Looking at the Reform of the Century of Türkiye Education Model through the Lens of Synchronization Theory by Wearing Phenomenological Glasses

In 2024, Türkiye launched a reform movement that adopts the dynamics of Turkish culture to produce solutions to the chronic problems in the education system. This study aimed to understand how primary school first-grade teachers experienced this process in the early stages of the reform movement called the Century of Türkiye Education Model. 10 teachers, who were determined using the criterion sampling technique, participated in the study, which was conducted using a qualitative method and phenomenological design. In the study, data were obtained through semi-structured interviews and analyzed with content analysis. The findings showed that the teachers were thrust into a major reform process with very limited preparation. It was revealed that the teachers' inadequate knowledge about the changes introduced caused them to experience negative emotions and have negative thoughts. They transferred these negative feelings and thoughts to their behaviors by not fully fulfilling the requirements of the reform initiative. We used the synchronization theory as an explanatory way to discuss our findings. The study concluded that synchronization between policymakers and teachers is an important factor for the success of the Century of Türkiye Education Model reform initiative. In light of this important result, we offered some practical suggestions to teachers, policymakers, and researchers.