ABSTRACT
Turkey is engaged in acquis adaptation studies in the field of education as well as in other fields in the negotiation process as a candidate country to the European Union. In this context, the higher education system in Turkey, which is included in the Bologna process, has developed for many years in the shadow of politics and at the center of social events. Today, the Turkish higher education system has been striving to fulfill its responsibility to produce science and to play a role in the development of the country at the expense of current problems and reform debates. Higher education debates in Turkey usually emerge on the basis of political and ideological axis of power quarrels. This situation interrupts the changes that need to be made in higher education. To understand the discussions about the Turkish higher education system, it is necessary to understand the process the system has been through since its establishment and to make today’s assessment in the light of the past. The understanding of the critical periods in the Turkish higher education system and its short- and long-term effects on the system is also important in terms of the identification and implementation of strategies for the solution of existing problems of higher education and the success of restructuring efforts. In this study, which was conducted for this purpose, critical periods and the day-to-day effects of the Turkish higher education system have been examined since the foundation of the Republic of Turkey. 474In the study, firstly, the higher education reforms carried out were handled on the historical line, and then other events that had an impact on the higher education system were evaluated. Finally, in the study, the regulations that Turkey has taken in relation to the Bologna process which has participated in the European Union candidacy have been discussed.
