Course Information
SemesterCourse Unit CodeCourse Unit TitleT+P+LCreditNumber of ECTS CreditsLast Updated Date
3EEC070Early Childhood Education Policies3+0+03407.10.2026
Course Details
Language of Instruction Turkish
Level of Course Unit Bachelor's Degree
Department / Program Pre-School Teaching
Type of Program Formal Education
Type of Course Unit Elective
Course Delivery Method Face To Face
Objectives of the Course This course aims to enable pre-service teachers to: (A1) understand the basic concepts of policy, education policy and early childhood education policies and the historical development of these policies; (A2) examine, based on data, the legal and institutional structure of early childhood education and care services in Türkiye and indicators of access, financing and quality; (A3) critically discuss equity and inclusion, family, civil society and teacher policies through national and international examples; (A4) develop the habit of formulating and sharing evidence-based policy proposals for problems in early childhood education.
Course Content Policy and education policy; the relationship between state, ideology and education; history of early childhood education in the world and in Türkiye; early childhood education curriculum, models, approaches and programs; legal and institutional structure of early childhood education and care services in Türkiye and factors affecting policies; early childhood education policies in Türkiye: access, financing, quality and safety; the importance of early childhood education for economic, social and sustainable development; equity and inclusion policies in early childhood education; policies for families; the work, benefits and scaling-up recommendations of civil society organizations; teacher education, employment and professional development policies; early childhood education policies of national and international organizations; current policy debates and developing evidence-based policy proposals.
Course Methods and Techniques Lecture, question and answer, discussion, case study, analysis of policy documents and statistics, drama and role play, group work, project (policy review project) and presentation.
Prerequisites and co-requisities None
Course Coordinator None
Name of Lecturers Asist Prof.Dr. Mehmet Ceylan https://profil.hku.edu.tr/akademik/mehmet-ceylan/ mehmet.ceylan@hku.edu.tr
Assistants None
Work Placement(s) No

Recommended or Required Reading
Resources Heckman, J. J. (2006). Skill formation and the economics of investing in disadvantaged children. Science, 312(5782), 1900–1902. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1128898
Payne, T., Joseph, R. A., Yampolskaya, S., & Vatalaro, A. (2020). Florida HIPPY parents successfully prepare their children for kindergarten. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 53, 650–657. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2020.07.007
Mother Child Education Foundation (AÇEV). (n.d.). Report of the meeting “Early childhood education policies: Expansion, governance and structures” (5–6 December 2003, Ankara).
Education Reform Initiative. (2017). Equal opportunity for every child: The state of early childhood education in Türkiye and recommendations. ERG.
Ministry of Family and Social Services. (2025). Decade of Family and Population 2026–2035 vision document.
Battelle for Kids. (2019). Framework for 21st century learning definitions.
Ministry of National Education. (2024). Ministry of National Education strategic plan 2024–2028.
Ministry of National Education. (2025). National education statistics: Formal education 2024/25.
Ministry of National Education. (2026). Türkiye Century Maarif Model preschool education curriculum.
National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2022). NAEYC early learning program accreditation standards and assessment items. NAEYC.
OECD. (2025). Education at a glance 2025: OECD indicators. OECD Publishing.
Presidency of Strategy and Budget. (2023). Twelfth Development Plan (2024–2028).
UNESCO. (2022). Tashkent declaration and commitments to action for transforming early childhood care and education. UNESCO.
UNICEF. (2019). A world ready to learn: Prioritizing quality early childhood education. UNICEF.
Council of Higher Education. (2018). Preschool teacher education undergraduate program. CoHE.
Basic Law of National Education No. 1739.
Primary Education and Education Law No. 222.
Teaching Profession Law No. 7528.
Convention on the Rights of the Child. (1995, January 27). Official Gazette (No. 22184).
Ministry of National Education Regulation on Preschool Education and Primary Education Institutions. (2014, July 26). Official Gazette (No. 29072).
Regulation on the Establishment and Operation of Private Nurseries, Day Care Centers and Private Children’s Clubs.
Regulation on the Working Conditions of Pregnant or Breastfeeding Women, Breastfeeding Rooms and Child Care Centers.
Course Notes Kahraman, H., & Atış Akyol, N. (Eds.). (2022). Erken çocukluk eğitimi politikaları [Early childhood education policies]. Nobel Akademik Yayıncılık.
Ogelman, H. G., & Saraç, S. (Eds.). (2022). Erken çocukluk eğitimi politikaları [Early childhood education policies]. Eğiten Kitap.
Reading at least one of the core texts is compulsory. Weekly readings, legislation, official documents, statistics and the policy review report template are shared via Google Classroom.

Course Category
Field %100

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
Activities are given in detail in the section of "Assessment Methods and Criteria" and "Workload Calculation"

Assessment Methods and Criteria
In-Term Studies Quantity Percentage
Mid-terms 1 % 40
Final examination 1 % 60
Total
2
% 100

 
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration Total Work Load
Course Duration 14 3 42
Hours for off-the-c.r.stud 14 2 28
Presentation 1 10 10
Project 1 25 25
Final examination 1 15 15
Total Work Load   Number of ECTS Credits 4 120

 
Course Learning Outcomes: Upon the successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
Bilgi 
1 Explains, with examples, the concepts of policy, public policy and education policy; the relationship between state, ideology and education; and the demographic, economic, social, political and international factors that shape early childhood education policies.
2 Compares the historical development of early childhood education in the world and in Türkiye, and early childhood education models, approaches and programs, by relating them to their policy context.
3 Explains the legal and institutional structure of early childhood education and care services in Türkiye (basic laws, regulations, and institutions affiliated with the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Family and Social Services).
Beceri 
4 Evaluates access to, financing of and quality of early childhood education in Türkiye using official statistics and international comparative data.
5 Analyzes equity and inclusion policies, family-oriented policies and the work of civil society organizations in early childhood education from the perspective of disadvantaged children and families.
6 Evaluates the policy documents of national and international organizations and teacher education, employment and professional development policies by relating them to the importance of early childhood education for economic and social development.
Yetkinlik 
7 Defines a problem in early childhood education based on evidence, compares policy options, and presents a justified policy proposal in written and oral form.

 
Weekly Detailed Course Contents
WeekTopicsStudy MaterialsMaterials
1 Course introduction. Basic concepts of policy, education policy and early childhood education policy Reading the syllabus. Study questions: What is the relationship between state, ideology and education? How does a social problem enter the policy agenda? Course syllabus; Kahraman & Atış Akyol (2022) and Ogelman & Saraç (2022), chapters on policy and education policy
2 Early childhood education in history: in the world and in Türkiye Weekly reading. Study questions: How has the view of the child changed from antiquity to the present? In which periods did preschool education expand in Türkiye? Kahraman & Atış Akyol (2022) and Ogelman & Saraç (2022), chapters on the history of early childhood education
3 Early childhood education models, approaches and programmes Weekly reading. Study questions: Which policy choices (access, cost, quality) does the selection of a model reflect? What view of the child and learning underlies the MoNE preschool curriculum? Kahraman & Atış Akyol (2022), models and approaches; MoNE (2026) Türkiye Century Maarif Model preschool curriculum; AÇEV (n.d.) meeting report
4 The structure of early childhood education institutions in Türkiye and factors influencing policy Reading the relevant legislation. Study questions: Why are services for 0–36 and 36–68 months under different institutions? How do demographic and economic changes affect policies? Basic Law of National Education No. 1739; Primary Education Law No. 222; Regulation on Preschool and Primary Education Institutions; Regulation on Private Nurseries and Day Care Centers
5 Access to and financing of early childhood education in Türkiye Examining MoNE statistics. Study questions: How do enrollment rates vary by age group and province? What are the possible benefits and risks of making preschool education compulsory? MoNE (2025) National education statistics 2024/25; OECD (2025) Education at a glance; Kahraman & Atış Akyol (2022), access and financing
6 Quality and safety in early childhood education Weekly reading. Study questions: What is quality in education and how is it measured? How might rapid expansion of access affect quality? Kahraman & Atış Akyol (2022), quality; NAEYC (2022) accreditation standards; UNICEF (2019) A world ready to learn
7 The place of early childhood education in economic, social and sustainable development Reading Heckman (2006); uploading the project report to Classroom. Study question: Why is investment in early childhood education considered high-return? Heckman (2006); Twelfth Development Plan (2024–2028); MoNE 2024–2028 Strategic Plan
8 Midterm week: policy review project presentations Preparing the policy review project presentation Policy review report template (Appendix 4)
9 Equity and inclusion policies in early childhood education Weekly reading. Study questions: What is inclusion in education? When should universal and targeted policies be preferred? Kahraman & Atış Akyol (2022) and Ogelman & Saraç (2022), equity and inclusion; ERG (2017); UNESCO (2022) Tashkent Declaration
10 Family policies in early childhood education Weekly reading. Study questions: What conditions determine the effectiveness of home visiting programs? How are family and population policies related to ECE policies? Ogelman & Saraç (2022), family policies; Payne et al. (2020); Ministry of Family and Social Services (2025) Decade of Family and Population vision document
11 The work, benefits and scaling-up of civil society organisations in early childhood education Weekly reading. Study questions: How do models developed by NGOs become public policy? What governance problems arise in scaling up? AÇEV (n.d.) meeting report; ERG (2017); Kahraman & Atış Akyol (2022), civil society organizations
12 Teacher education, employment and development policies in early childhood education Weekly reading. Study questions: What does the Teaching Profession Law introduce for preschool teachers? How do working conditions affect quality? CoHE (2018) Preschool teacher education program; Teaching Profession Law No. 7528; Kahraman & Atış Akyol (2022), teacher policies
13 Early childhood education policies of national and international organisations Weekly reading. Study questions: How do international indicators steer national policies? Can international recommendations be applied equally in every country? UNESCO (2022); UNICEF (2019); OECD (2025); Convention on the Rights of the Child
14 Current policy debates and developing a policy proposal Reviewing the sources used during the semester. Study questions: What are the components of a policy proposal? How can a teacher contribute to policy processes? Battelle for Kids (2019) Framework for 21st century learning; sources used during the semester
15 Overall review Review of all topics and core readings Core readings
16 Final exam Review of all topics and core readings Core readings

 
Sustainable Development Goals
Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes
P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 P9 P10 P11 P12 P13 P14
All 3 4 4 5 3 3 4 5 5 5 4 5
In1 4 3 3 2
In2 2 4 4 3
In3 4 2 3
Sk4 4 5 2 3 4
Sk5 3 4 5 3 5
Sk6 4 3 5 2 3
Co7 5 3 3 4 4 5 4

  Contribution: 1: Very Slight 2:Slight 3:Moderate 4:Significant 5:Very Significant