School Principals' Opinions on the Fatih Project in Turkey

Abstract

This study aims to determine the thoughts and opinions of the school principals on the FATIH Project initiated by the Ministry of Education to facilititate a technology-supported education in Turkey. 24 Principals were involved in the study. The answers of the principals received on structured interview forms that contained open-ended questions and were analysed with content analysis method. Results of the research show that a majority of the principals have positive opinion about the FATIH Project. The principals state that the FATIH Project has brought a new energy to their schools and motivated the students. Nevertheless, the principals also stated that, to enable the system to run smoothly; specialised staff are needed to be recruited to solve arisen problems immediately, for the teachers to learn how to use the interactive board, tablet PC, document camera and multipurpose printers that have been given as part of the Project, they should be provided with adequate training sessions that are extended over a year and that, although it is very important for this process, the role of IT teachers are still not clearly defined. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.