Report on Secondary Education in the United States of America

Abstract

About three years ago the Ministry of Education of Turkey designated several public secondary schools as "experimental schools." With financial assistance from the Ford Foundation and the Republic of Turkey, teams of high-school principals and teachers were sent for a year's study and visitation in the United States during 1953, 54, and 55. When these people returned to Turkey, they became faculty members of the experimental schools, the purpose of which was to liberalize the existing rigid curriculum so as to provide more functional edu cation for Turkish youth. By 1956 these schools had achieved considerable progress. It was desirable that leading officials of the Turkish Ministry of Edu cation visit secondary schools in this country to become acquainted with Ameri can secondary education. By this means, it was expected that they would be in a better position to advise on the experimental high schools in their country. So, these officials, who head major divisions of the Ministry in Ankara, came here for the final three months of 1956. This is the report on American sec ondary schools which they wrote after they returned to Turkey. We who worked with them admired their keenness of observation and sharp grasp of the char acteristics of our secondary schools.—Editor.