Taking Turkey's Example Abstract and Biblio

Abstract

Turkey and the United States are two progressive westernized societies that have However in regards to women in engineering, Turkey seems to have a greater handle on the utilization of this long suppressed workforce. Through this research paper I would like to compare Turkish engineering education practices with that of the United States and examine what techniques Turkish engineering has implemented to provide a threshold for women entering the field of engineering. Also I will explore whether these same techniques could be utilized affectively to change engineering for women in the United States. This will include analyzing the math and science preparation established at the high school level and how the idea of the STEM pipeline applies in both countries. Since the dominant images associated with engineering have been culturally established as masculine I will explore how Turkey has attempted to overcome this disability. Certainly the historical events and legislations made for women have contributed to a unique formation of women's ability to participate in technical fields. I will compare the practices of education and whether the strategies used by Turkey could function in the United States on account of the political structure but also established cultural norms for women.

Bibliography

Ongen, Demet. "Attitudes Towards Women: A Study of Gender and Academic

Domain Differences in a Sample of Turkish University Students" Society

Behavior and Personality (2006): 467-486. 2/2/11

This article recounts a study done with 626 Turkish university students that analyzes gender grade level and different fields of study between males and females in Turkey. A majority of the articles discusses the established sex-roles that dictates what fields women and men choose to study and eventually in what fields they pursue careers. The study is based on the Attitudes Towards Women Scale, which was developed by Spence and Helmreich to demonstrate the change in gender roles over time. In this article a Turkish version of the ATW scale is used in which students answer a 25-question survey about gender roles in the home, workforce and relationships. The results of the study reveal positive correlations between women's liberal views concerning educational behavior and marital relations and men's conservative views on these items. Women in Turkey realize that they are capable and deserving of the right to equal rights to men in both education and their role in a marital relationship, while men want to maintain the status quo because of the power it gives them.

Ugur, Saziye and Yargi, Onder. "Women Physicists in Turkey: 2002 to the Present."

2/2/11

This article discusses the growing percentage of women holding academic positions in physics in Turkey. In 2008 the percentage of women as full professors in physics rose to 16%, associate professors were at 17%, and research professors at 43%. The article also highlights the practically equivalent rates at which men and women graduate from high school. Although it highlights the progress of women in education and physics, the article seems to include a contradictory piece of information that only 10% of high school students have the opportunity to attend a university due to the strange exam system. This is a much different perspective on the progress of education in Turkey while the other information seems to inflate the widespread educational advancements in Turkey.

Menard, Albert and Uzun Ali. "Educating Women for Success in Physics: Lessons

from Turkey." American Association of Physics Teachers (1993): 611-615.

2/2/11

Menard and Uzun contrast the statistics of women in engineering fields in the U.S. and in Turkey. They begin by demonstrating the U.S. progressive social reforms for women that occurred much earlier than in Turkey. For example who gained the right to vote in 1920 in the United States and gained the same right in Turkey in 1934. Additionally Turkish women had no history of women in science before the reforms of Ataturk. Therefore they explore the question of why it is that there is a higher percentage of women engineers in Turkey than the U.S. and they argue that it must be the educational system. In contrast to the U.S., high school education in Turkey, called lise, requires that women take the same math and science classes as their male counterparts and therefore they arrive to university at the same level. This is a crucial piece of evidence, however it begs the question- what are the factors that inhibit women in the U.S. from continuing to take science and math classes (specifically physics and advanced math) in high school? Additionally the Turkish university system is organized so that tuition is subsidized and therefore not a barrier of admittance into university. The article concludes with the idea that if women are provided the same education to their male counterparts they will become engineers and an equal rate to their male counterparts.

"The Good Turkish Example." Economist. (1993). Vol. 327 Issue 7816 18-19. 2/9/11

This article discusses the political progress women have made in Turkey. The political history and environment in Turkey has played a crucial role in the high percentage of women engineers, yet women still have advances to make in politics. The English-speaking, westernized, Tansu Ciller was the woman elected to power in turkey. It is a substantial achievement for the progress and influence of women to have a female role model such as Ciller is such a high position of leadership. However, the article mentions that on the other side, Ciller's True Path Party came to power 20 months prior and little had been done to change the weak economic situation in Turkey. The author follows a dynamic train of thought; first he explains the progress of having a woman leader, then chastises her for her lack of improvement in the leadership role, and then finishes saying that other Muslim nations ought to take Turkey as the good example in contrast to the fundamentalism that was causing a ruckus in the surrounding Muslim nations. The article aids to expand on the influence Turkey has on other Muslim nations and the advancing of woman due to its election of a female leader.

Arslan, Gokhan and Kivrak Serkan. "The Lower Employment of Women in Turkish

Construction Sector." Building and Environment. (2004). 1379-1387. 2/9/11

This article discusses how women's culturally derived, sexual division of labor affects their presence in scientific fields, primarily the field of construction. The article makes the comparison of percentage of women in construction in Turkey and the United Kingdom and this is attributed to similar cultural norms between the countries. It presents the territorial segregation of women into textile and health industries while men dominate engineering industries. The article describes the direct correlation between women's cultural roles in the family and their lack of representation in technical fields. The article describes a survey taken of female civil engineers in Turkey regarding their point of view on women in the construction industry and their wishfulness in regards higher female representation. Results of the survey revealed that women experience many barriers in the field of construction. This information is then compared with women in the United States perspective on working in the field of construction and the higher satisfaction due to working conditions in the United States. The article gives no solution for the male driven image of the construction industry but offers the hope that women will break through those cultural norms and have a greater presence in the future.

Research Progress Report #1 Engineering in Turkey

For my country based research project I am going to take an in depth look at how the history of Turkey and its attempt at assimilation into the culture of Europe, has influenced the formation of engineering practices.

In large part the formation of Turkey's engineering education was in response to the Ottoman Empire's loss of power as the nations of Europe rose in world power in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. The French model of engineering highly influenced the blueprint of Turkish engineering, for example French became a required language in the military schools! After World War I the Ottoman lands were divided among the nations of Europe, increasing Europe's influence on Turkey. However soon after Turkey fought for its Independence and became the first republic in the Middle East in 1923. Quickly moving through its history, after World War II, the number of engineering students in Turkey continued to grow and therefore more and more universities were being established. One specific term I will be discussing in this project in the concept of liberalization. In the 1970's Turkey experienced one of its worst economic crisis, which included high inflation and unemployment rates. However what occurred consequently benefited the country exponentially. The government began a process of liberalizing the economy, which meant the economic focus became exporting instead of importing. The results of this shift in focus included, modernization in infrastructure (bridges, roads, etc. which calls for more engineers!) and an explosion of universities. These historical events play a prominent role in the development of engineering education. Turkey was prompted by Europe to engage in advancement for its engineers, but was also highly influenced by European methods, especially the French.

Another unique characteristic of engineering practices in Turkey is the inclusion of women in the engineering work force. After the establishment of the Republic, the government installed a series of legislation to "modernize" Turkey and the head of the country thought that reforms which gave women more rights was crucial. This not only paved the way for women in engineering but, began with a series of legislation to give women social rights. By 1930 women were given full political rights.

The European influence on Turkey has led the country to apply for acceptance into the European Union. Turkey's history as a former territory of the multiethnic Ottoman Empire sets it apart from the rest of its primary Islamic neighbors and its possible assimilation into the European Union would set it apart even more. I would like to examine how Europe influenced Turkey's engineering practices and how its movement towards European practices affects society as well. Turkey is a unique case because its engineering history includes the progressive notion of advancement of women in the field of engineering, which sets it a part from the engineering model of Europe. In an article by IEEE Technology and Society Magazine 2006, they examine "how the emergence of the engineering profession in different locations in the world tends to depend upon local ideas of societal development and progress…Because distinct images of progress are taken up within different countries, becoming key features of national identities, the emergence of the engineering profession becomes a key constituent feature of emerging nation states" (9). Therefore in this report I will look at how the engineering practices of Turkey have been formed by a conglomeration of ideas from Turkish society but also those of European societies. I will look into the question of whether this mix of engineering practices has addressed the needs of the Turkish people or whether it was simply a replication of that which was done in Europe.

Tantekin-Ersolmaz, S. Birgul and Ekinci Ekrem. "Engineering and Education Practices in Turkey" IEEE Society and Technology Magazine. Summer 2006: 26-35.