Teaching Under the Shadow of Neoliberal Policies and High-Stakes Testing: A Case From Turkey

• In Event: Educators' Decisions, Ethnics, and Responsibilities

Abstract

This study aims to address the influence of a recent education privatization policy in Turkey on teacher roles and responsibilities. 24 Basic High School teachers participated in our study. The findings mainly reveal that neoliberal policies and their pervasive influence have been evidenced in the classrooms. The competitive neoliberal policies create through high-stakes testing haunts the classroom practices of teachers. Teachers in these haunted classrooms are obliged to implement test-taking practices which indeed deskills and transforms teachers to “test machines”. The responsibility overload with no incentives stands as a barrier in front of teachers acting as transformative intellectuals. The findings of this study might initiate further studies to map teacher slavery in Turkey, and across the world as well.

Authors

• Ozlem Yildirim Tasti, Aksaray University

• Cennet Engin Demir, Middle East Technical University