Turkish Language and Turkish Culture Education in Flanders, Belgium: A model proposal

In this paper, "Turkish language and Turkish culture classes" in Belgium are chronologically presented from past to present and through the facing challenges and problems, a case study was conducted. Furthermore, an integrated model is presented to address the problem of suspended and ill-structured Turkish classes in the Flemish region. After 30 June 2016, ‘Turkish-language and Turkish-culture classes’ have been suspended in the Flemish region of Belgium, a federal state composed of communities (Flemish, French and German-language) and regions (Flemish, Walloon and Brussels Capital), which makes it problematical for the Turkish community to keep their language and culture alive through classes. Since 2016, some local NGOs have been able to organise ‘Turkish-language and Turkish-culture classes’ in the Flemish region through programmes funded by the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities in Turkey. While this appears to be a short-term solution to the problem of suspended Turkish classes at schools, a new model should be drafted in order to adopt an institutionalised and longitudinal school-based approach as a long-term solution. For an effective Turkish language and Turkish culture teaching and learning process, some important and sustainable measures should be taken into account. A negligence suspension after 2016 has affected Turkish-language and Turkish-culture teaching and learning processes, heralding a period of regression. Pursuant to a Protocol signed by the Flemish Government and Turkish Governments, the "Turkish-language and Turkish-culture classes" were resumed over in Flanders in the 2019-2020 academic year, with a model-based approach presented in this study. This educational model came about thanks to a theme-based, multilingual approach, which is integrated successfully in Flemish schools by bilingual local teachers living in Flanders. Bu çalışmada, Belçika’da “Türkçe ve Türk Kültürü Dersi (TTK)” olarak ele alınan eğitim sürecinin geçmişten günümüze seyri ele alınmış ve bu süreçte yaşanılan sorunlara kronolojik olarak değinilerek bir durum değerlendirilmesi yapılmıştır. Ayrıca bu makale kapsamında, TTK eğitim sürecinde yaşanılan en önemli sorunların başında olan bu sürecin Flaman Bölgesi’nde devam edememesi sorununu giderebilmek üzere bir model önerisi sunulmuştur. Kendi içinde üç farklı bölgenin olduğu (Flaman Bölgesi, Brüksel Başkent bölgesi, Valon Bölgesi) ve kendi iç işlerinde özerk olarak yönetilen federal bir ülke olan Be