The Development of a Bilingual Education Curriculum in Turkey: A Mixed Method Study

Language is one of the most important problems for minority people in Turkey. Therefore, the main objective of the study is to illustrate the need for a language curriculum built on a base that acknowledges the developmental process of bilingual education, to investigate what parameters would influence the development of a bilingual education curriculum in Turkey, and to indicate how the minority languages could be placed in a new curriculum at government schools. This study also sought to identify the obstacles and opportunities involved in setting up a bilingual education system and to identify the challenges and benefits associated with the daily experience of maintaining a bilingual education model. This study investigated how certain parameters such as the views and attitudes towards bilingual education and curriculum development may affect the development of a bilingual education curriculum in Turkey. This study is significant because it could pave the way for developing a bilingual education program in Turkey. When bilingual education begins in Turkey, this education could contribute to the integration of minority people into society in general. In this study, an explanatory sequential mixed method was applied, conducted in two phases: 1) quantitative followed by 2) qualitative. The quantitative data shows, through statistical analysis, attitudes and ideas about bilingual education and how it could be implemented in the schools of Turkey, and the qualitative data supports these results by discovering the views of participants for the creation of a bilingual education program in Turkey. The quantitative phase had 140 participants and the qualitative phase had 12 participants. The study used factor and descriptive analysis for the quantitative data and thematic analysis for the qualitative data. Triangulation was used in both the quantitative and qualitative parts of the study to minimize bias and to enhance the honesty regarding some phenomena. Both qualitative and qualitative findings indicated that respondents believed bilingual education in Turkey is necessary for minority groups to preserve their linguistic knowledge, cultural heritage, ethnic, and religious identity. Bilingual education might also bring peace and tranquility between minority and majority communities. Both quantitative and qualitative data reflected that participants believed that minority students who are taught by means of a bilingual education program can protect their linguistic knowledge, cultural heritage, ethnic, and religious identity; additionally, they can increase their understanding of language and cultural variety and increase school attendance at the primary school level. They believed that bilingual education could contribute to the reduction of inequalities. Lastly, the findings show that the bilingual education models established in other countries should be considered as a potential starting point for a bilingual education program in Turkey