The Comparison of the Educational Philosophies of Turkish Primary School Superintendents and Teachers

Problem Statement: Awareness of the prevailing educational philosophies of teachers and superintendents may contribute to making correct decisions and policies regarding innovations and arrangements in educational systems. One reason for the failure of the arrangements and innovations in the educational system is the failure to consider the educational philosophies of the teachers and superintendents who implement the new arrangements into practice. Purpose of the Study: This study aims to determine and compare the prevailing educational philosophies of primary school teachers and superintendents. Method: Descriptive method was used in this study. "The Educational Philosophy Orientations Scale" with 53 items and 5 sub-scales was developed by the researcher to determine the educational philosophies of the primary school teachers and superintendents. This self-administrated scale was conducted on 312 teachers and 53 primary school superintendents working in the Malatya province. Findings and Results: Research showed that educational philosophies of the teachers and superintendents are different in terms of perennialist, essentialist, and pragmatic views. Teachers tend to adopt the views relevant to these philosophies more than superintendents. No significant difference was observed between the teachers' views on educational philosophies according to the variables of gender, seniority, and type of school they graduated. However, a significant difference was found between teachers' views of pragmatist educational philosophy according to the teaching subject variable. Also, though no significant difference was observed between the superintendents' views on educational philosophies according to the variables of gender, teaching subject, and type of school they graduated, there was a significant difference found between superintendents' views of existentialist educational philosophy according to the seniority variable. Conclusion and Recommendations: The findings indicated that the educational philosophy most adopted by primary school teachers and superintendents is perennialism, with existentialism adopted the least. However, the objectives of the Turkish Educational System which are specified in the Basic Law on Education No 1739 which was put into force in 1973 can not be realized by teachers and superintendents who hold a perennialist educational philosophy. The realization of the objectives specified in cited Law requires possessing a progressivist and pragmatic educational philosophy.