Published on Eurydice (https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice) Bilateral Agreements In the field of education in different countries, negotiations, agreements and protocols were signed with the international agreement executed. Agreements, protocols and case memorandum have been signed with 116 countries in mid-2018. A total of 2013 different agreements have been made with 105 countries and put in effect. After the coup attempt of the FETO in 2016, six agreements, five of which were made with African counties within the struggle against the FETO in 2018. Negotiations of 102 agreements with 81 countries are still in progress. Eleven agreements were made with 11 countries in 2017. Various agreements, educational cooperations and collaboration protocols were signed in 2017. Negotiations of 103 agreements with 86 countries were conducted in this year. Collaborations with Worldwide Programs and Organizations OECD Turkey is one of the twenty founder members of Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and participates actively in the studies of OECD about education. Ministry of National Education is represented in the Committee of Educational Policies and Educational Research and Innovation Center of the OECD, in which critical decisions are taken about education. The most important studies of OECD to which Ministry of National Education participate are as follows: Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) The Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) The TALIS Starting Strong Survey Indicators of Education Systems (INES) Network for the Collection and Adjudication of System-Level Descriptive Information on Educational Structures, Policies and Practices (NESLI) The Network on Labour Market, Economic and Social Outcomes of Learning (LSO) Social and Affective Skills of OECD Early Childhood Education and Care International Education Classification Descriptors Program Centre for Studies of Education, Research and Innovation (2018 Budget Presentation) Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a triennial international survey which aims to evaluate education systems worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students. The subjects/skills covered are reading, mathematics and natural sciences. Turkey has taken part in the PISA since 2003. The Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) The Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) collects internationally comparable data on the learning environment and the working conditions of teachers and principals in schools across the world. Turkey joined first to the TALIS in 2008 and the second participation is in 2018. The TALIS Starting Strong Survey Starting Strong Survey provides early childhood staff and center leaders with an opportunity to share insights on their professional development; pedagogical beliefs and practices; and working conditions, as well as various other leadership, management and workplace issues. This survey aims at identifying strengths of and improvement opportunities for early childhood learning and well-being environments across different countries and jurisdictions, while identifying factors that are open to change. Turkey has taken part in the PISA since 2015. Indicators of Education Systems (INES) The Indicators of Education Systems (INES) program is an authoritative source for accurate and relevant information on education around the world. It provides data on the performance of the education systems in the OECD’s 34-member countries and a set of partner countries, including non- member G20 nations. The data are exploited OECD, UNESCO, EUROSTAT publications and databases. The Study on Social and Affective Skills The Study on Social and Emotional Skills is an international survey that assesses the social and emotional skills of 10 and 15-year-old students in a number of cities and countries around the world, identifying the conditions and practices that foster or hinder the development of these critical skills. International Educational Assessment IEA IEA studies involve assessment of student achievement in one or more subject matters or an interdisciplinary area of learning, contributing to a deep understanding of educational processes within individual countries and across a broad international context. The assessment is offered to 4thand 8thgrade students with “Mathematics and science: Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMSS)”. Turkey first participated in TIMMSS in 1999 in th8-grade level, and in 2011 4th-grade was also included in the assessment. Educational Activities Conducted with UNESCO As one of the founder member countries, Turkey gets involved in the studies of UNESCO with the active participation of the Ministry of National Education. The collaborations with the UNESCO are as follows: Selection of Turkey to the Executive Board of UNESCO Executive Board of UNESCO, the top execution body of UNESCO, is comprised of 58 members selected by the decision of the General Conference. In the polls of General Conference on 30 October – 14 November 2017, Turkey was selected to the Executive Board by obtaining 134 votes of 184 countries and will serve between 2017-2021. This enables Turkey to become one of the decision-maker countries among 58 other member countries and contributes to the decision-making processes concerning global education, scientific and cultural policies. Other member countries selected from the 1stSelection Group to the Executive Board are Finland and Portuguese. During our UNESCO Executive Board membership, where we have been serving for the first time since 2005, we have taken an active role in UNESCO to be the voice of the countries we have supported, to bring their demands and concerns to the UNESCO agenda and to be a part of the solution. Membership of Turkey to SDG-4 Direction Committee Turkey has become the member of the UNESCO SDG-4 Education Direction Committee among 1stGroup countries to secure the realization of the objective (SDG-4) “Providing equal and inclusive education for all and promoting the opportunities of lifelong learning”. With Turkey, Germany was selected as a member to SDG-4 Committee to represent the 1stSelection Group countries for 2018-2020 period. With this opportunity, Turkey operates as one of the countries who provides leadership about educational provisions. On this occasion, our country has had the opportunity to be among the countries that direct education and transfer its experiences to the whole world. Membership to UNESCO Teachers Task Force for Education 2030 The International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030’s aims at taking a system-wide approach to gear up to the task of improving teacher quantity and quality, as the two goals pursued by the Teacher Task Force. The goals will drive the activities for each main line of action: advocacy; knowledge creation and sharing; and country support and engagement. Ministry of National Education has been represented in Administrative Board of Task Force by a member since 2017. UNESCO 2030 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS At the UN Sustainable Development Summit held on 25-27 September 2015 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) were adopted with the signatures of 193 countries. The Ministry of National Education contributes to the meetings and other activities organized within the framework of the UNESCO 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. “Experience Sharing Workshop in Achievement of Sustainable Development Education Goals” was held on March 5, 2020 by our Ministry in order to share experiences in national and international arena regarding sustainable development education goals. Within the scope of the workshop, representatives of UNESCO, OECD and UNDP from an international perspective; Representatives of our Ministry, Presidency Strategy and Budget and TURKSTAT made presentations within the scope of sustainable development education objectives from a national perspective. Educational Activities of Council of Europe Steering Committee for Education Policy and Practice (CDPPE) The Steering Committee for Educational Policy and Practice oversees the Council of Europe’s programs in the field of education and advises the Committee of Ministers on education issues. The studies of the Committee are monitored by a Ministry representative. Council of Europe Education Policy Advisors Network (EPAN) The EPAN Network was established by the Council of Europe in December 2017 in a meeting of Steering Committee for Education Policy and Practice (CDPPE) to encourage integration of the new Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC) in the education systems of the States Parties to the European Cultural Convention, and the studies of EPAN are monitored by the Ministry of National Education. Project Generation Democracy: Strengthening a Culture of Democracy in Basic Education Institutions in Turkey The European Union – Council of Europe Joint Project “Generation Democracy: Strengthening a Culture of Democracy in Basic Education Institutions in Turkey” aims to integrate a democratic school culture that corresponds with universal core values as well as fundamental rights and freedoms into the Turkish national education system. The specific objectives of the Project are 1) Strengthening democratic values and practices in schools and school communities, 2) The ETINED Platform is a network of specialists appointed by member States of the Council