This volume is the first to deal with Turkish communicative development and disorders, reflecting the use of Turkish by a sizeable population in multilingual settings in Europe, USA, and Australia. In addition to Speech-language Pathologists, the book will be of interest to professionals from related fields such as clinical linguistics, psychology, psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics, audiology, and special education. This book presents a compendium of information about the profession of speech-language pathology, cultural differences, assessment materials and research done in communication disorders in Turkey. It also covers acquisition and disorders in multilingual contexts where there is significant Turkish immigration.
A Closer Look at the Developing Profession of Speech and Language Pathology (SLP) in Turkey
SEYHUN TOPBA
Introduction
Speech and language pathology (SLP) in Turkey is a young profession but is growing rapidly. Bleile et al. (2007: 1) has stated that âthe amount of attention a country gives to communication disorders depends on its history, cultural ties on language and disability, economics and availability of services; and that the impact of a communication disorder varies depending on where a person is born and livesâ. Thus, a glance at the whole system is necessary to visualize the developmental status of SLP within this country. In this chapter, I will first simplify the complicated nature of the Turkish health, education and special education systems and the financing of services, followed by a closer look at the history of the profession and education of speech and language pathologists (SLPs). Finally, I will present the current developments in lieu of my previous report (Topba
, 2006a), and will articulate the problematic issues in service delivery within this system.
An Overview of the Turkish Health and Education Systems
Turkish health system
The Turkish health care system has a complex structure. To simplify the matter only the basic structure and service delivery will be summarized. Several old laws, although subjected to various changes, still constitute the basis of the practice system. Health policies implemented until 1980 were formed within the Socialization of Health Services Law (1961, No: 224), which attempted to establish a national health service free of charge although this was not achieved until recently. Currently, the health system, including the social insurance system, is undergoing the effects of a reform package, by the Health Transformation Program (Akdag? et al., 2007).
Health services in Turkey are supplied by a multitude of public and private providers. The Turkish Ministry of Health (MoH) is the main government body responsible for health sector policy making, implementation of national health strategies and direct provision of primary and secondary health care, maternal health services, children and family planning services and preventive health services. The two key public providers are the MoH and the University hospitals. The MoH operates an extensive network of health facilities through several affiliated public, quasi-public, private and philanthropic organizations, depending on the advocatesâ concern with policy formulation, provision of health care, finance of health care and whether they have administrative jurisdiction over the delivery of health care (MoH, 2004). Apart from policy making, the provision of health services is supplied by public and private hospitals, outpatient polyclinics, laboratories and diagnostic and rehabilitation centers, providing primary, secondary and specialized inpatient and outpatient care. University (state and foundation) hospitals are under the responsibility of The Council of Higher Education of Turkey (CoHE) as they support medical training. Each medical school has its own university hospital, acting as a main referral hospital as well as providing comprehensive and modern health care.
The MoH also focuses on school health services organized jointly with the Turkish Ministry of National Education (MoNE), which includes vaccination, screening programs (eye, oral and general physical examinations that check height and weight) and primary care services. A recent attempt has been made to implement a health-promoting schools project, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Childrenâs Fund (UNICEF), as well as mother and child health centers and family planning centers. Services for those with special needs and necessary rehabilitation services after treatment are also rendered in collaboration with MoNE (MoH, 2004).
Turkish education system
The Turkish National Education System (Act No: 1739) is highly centralized. The MoNE is responsible for all formal and non-formal educational services in the country excluding higher education. Formal regular education includes preschool education, basic education (primary), secondary education and higher education. Both private and public state educational institutions are prominent. Education is free at every level in state institutions. Preschool education is optional for children aged 0â6. These may be infant or nursery schools, or preprimary classes within a primary school. An important step carried out by the MoNE is the mobile kindergarten project for 36â72-month-old children who live in villages and cannot attend preschool and/or for those with a low socioeconomic backgrounds. Primary education, being compulsory, involves the education and training of children in the age group of 6â14 (in total, eight years of education). A national curriculum is implemented across the country. Secondary education, which is not compulsory, consists of four years of education following primary education and includes general, vocational and technical high school training for the 14â16 age group (MoNE, 2007).
In accordance with Law No. 2547 of 1981, the CoHE is the planning, coordinating and policy-making body for higher education cooperating with MoNE to fulfill the principles of national education objectives. Higher education is based on secondary education and comprises a variety of institutions at every level, affiliated with university or non-university institutions, such as police and military academies and colleges. Universities (state or private foundations) consist of two-year vocational schools offering associateâs degree (prebachelorâs level) programs and four-year faculties and colleges offering bachelorâs degree programs. Faculties consist of departments and each department within a faculty is made up of divisions. Distance education is also available from Anadolu University, offering two- and four-year programs. Admission to higher education is based on a very competitive nati...
