Comparison of Turkey and United States Higher Education
Introduction
The higher education provided by the United States resembles the structure of the undergraduate college in the United Kingdom, and the research university in German. Turkey’s system of higher education is a product of a long struggle that the country has gone through after proclamation of the country. The character of the higher education in the United States bases its belief from the American people driving the ideals of Jefferson that limits the control of the government leading to protection of the institutions. Furthermore, the commitment of the state to offer equal opportunity and mobility of the social aspects contributes to influencing higher education in the United States. The freedom of the individuals, the states, and communities involved in religious activities in addition facilitate in maintenance of these ideas in the United States (Guruz, 2011).
Capitalism also influences the institutions coupled by the markets rational way of thinking. The colleges and universities in the United States are of the assumption that where competition exists, the quality of education offered is higher. This is in comparison to the centralized planning. Furthermore, the Kemal Ataturk emphasized higher education in Turkey when he assumed power. Before his reign, the eighteenth century had witnessed the rising of schools that resembled the western style. The education in Turkey was in the hands of the clerics and institutions of Koran. These institutions had refused to offer education to the students, as they did not want to enlighten them, as this would lead them to reasoning for themselves (Guruz, 2011).
During this era, there were 5,000 schools with the s...
... middle of paper ...
...ber is increasing in every stage (Guruz, 2011).
There is also increase in the number of subjects offered in the institutions leading to the increase in the number of students taking the various courses. The colleges and the universities in the United States get their funding based on the ideals of Jefferson of limited government. The American universities and the colleges get their funding through the various sources including payment of fees, tuition, grants by the federal state, private gifts, and earnings from investment (Guruz, 2011).
References
Guruz, K., (2011). Higher education and international student mobility in the global knowledge economy. Albany : State University of New York Press
Eckel, P. D., King, J. E. (2004). An overview of higher education in the United States: Diversity, access and the role of the marketplace. Washington: Springer
Barber, Benjamin. The Educated Student: Global Citizen or Global Consumer ?. New York, New York: Longman,2007. Print.
Instead, Sanford J. Ungar presents the arguments that all higher education is expensive and needs to be reevaluated for Americans. He attempts to divert the argument of a liberal arts education tuition by stating “ The cost of American higher education is spiraling out id control, and liberal-arts colleges are becoming irrelevant because they are unable to register gains i productivity or to find innovative ways of doing things” (Ungar 661). The author completely ignores the aspects of paying for a liberal arts degree or even the cost comparison to a public university. Rather, Ungar leads the reader down a “slippery slope” of how public universities attain more funding and grants from the government, while liberal arts colleges are seemingly left behind. The author increasingly becomes tangent to the initial arguments he presented by explaining that students have a more interactive and personal relationship with their professors and other students. Sanford J. Ungar did not address one aspect of the cost to attend a liberal arts college or how it could be affordable for students who are not in the upper class.
It is evident that higher education in the United States has gone through a tremendous transformation since its origins in the mid 1600’s. From schools whose only function was the training of ministers to the contemporary university of free and open access, both society and culture have had tremendous effects on the evolution of higher education in America. This paper will explore those transformations as related by the themes woven through the ten generations identified by. It will also offer evidence to support the identified theme of each generation.
The biggest question or dispute regarding the cost of higher education is finding the appropriate monetary and economical equation to determine the percentage of personal and public responsibility. The above debate has been in question since the 1800’s when Thomas Jefferson stated; "I think by far the most important bill in our whole code is that for the diffusion of knowledge among the people. No other sure foundation can be devised, for the preservation of freedom and happiness ”. Those important words that called attention to the importance of having an educated citizenry in order to preserve democracy are until this day, words by which legislator...
However, demographic data can be tricky. “In 2004, less than 10 percent of Hmong, Laotian, or Cambodian adults in the US had college degrees”, while the number in all Chinese and Pakistani is a half (Golash-Boza). In addition, while Asian Americans consist of 6.2 percent of American higher education faculty, only 2.4 percent of them are in important positions, stated by the Committee of 100 in Higher Education Report Card (qtd. in Ruttiman).
Throughout the years, America has always debated whether education is needed- if it helps people succeed or not. The argument in the past was always over high school education, which is now mandatory. That decision has helped the US rise economically and industrially. Today, the US is in the middle of the same debate- this time, over college. Some, like David Leonhardt, a columnist for the business section of The New York Times, think a college education creates success in any job. Others, such as Christopher Beha, an author and assistant editor of Harper’s Magazine, believe that some college “education” (like that of for-profit schools) is a waste of time, and can even be harmful to students. Each stance on this argument has truth to it, and there is no simple answer to this rising issue in an ever changing nation full of unique people. Any final decision would affect the United States in all factions- especially economically and socially. However, despite the many arguments against college, there is overwhelming proof that college is good for all students, academically or not.
I would like to share my concerns about the diploma equivalency, such as Associate, Undergraduate, Master’s and Doctoral degrees, between the United States and Turkey. I have observed that there is a big unfairness and difference while proceeding diploma equivalency. Turkey has unfairly treated the US diplomas, although the US accepts all Turkish degrees and makes them equivalent to the US diplomas. This is injustice, and Turkish Government has unfairly done it a lot of times to the US diplomas through their Higher Education Office, which is Yuksek Ogretim Kurulu (www.yok.gov.tr). This treatment from Turkish Government looks double standard and fools the US, and moreover The Turkish Higher Education Office does not legitimize most of the universities and colleges in the US. They say
A very dramatic educational development in the past decades has been the global expansion of higher education. Harvard economist Richard Freeman has estimated that the total number of post-secondary students (students who continue school past the required level) fell from 29% to 12% from 1970 to 2006, a 60% decline. In China alone, postsecondary enrollments exploded from fewer than 100,000 students in 1970 to 23.4 million in 2006. The increase over the same period in India was from 2.5 million to 12.9 million students. According to the EPE on average there are 1.1 million American students dropping out of school every...
As an immigrant came from Middle East, my first targeted benefit to have from this land is; to get educated well and have my American College degree. The reason is not because we as Egyptians don’t have education association over there. But because the American education is more helpful for us more than the Egyptian one. So, from the first session taking about education in the English class, and my mind is comparing and judging everything between the two education systems of Egypt and United states of America. It is very clear that from outcomes you can always know the incomes. By having the American college degree, you can be accepted to work or continue studying on most countries of the world. But the same case is not happening with the Egyptian
The report, Higher Education for American Democracy, triggered changes in federal policies and subsequently the universities followed suit. Members of the commission arg...
As colleges’ funds dry up, colleges must turn to the public to further support higher education. By raising state taxes, colleges can collect funds to help improve the school’s budgets. The state provides funds from the taxes for colleges to receive a certain amount for each student currently enrolled. All community and traditional four year colleges collect these funds in order to maintain the school’s budget. As reporter,
The relationship between college and university are influential in our society. To have an educated society in the United States brings a safe and peaceful environment to live in. Society is defined as "a group of people with a common culture or a way of life. A group of people who unite to share a common interest" (Holt, Rinehart and Winston 678). An educated society also avoids social problems such as poverty, gangs, drugs and health related sickness. Most of all, having an educated society helps our country’s economy. For example, a citizen that acquires a college degree earns respect and can get a good job that pays well.
This education revolves around key subjects such as “calculation, geometry, and all the preliminary education required for dialectic” (Plato, Republic 208). Although the American education system has re-organized these broader subjects into more specialized ones (math, reading, writing, history, art, music, etc.), the premise remains the same. These courses are to teach us the materials necessary to become educated citizens. It is interesting to note that under the main principles of a liberal democracy, universal education also plays a key role in self-agency. However, within both Plato and Aristotle’s definition and that of a modern-day democracy, there are certain nuances in “universal” education. In the U.S, stories of individuals who dropped out of college and are still successes in society while other individuals who worked hard to get through school to graduate and become leading surgeons are often recounted many times as the quintessential “American” stories. Similarly, according to Aristotle, “education too must be one and the same for all… but it is evident that they should not be taught all [of the same tasks]” (Aristotle, Politics 228). This is because some individuals who do not require certain skills outside of their natural occupation would only be burdened and enslaved if they had to learn these tasks. Therefore, based on their
Lazin, Fred, N. Jayaram and Matt Evans. Higher Education and Equality of Opportunity: Cross-National Perspectives. Virginia: Lexington Books, 2012. Print.
Wildavsky, Ben. "The Globalization Of Higher Education." Interview. Web log post. Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 28 July 2010. Web. 24 Dec. 2013. .