The Bilkent schools form part of the national curriculum system of the Turkish Ministry of Education. The national curriculum in Turkey is specified in detail for all schools, primary, middle and high, and regular general inspections by members of the inspectorate ensure that the national curricula for all subjects are being adhered to. The inspectorate for the Primary and Middle Schools is attached to the Local Authority of the Ministry of Education, whereas the inspectors for high schools hail directly from the National Ministry of Education. This leads to a slightly different perspective from each of the visiting groups.
Curricula are specified for each subject area and each level, from Kindergarten to Grade 12. These are contained in special books published by the Ministry and change on a regular basis as national requirements are updated or rethought through.
Teachers can choose extra resources for their subject teaching in addition to official textbooks. At the beginning of every academic year teachers are required to draw up a yearly plan which takes the curriculum as specified by the Ministry and puts it into a teaching plan over the whole academic year. This plan is then submitted to the principal of the school for approval; this then forms the basis of the teachers program over the year and their assessment schedule. In the English department, for example, where several teachers may be teaching the same level, these plans can be worked on together and shared by those staff members.
The International Baccalaureate has diversified practice in this respect and a challenge has been to integrate the objectives of the national curriculum into the IB programs that the school offers. This has been successfully done and has resulted in a synergy in which the strengths of both curricula have contributed to the learning program.
