Influences and Controls: The National Curriculum in England and Turkey

This study is organized as follows: the definition of curriculum and the type of curriculum; who are the decision makers and which curriculum decisions made by the decision makers, who should control the curriculum, what are the controlling bodies, their roles and responsibilities, what is the balance between internal and external control are they derived; finally recent trends in the school curriculum in England and in Turkey will be examined to in conclude, what kind of changes have occurred up to now and a forward look at differences in Turkey and England and an examination of who is making the curriculum decisions in these countries. The society that makes intelligent decisions about the curriculum of its schools and colleges first should ask: What is our culture like? What are our primary values?, What principles do we hold?. It will be argued, as a basis for this essay that for their guidelines, our decision makers must look at to cultural anthropology, social psychology and sociology, and to statements about who have formulated expressions of the principles that govern a democratic society.