Education in Post–World War I Identity Construction: Social Engineering Mechanisms from The Ottoman Empire to The Turkish Republic

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Kaya M. M., Uyanık E.

4th INTERNATIONAL EGE CONGRESS ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, İzmir, Türkiye, 23 - 25 Ocak 2026, cilt.1, sa.1, ss.104, (Özet Bildiri)

  • Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
  • Cilt numarası: 1
  • Basıldığı Şehir: İzmir
  • Basıldığı Ülke: Türkiye
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.104
  • Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
  • Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Abstract

This study examines the role of education as a social engineering instrument in the process of identity construction during the transition from the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish Republic in the aftermath of the First World War. The political, social, and territorial collapse experienced after the war rendered the multi-ethnic Ottoman identity unsustainable and led to a profound identity crisis. In response, the Republican leadership aimed to establish a secular, national, and modern nation-state, positioning education at the center of this transformative project. Employing a qualitative research design, the study adopts a historical and conceptual analysis of early Republican educational policies. The findings reveal that identity construction through education was carried out through three interrelated social engineering mechanisms: institutional centralization, curricular standardization, and the penetration of education into everyday life. The Law on the Unification of Education (Tevhid-i Tedrisat) centralized educational authority and eliminated plural educational structures. History, geography, and citizenship courses were redesigned to transmit a normative national identity. Furthermore, reforms such as the Alphabet Reform and the Village Institutes extended educational transformation beyond formal schooling, reshaping daily practices and modes of thought. The study concludes that early Republican educational policies should be understood not merely as modernization reforms, but as a systematic and multidimensional social engineering strategy aimed at redefining both individual and collective identity. By highlighting the mechanisms through which education functioned as a tool of identity construction, this research contributes to the literature on nation-building, education, and state-led social transformation.

Keywords: Identity Construction, Education Policies, Social Engineering, Early Republican Period, Nation-State Building