Study Notes: Education in the Ottoman Tanzimat Period (1839-1876)

Study Notes: Education in the Ottoman Tanzimat Period (1839-1876)

1. Context and the "New Order" (Tanzimat)

  • Timeframe: 1839–1876.

  • Key Document: Gülhane Hatt-ı Hümayunu (Tanzimat Edict), announced in 1839 by Grand Vizier Reşit Pasha during the reign of Abdulmecid.

  • Significance: Marked a shift from autocratic to democratic rule and signaled a period of massive restructuring (Tanzimat = "the new order").

2. Drivers for Educational Reform

According to Akyüz (1993), reforms were driven by:

  1. State Responsibility: Recognition that educating the people is a core task of the State.

  1. Public Relations: A hope to win over skeptical European public opinion.

  1. External Pressure: Direct pressure from European states.

3. General Characteristics of the Period

  • Education began to be viewed as a science.

  • Shift from the religious Madrasa system to a tiered modern system (Primary, Secondary, Higher).

  • Adoption of Ottoman Turkish as the language of instruction for non-madrasa schools.

  • Banning of corporal punishment (the falaka).

  • Regulation of student and teacher attire.

4. The Structure of the New Education System

A. Primary Education (Sibyan Schools)

  • Initial Status: Sibyan schools were originally insufficient and mosque-affiliated.

  • 1846 Reform: Establishment of the Temporary Education Council to regulate all levels and write textbooks.

  • 1869 General Education Regulation (Maarif-i Umumiye Nizamnamesi):

    • Primary education became compulsory.

    • Schools were centrally administered.

    • Curriculum expanded beyond religion to include Arithmetic, History, and Geography.

B. Secondary Education

  1. Rüşdiye (4-5 years): First opened in 1838 to train civil servants.

    • First Girls' Rüşdiye: Opened in 1859.

  1. İdadiye (3 years): Designed to bridge Rüşdiye and higher education.

    • Notable for initially excluding religious courses to foster a shared culture between Muslim and Christian subjects.

  1. Sultaniye (6 years after Rüşdiye):

    • Mekteb-i Sultani (Galatasaray): Established 1868, instruction in French.

    • Darüşşafaka (1873): For poor/orphaned children; instruction in Turkish.

C. Higher Education

  • Darülfünun (1869): The first attempt at a modern university.

  • Faculties: Philosophy, Literature, Law, Math, Natural Sciences.

  • Challenges: It closed and reopened several times (finally closing in 1873) due to financial issues, lack of qualified staff/students, and opposition from the "madrasa mindset."

5. Teacher Training & Professionalization

  • Darülmuallimin (1848): First school to train male teachers for Rüşdiye schools.

  • Darülmuallimat (1870): First school for female teachers.

  • Status Change: Teaching became an official government employment position with regulated salaries and promotions.

6. Challenges and the "Dual System"

  • The Madrasa Conflict: Traditional religious schools were slow to accept reforms, leading to a cultural duality/conflict in society.

  • Minority and Foreign Schools: The 1856 Reform Edict (Islahat Fermanı) allowed minorities and foreigners to open schools. This led to a boom in Greek, Jewish, Armenian, and Western (US, French, British) institutions, which often developed faster than state schools.

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