behavior. These milestones were named between a and h, and teachers were expected to plan their learning level and determine which milestone they should start teaching before the process. In other words, considering the individual differences of the students in the curriculum, the instruction was asked to be carried out gradually accordingly, and the milestones of different levels were named as “progress steps”. In the curriculum, no matter what stage the teaching started, it was also emphasized that the students should complete their language learning with the outcomes, the objectives expected to be achieved were clarified and the process was also clarified in terms of reaching the education besides the flexibility it provided its practitioners about where to start. Accordingly, students were expected to be at the level of milestones in the a-e range for the 1st grade level and in the d-h range for the 2nd grade. In other words, whichever milestone was started at the end of the 1st grade, it was expected that the learning would move to the d level and at the end of the 2nd grade, it was aimed to reach the top level h by learning from any level of d and above (IMLTC, 2016). To clarify the curriculum systematic, an example of the presentation of the objectives as follows; Table4. Reading area-progress steps in 2016 Irish Mother Language Teaching Curriculum As can be seen from the example in Table 4, all the objectives in the curriculum were classified gradually and the learners were asked to reach the determined outputs gradually starting from the correct step during the implementation of the curriculum. When these objectives were analyzed with a holistic approach, the ones that are determined to be similar to PIRLS skills are as follows

  • (2016) Teaching Curriculum Interprets the purpose of the author through visuals and text; shares his comments and defends his opinion. (1st-2nd Classes/H) Handles and evaluates the texts for a specific purpose. (1st-2nd Classes/H)

  • and Singapore. In their study Yaman and Göçen (2014) compared Turkey and Singapore mother language

  • When the results of TMLTC are considered it is noteworthy that the curriculum had significant shortcomings in meeting the PIRLS skills. İnce and Gözütok (2018) found similar results in their studies that was conducted with different class levels, and found that the reading skill attainments in the Turkish 6-8th grade curriculum coincided with the reading skills competencies mostly in the first three levels of PISA. In their studies Demirel and Yağmur (2017), stated that in terms of high level thinking processes (HLTP) of PIRLS, both public and private school students in Turkey had low level skills and stated that it would be useful for the reorganization of the Turkish curriculum in terms of HLTP. Similarly, Batur and Ulutaş (2013) found that the attainments included in the 2006 6-8 Grades Turkish Lesson Curriculum met the lower level reading comprehension skills in PISA. As it is seen, the deficiencies determined for Turkish course curricula are still continuing. Accordingly, the 1-3th grade achievements in TMLTC are similar only to low level PIRLS skills, and it is seen as an important obstacle for students to have high level thinking and reading skills. Accordingly, the 1-3th grade attainments in the curriculum are similar to only low-level PIRLS skills, and it is seen as an important obstacle for students to have high-level thinking and reading skills.

  • As it is known today it is aimed to measure the knowledge and skills acquired by students in different countries in a comparative way through international exams that are held at certain intervals such as PIRLS. Apart from listing the academic achievement levels of students in the participating countries, the data obtained from these exams also provide many important tips and feedback from countries and education systems. In other words, the scores obtained from these exams are a report on the education policies being implemented by the countries. Undoubtedly, the main purpose in the presentation of these scorecards is to identify the strengths and areas open for improvement in the light of the results obtained from the participating countries, to eliminate the deficiencies in the system and to take remedial measures. Moreover, academic achievement is a key factor in promoting children’s school adjustment, self-esteem, and subjective well-being (Jung et al., 2019). As mentioned before reading is one of the main factors that affect academic achievement. For this reason it is doubtless that revising and improving the mother language curriculum will not allow students to increase their academic achievementbut also it will help them to gain these affective skills.

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