A Content Analysis of Doctoral and Master'S Theses on Fatih Project in Turkey

Abstract

As Information Communication Technologies (ICT) have conquered our daily lives, they have also been penetrating into education in all stages from pre-school education to lifelong learning. As a result of this digital impact, many countries have initiated technology integration projects to teach the millennials. Turkey is no exception. In 2012, The Ministry of National Education in Turkey took a big step for digital transformation, by initiating FATIH (Movement of Enhancing Opportunities and Improving Technology) Project which aims to turn all classes in K-12 schools into Smart Classes that are equipped with ICT and to give a tablet PC to all students. FATIH, which is an ongoing Project, has five components including providing equipment and software infrastructure, provision and management of educational e-content e-content, effective use of the ICT in teaching programs, in-service training of the teachers and conscious, reliable, manageable and measurable ICT usage. The Project which was planned to be finished by the end of 2014 has already fallen behind the announced calendar, which raises questions about the viability of the project. The aim of the present study is to introduce FATIH Project and make a content analysis of masters and doctoral theses in Turkey regarding FATIH Project to review the initial results obtained from scholarly research. A total of around 25 doctoral and masters theses that are obtained from the database of Council of Higher Education Thesis Center will be categorized in terms of the component of FATIH Project they deal with. The methodology employed in these studies and the participants will also be analysed. The results of these studies will be synthesized to reflect on how the project functions. To contribute to the success of the project, the criticisms and proposals that are made about the project which are thought to clarify the weaknesses and strengths will also be identified.