The Future of the Republic Young Teachers

Support for The Future of the Republic Young Teachers on the 100th Anniversary of the Republic

Believing that there is an inseparable link between a country's level of economic and social development and education, Alarko Holding launched the "The Future of the Republic Young Teachers" project with the aim of nurturing well-equipped teachers to educate future generations with the competencies required by the 21st century. Through this project, 100 female teacher candidates studying at 39 different universities in Turkey were supported both financially and with development programs. The program aimed to strengthen the knowledge and skills of future teachers, particularly in the use of technology in education, enhance their leadership abilities, raise their awareness and capabilities in environmental literacy and gender equality, and provide financial support for their personal and professional development.

Under the leadership of Alarko Holding and in collaboration with Katalist, Microfon and the Teacher Academy Foundation (ÖRAV), the "The Future of the Republic Young Teachers" project was initiated on November 24, 2023, as a tribute to the teaching profession in the 100th year of the Republic. As part of the project, future teachers participated in a development program that included both technical subjects, such as "Designing Online Lessons," "Curriculum Design," "Required Technology for Online Learning," "Transactional Distance in Online Learning," "Motivation," "Readiness," "Considering Individual Differences," "Communication," and "Classroom Management" as well as awareness and capability-building topics like gender equality and environmental issues.

The project aimed to enable teacher candidates to experience an interactive and participatory learning environment, equipping them with methods, tools, and techniques they could reference while designing their own lessons. Through this project, the goal was for teacher candidates to enhance their digital skills and become more equipped role models for future generations in the second century of the Republic. The program, which lasted for 9 months, involved 6 different capacity-building topics, totaling 25 hours of sessions. In addition, scholarships were provided to support the personal and professional development of the future teachers.

The program included courses such as "Interactive Lesson Design in Online Education," "Communication as a Facilitator," "Gender Equality," "Psychological Resilience," "Environmental Literacy," "Transactional Analysis," and "Leadership Development Journey." These were designed not only to contribute to the professional and personal growth of the teachers but also to enrich their life culture and provide them with methods, tools, and techniques they could use while designing their own lessons in the future.

Ümit Nuri Yıldız: "With the 'The Future of the Republic Young Teachers' project, we aimed to open a new chapter in our country's educational vision"

Alarko Holding CEO, Ümit Nuri Yıldız, noted that profound societal changes and transformations are possible only through well-educated generations, and achieving this requires teachers with a comprehensive educational vision. "With the belief that we should contribute to the well-educated generations of Turkey, we wanted to open a new chapter in our country's educational vision on the 100th anniversary of the Republic, guided by the educational philosophy of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Just as Atatürk believed, we also know that societies that educate and nurture young people will own the future. With this understanding and awareness of the rapidly changing expectations in global education, we launched the 'The Future of the Republic Young Teachers' project to contribute as much as we can to the personal and professional development of tomorrow's teachers. The sacredness of the teaching profession and knowing that we will leave a mark on the future world fill us with immense pride and joy."

A total of 2,210 teacher candidates applied to the program

The program, aimed at helping teachers develop the skills required by the 21st century, received applications from 2,210 teacher candidates from the final year of education faculties across Turkey. The program prioritized candidates affected by the earthquake and those without parents, and after evaluating approximately 1,700 eligible candidates, 100 female teacher candidates from 39 universities in 29 cities were selected.

Satisfaction rate for the training sessions was 98.5%

An impact assessment was conducted to measure the effects of the "The Future of the Republic Young Teachers" project, which allowed teachers to transfer their experiences from lessons and webinars to their future classrooms. Some of the findings from the assessment, which involved 73 teacher candidates, were as follows:

•    The overall satisfaction rate with the training content and format was 98.5%. Nearly all participants (94.28%) expressed satisfaction with the information provided during the training sessions.

•    Among the participants, 39% were studying Special Education, 19.5% Preschool Education, 14.6% Turkish Language Education, and 11% English Language Education.

•    The most engaging and exciting training sessions and webinars were: Psychological Resilience (27.3%), Gender Equality (22.6%), Interactive Lesson Design in Online Education (18.8%), and Environmental Literacy (13.2%).

•    When asked, "What gains from the 'The Future of the Republic Young Teachers' program will best prepare you to become a teacher of the future?", 58% of participants answered that they expected to improve their teaching skills. This expectation included enhancing communication skills with children, gaining new ideas and perspectives, making both online and in-person lessons more interactive and effective, and sharing ideas and opinions with colleagues.

•    The second most commonly mentioned expectation (33%) was professional development, particularly in learning new techniques and technological tools. Teacher candidates with this expectation were primarily focused on using digital and online tools, conducting successful online lessons, and learning and applying new teaching techniques.

•    As part of the Impact Report, the following results were obtained from the self-assessments conducted on knowledge and competencies in the training topics covered by the Program.

    o    The percentage of participants who considered themselves competent in "Interactive Lesson Design in Online Education" increased from 56.6% before the program to 80.2% afterward.
    o    In the field of Gender Equality, the percentage of participants who considered themselves knowledgeable rose from 56.6% to 84.5% after the program.
    o    Knowledge and proficiency in Environmental Literacy increased from 41% to 74.6%. Before the program, 34.9% of participants rated themselves as knowledgeable and competent in Psychological Resilience, which increased to 78.8% after the program.