TODAİE's Review of Public Administration, cilt.3, sa.2, ss.75-100, 2009 (Hakemli Dergi)
The Young Turks demolished the Hamidian regime with the Revolution of 23 July 1908, which they blamed for the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire. Their purpose was to protect the territorial integrity of the Empire and to modernize it. They believed that social progress could only be achieved with the involvement of citizens. According to them, education was a fundamental instrument of reshaping society in the social transformation process. The unionists wanted to enhance the educational level of Muslim Turkish citizens and for this purpose they tried to reach vast numbers of people via formal education as well as press and cultural activities. This study will attempt to investigate the path, which the Committee of Union and Progress followed while transforming society through education in the Second Constitutional Monarchy Period. In this context, the study will focus on the Committee's efforts to shape society by changing the content of school books in line with its ideology for the purpose of inoculating patriotism.