Turkey ICT

Bell (1973), Reich (1991), and Toffler (1980) have identified several massive changes that today's society has undergone, from the agrarian age to the industrial age, and now entering into what some call the information age (cited in Reigeluth, 1995). These drastic changes certainly affect today's education systems at various levels.
At the beginning of this century, education has faced important challenges. For instance, how to provide high quality of education and training has become an important question to be answered in the 21st century for all human beings who need education and can profit from it in the most cost-effective way. Education systems have tried to over come the challenges by developing new approaches. Information and communication technology (ICT) has a critical role in the new approaches as enhancing the dissemination of information and helping to meet these challenges.
From the beginning of the information age, ICT has had a critical role in enhancing the quality of education. The role of ICT is to serve education in particular, by helping students to learn and teachers to perform their teaching profession more effectively. As a consequence of rapid developments in a short time, ICT has entered the interest areas of many disciplines. The need to incorporate ICT into education is now inescapable, largely because of the growth of the Internet. In this context, integration of ICT into education is a critical issue . To be able to integrate ICT in primary education curricula and teacher education programs many action plans were adopted and standards were determined over the world. While the pace of such developments varies greatly, there is no doubt that all countries of the EU (European Union) are now attaching very high priority to ICT in their national educational policies, and seeking to adjust the way their education systems are organized and function as a result (EURYDICE, 2001a). Similarly, in Turkey, with the National Education Development Project, curricula of teacher education institutions were redesigned to be able to integrate ICT and to improve the quality of teacher education programs (YOK, 1998).
Education is the main concern of governments in all the EU countries and Turkey; however, the structures of education systems show differences significantly, both in the EU countries and in Turkey. In the process of joining the EU, there is a need for Turkey to reveal the educational policies related to integration of ICT and build up a road map pertaining to these policies. Therefore this study aims to compare the EU countries and Turkey in integration of ICT into (1) primary education curricula, and (2) teacher education programs.
The EU countries and Turkey have similar characteristics; however, it is clear that many characteristics of the EU countries and Turkey are different in terms of demographic and geographical settings, economic conditions, and educational systems. Before presenting the results of this study, it is better to clarify the characteristics of the EU countries and Turkey in regard to demographic and geographical settings, economic conditions, and educational systems.
Demographic and Geographical Settings: The EU consists of 15 countries and the total land area is 3.193.000 km2 and the population estimate is 379.448.000 people. Turkey's land area is 770. 000 km2 and the population estimate is 65.300.000 people. Turkey has a land area which is larger than that of each of the 15 the EU member countries where its population is also higher than those countries but Germany (see Table 1).
Economic Conditions: When economy is concerned there are considerable differences between Turkey and the EU countries. The average of Gross National Income per Capita (GNP) in the EU member countries is 24.463 � where it is only 3.200 � in Turkey. Besides all, the PC distribution in Turkey is about 32 PCs (personal computer) per 1000 people where this ratio is 278 PCs per 1000 people in the EU member countries. The average number of subscriptions for the Internet in the EU member countries is 299 per 1000 people, and on the other side Turkey's average is 25 per 1000 people (see Table 1).
Educational Systems: In Turkey, there are 12.339.254 students and 511.062 teachers in primary and secondary schools. In the EU countries, the number of students is 60.802.600, and it is 4.501.500 for teachers. In Turkey there are 24 students for each teacher while there are 13 students for each teacher in the EU countries. The average of the pupils for per computer at primary education in the EU is 13,2. However, the average of the pupils for per computer at primary education in Turkey is 103,5. For secondary education in the EU countries the average is 8,6 where it is 35,2 in Turkey (see Table 1).
The data presented in the Table 1 show that Turkey faces great educational challenges with great numbers of people who need to education, great land area, a very large educational system, poor economic situation, insufficient technologies, and mass numbers of students and teachers. While examining the results of this study, conditions of Turkey and the EU countries should also be considered.
Table 1. Comparison of the Basic Indicators between the European Union Countries and Turkey
Countries
Land Area�
(1000 km�)
Population�
(2001)
GNP� (�)
(2000)
The number of Comp. per 1000
People�
(1999)
The Number of the Int. per 1000
People�
(2000)
The Number of Students in Primary & Secondary Education�
(2000)
The Number of Teachers in Primary & Secondary Education�
(2000)
Pupils per
Computer
at Primary
Educ.�
Pupils per
Computer
at Sec.
Educ.�
Total orAverage of the EU
3.193.000
379.448.000
24.463
278
299
60.802.600
4.501.500
13,2
8,6
Austria
84.000
8.140.000
25.260
260
333
1.136.500
101.500
8,9
8,5
Belgium
31.000
10.292.000
24.220
313
283
1.831.300
192.700
11
8
Denmark
43.000
5.367.000
32.580
414
484
810.300
82.500
4,2
1,5
Finland
338.000
5.195.000
25.350
360
445
878.500
62.000
7,5
6,8
France
544.000
59.343.000
23.250
220
169
9.813.300
709.100
14,1
9,4
Germany
357.000
82.360.000
24.640
297
296
11.963.100
817.600
19,2
13,7
Greece
132.000
10.596.000
11.650
61
95
1.384.100
123.800
29,4
15,2
Ireland
69.000
3.873.000
27.320
321
275
787.900
47.700
11,6
8,3
Italy
301.000
58.018.000
20.190
191
233
7.240.700
680.100
20,8
8,9
Luxembourg
3.000
447.000
46.590
396
275
57.400
5.000
2
6,3
Netherlands
41.000
16.101.000
25.190
362
459
2.657.800
227.600
8,3
9,1
Portugal
92.000
10.303.000
11.510
93
100
1.642.200
152.700
17
16,4
Spain
505.000
40.428.000
15.220
122
139
5.939.600
459.800
11,2
12,4
Sweden
411.000
8.910.000
28.010
452
564
1.729.500
129.400
9,7
4,1
The UK
242.000
60.075.000
25.970
304
335
12.930.400
710.000
11,8
6,4
Turkey
770.000
65.300.000
3.200
32
25
4 ..12.339.254
4 .. 511.062
5 .. 103,5
5 .. 35,2
1 From ABGS, 2002
2 From EUROPEAN COMMISSION / EURYDICE / EUROSTAT, 2003
3 From EURYDICE, 2001a
4 From MNE, 2003
5 From MNE, 2002
METHOD
In this research comparative study methodology was used. The EU countries and Turkey were compared in regard to ICT in primary education curricula and teacher education programs. This study included 15 the EU member countries and Turkey. First of all, the data for this study was collected from the official documents and resources of Eurydice, Eurostat, Becta, European Commissions, and Turkey's Ministry of National Education. Secondly, the official documents, reports, and the other related data was organized with in the two categories which constituted the ICT in Primary education curriculaand teacher education programs. After that, the categorized data was compared based on (a) curriculum issues regarding the integration of ICT to education, (b) computer and the Internet use of primary school teachers, (c) curricular objectives of ICT at primary level, (d) pre-service teacher education, and (e) inservice teacher training issues. Finally, major findings related to this study were revealed and their implications for practice were suggested..
RESULTS
In this section, major findings related to the study will be revealed. Accordingly, their implications for practice will be discussed.
Curriculum Issues Regarding the Integration of ICT to Education: When ICT is included in the curriculum, two main approaches may be distinguished. It may be taught either as a separate subject in its own right, or used as a tool for learning or teaching. These two approaches are the most widespread in the EU countries that have brought it into the curriculum for primary education. The data related to integration of ICT into curriculum is presented in Table 2. The results indicated that learning about ICT at primary education has now become an integral part of the minimum compulsory curriculum in many countries in the EU. In a few cases however, the inclusion of ICT is a recent development. On the other hand, in Turkey, learning about ICT is not included in the compulsory curriculum in primary, but offered as an elective course.
For most of the EU countries, ICT is seen as a tool to be used throughout the entire curriculum, and to reflect this in their policies and statements. Rather fewer countries, Denmark and the United Kingdom (UK), for instance have taken measures to embed this by law, with the UK possibly going to the furthest in developing statutory orders for ICT in the national curriculum across all subjects and for all ages between 5 to 16. It is a moot point. Whether making something compulsory by law is more likely to increase really imaginative practice on the ground. This probably depends upon a whole set of cultural factors in different countries and the degree of centralization or de-centralization of educational systems (BECTA, 1998).
In many EU countries' curriculum ICT is included in primary education. Based on the countries conditions, inclusion of ICT differs from one country to another in primary education. In France, the curriculum revised in 1995 takes into account the transverse dimension of computers and in particular through the use of word processing. There is a consensus that ICT has impact on our education systems. In line with the impact of ICT, in Ireland, the Netherlands, Austria, and Portugal, ICT has become a part of the curriculum recently. For example, in Portugal, ICT has been part of the curriculum in primary education since the adoption of the statutory order of 18 January 2001. In the UK, ICT has been part of the curriculum in England and Wales since the national curriculum was first introduced in 1988. In Northern Ireland, it has been a requirement since the Northern Ireland Curriculum was implemented following legislation passed in 1989 (EURYDICE, 2001b).
The curricula used in the Netherlands and the UK does not specify the numbers of hours to be devoted to this compulsory subject as the schools are free to decide on the allocation of hours of teaching. In the French Community of Belgium, ICT has been planned for inclusion among the 'core skills' in education, in which the competence that pupils are expected to acquire in the subject is clearly specified since 1999. The inclusion of ICT in courses is compulsory with effect from 2001. In Germany, the Kultusministerkonferenz and the legislation of the different L�nder make recommendations on the use and the role of ICT in school life (EURYDICE, 2000).
Table 2. Inclusion of ICT in the Primary Education Curriculum (EURYDICE, 2001a; Kocaoluk & Kocaoluk, 2000).
Countries
Included ICT in the Curriculum
Not Included or Offered as an Elective ICT in the Curriculum
Austria
√ Belgium
√

Denmark
√

Finland
√

France
√

Germany
√

Greece √
Ireland
√ Italy √
Luxembourg

√
Netherlands
√ Portugal
√

Spain
√

Sweden
√

The UK
√

Turkey √ In contrast, ICT is offered as an option in some countries, in some cases such as some pre-accession countries only. In the case of an elective course, the number of hours to be devoted to it is seldom specified in the curriculum. In other countries (Greece, Italy, and Luxembourg), plans for its introduction are ongoing and sometimes the focus of experimentation in a limited number of schools. In Greece, ICT is not part of the curriculum but the Pedagogical Institute has encouraged its use in a pilot project involving 40 primary schools (EURYDICE, 2000).
On the other hand, in Turkey, ICT is offered as an elective option. In the case of an elective course, one or two hours to be devoted to it is seldom specified in the curriculum for primary education. It sometimes depends on the school or students. It varies: one or two hours a week in Turkey (Kocaoluk & Kocaoluk, 2000).
Computers and the Internet Use of Primary School Teachers: As it is mentioned above, ICT is a part of the primary school curriculum in the most EU countries (except Greece, Italy and Luxemburg). Its inclusion in curricula is borne out in the way teachers work given that, in the EU as a whole, a great many of them state that they use computers during lessons with their pupils (see Figure 1). As it is presented in the Figure 1, the use of computers and the Internet in the classroom is especially high in Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the UK, as well as in three countries (Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands), where the inclusion of ICT in primary school curricula has only become compulsory quite recently. By contrast, in other countries, the percentages of teachers using computers with their pupils are relatively low. The countries concerned are mainly ones that have not included ICT in their (Greece and Luxembourg) curriculum yet (EURYDICE, 2001a).

Figure 1. Percentage of Teachers Who Use Computers and the Internet in the Classroom at Primary Education Level (EURYDICE, 2001a). Although as many teachers use computers with their pupils, fewer do so in order to consult the Internet, in terms of the average the EU figures, only around half as many do so. The percentages of teachers who consult the Internet with their pupils and of those who use computers for general teaching in the classroom are closest in Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg and Finland. Conversely, in Germany, Greece, France and the Netherlands, the foregoing differences are very marked: only one-third of teachers who use computers in the classroom also do so in order to consult the Internet (EURYDICE, 2001a).
As it is presented in Figure 2, when primary school teachers in the EU use computers with their pupils, they use them on average for five hours a week. This average belies quite marked contrasts. The average periods of usage is especially high in the UK (almost 8 hours), the Netherlands (71/2 hours), and in Ireland (almost 7 hours a week). On the other hand, average periods of usage are the shortest (less than three hours a week) in Germany, Austria and Portugal. In Turkey's primary education, there is not enough information on the percentage and average period of teachers' computer and the Internet usage both in class and individually.

Figure 2. Average Period of Time during which Primary School Teachers Use Computers in the Classroom, in Hours per Week (EURYDICE, 2001a).
Curricular Objectives of ICT at Primary Level: No matter which the approach is advocated, the objectives pursued by the teaching or the use of ICT at primary level can cover various categories. Four major fields are distinguished below:
1. to develop programming skills,
2. to learn correct use of a word processor, a spreadsheet,
3. to learn to search for information on a CD-ROM, a network,
4. to communicate via a network.
The Flemish Community of Belgium, Spain, Portugal in which no objective is clearly specified, the recommendations generally cover the different categories of objectives (see Table 3). The curriculum does not specify any objectives, as ICT is used solely as a tool to learn or teach other subjects and is not taught as a subject in its own right in the countries. In the Netherlands, since 1998, the new media have been part of the cross-curricular attainment targets for primary education; objectives have been defined in all areas except programming skills. Finland's curricula are designed at local level on the basis of the national core curriculum. The schools define the objectives and what is taught on the basis of the national guidelines. Also in Sweden, ICT is to be used as a tool in the classroom, although basic skills required for it are not listed. However, the development of programming ability is included at this level in the curricula of only two countries which are Germany, and the UK. In the UK curriculum objectives are defined in terms of the skills to be acquired and the functions to be accomplished through the use of ICT, rather than in terms of the particular tools, techniques and applications to be used (EURYDICE, 2000).
Table 3. Objectives Defined in the Curriculum for the Teaching or the Use of ICT at Primary Education Level
(EURYDICE, 2000; Kocaoluk and Kocaoluk, 2000).
Countries
To Develop Programming
Skills
To learn correct use of a word processor, a spreadsheet
To learn to search for information on a CD-ROM, a network
To communicate via a network
Austria

√
√
√
Belgium (fr)
√

√
√
Belgium (de)

Belgium (nl)

Denmark

√
√
√
Finland

√
√
√
France

√
√
√
Germany
√
√
√
√
Greece

Ireland

√
√
√
Italy

Luxembourg

Netherlands

√
√
√
Portugal

Spain
√
√
√
√
Sweden

√
√
√
The UK
√
√
√
√
Turkey

√
√

In Turkey, the objectives of ICT at primary level are defined by the Ministry of National Education under specific definitions. Definitions focus mainly on making students computer literate. Additionally, another inference from the definitions includes creating an individual who able to use computers to solve the emerged problems. Objectives are distinguished as follows (Kocaoluk & Kocaoluk, 2000):
1. to get information about practical methods of using computers,
2. to get information about the definition, developments and ways of using computers,
3. to comprehend the numerical systems used in computers,
4. to identify the basic parts and their functions of computers,
5. to gain basic knowledge and skills on the use of computers and computer programming,
6. to get the exact knowledge from the computers ,
7. to load the intended knowledge to the computers,
8. to get the information about the computers used at most,
9. to practice basic programs on computers.
Teacher Education Issues Regarding the Integration of ICT to Education: It is clear that, the reveal of ICT has changed the role of teachers. It appears to be easy to over-emphasize the point about the changing role of teachers; where it is hard not to over-emphasize the scale of the challenge facing all national education systems in bringing about the sweeping programs of ICT training needed to help the mass of teachers to enter the digital age. Consequently, teacher education in using ICT should be a pre-eminent measure within all countries (BECTA, 1998).
Pre-service Teacher Education: Related to teacher education programs, in over half of all the EU countries, ICT has become a compulsory part of the curriculum for pre-service education of teachers for both primary and secondary education. Organization, content and the amount of time set aside for such ICT training are, in some countries, the prerogative of individual teacher education institution.
In France, a two-year emergency program beginning in 1998 placed the focus on showing trainee teachers how to integrate ICT into teaching methods. In some countries, institutions are totally free to devise and structure their courses of training as they wish. Depending on the institution concerned, training in ICT may be a compulsory subject, a core curriculum option or an optional subject. It is applied to the pre-service education of teachers for different levels of education in Ireland and Portugal. In Spain and in the UK, all those intending to teach at primary level receive training in ICT. On the other hand, corresponding provision for future secondary school teachers depends on the institution at which they undertake their pre-service education (EURYDICE, 2000).
In a few countries (Italy and Germany), training in the teaching of ICT is one of the core curriculum options. The training institutions concerns are thus obliged to offer the subject, but the decision whether or not to include it in their overall courses of training is made by the trainees. In Germany and Italy, this applies to the pre-service education of all primary and secondary school teachers. In Greece, only teachers in primary education, currently receive compulsory training in the teaching of ICT. At secondary level, this training is not provided. The percentage share of ICT in teacher education is not a pointer to the actual number of hours devoted to it. This varies enormously and there is no correlation between it and the foregoing percentage. This is largely attributable to the differences, from one country to the next, in the amount of time in the entire compulsory curriculum for pre-service teacher training. The total amount of time earmarked for ICT in training is greatest in Sweden (EURYDICE, 2001a).
In Turkey, parallel to the practices in the EU countries, the Council of Higher Education (YOK), that is responsible for the planning, coordination, and supervision of higher education, has developed the new teacher education curricula for schools of education, and ICT is included in the new teacher education curricula to improve and enhance teachers' IT skills in 1998. According to the new curricula, a computer literacy course became a must course for all pre-service teachers to fulfill the requirements for teaching credential. The main purpose of this course is defined in the new curriculum as to teach basic computer skills and introduce teachers to several commonly used computer applications such as word processing, spreadsheets, databases, telecommunications, and presentations programs. However, as described in the curriculum, preparing teachers for the use of these technologies into their classroom teaching is not among the course goals (Yildirim, 2000b).
The amount of teaching related to ICT in the pre-service education of teachers for lower secondary education is often determined by their training institutions in the EU countries. In some of the EU countries, training institutions are free to offer training in ICT to future teachers in general lower secondary education and may decide to organize this provision as a compulsory subject, a core curriculum option or an optional subject. In all such instances, institutions are also free to decide the number of hours of teaching devoted to ICT. This situation is encountered in Spain, Ireland, and Portugal.
In many countries, in which ICT is a compulsory component of the pre-service education of all teachers for lower secondary education, it is not possible to indicate the proportion of time devoted to ICT in the curriculum because of the autonomy of institutions in determining the amount of teaching involved. There is no recommendation establishing a minimum amount of teaching to be set aside for ICT. This applies to the Flemish Community of Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Finland, and the UK.
On the other hand, ICT teaching is an official recommendation in Ireland, Portugal, and Spain. The freedom of training institutions to specify the ICT related skills that future teachers should be required, is not as widespread as their freedom to determine the amount of teaching time devoted to ICT. In Spain, Ireland, and Portugal institutions are fully autonomous as regards the provision of ICT related teaching. Not only they are free to decide whether to offer it, -if they do, to specify its content- but also they are equally free to determine how much time should be devoted to such teaching.
In some countries, the recommendations of the education authorities do no more than the state does; teaching ICT is compulsory, without specifying what skills should be developed and what content should be included. This applies to the French and German-speaking Communities of Belgium, Denmark, Austria and Finland, but also to Italy in which ICT related courses are a-core curriculum option. These are also the countries in which the amount of time devoted to the compulsory teaching of ICT cannot be identified, in the majority of cases because institutions are autonomous as mentioned above (EURYDICE, 2001a).
In Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK all the fields referred; use of word processing programs, use of data processing programs, use of educational software programs, and use of the Internet are recommended. In Luxembourg, the recommendations are also relatively precise. It is to be noted that in these four countries, institutions have little rooms for maneuver as regards teaching ICT from the standpoint of either its proportional share of the timetable, or the content of provision. In France, the Netherlands and the UK, the content of training is determined to some extent by the standards specified for the award of the teaching qualification, although in England there is, in addition, a detailed curriculum for the use of ICT in teaching other subjects. However, the way in which the content is structured and delivered and the amount of time allocated depend largely on the individual institution.
In the majority of countries in which the areas to be taught are specified, much importance is attached to a practical command of ICT for personal use, as mastery of it for teaching purposes. In Sweden, priority goes to teaching applications.
Inservice Training: Important as pre-service education is, the bulk of the teaching force is already in the system and will be there for 15-20 years to come, so inservice training is the biggest challenge. A wide range of methods are used to provide inservice training - both formal and informal. This includes traditional courses, open and distance learning, one-to-one support in the classroom and providing teachers with personal equipment. In many cases needs are identified locally, and training is arranged locally, although in some countries there is a tendency to deliver the more advanced pedagogical training nationally and at a distance, using the technology as a medium (BECTA, 1998).
Several teacher training projects in Germany at L�nder level and the 'Licence to Run a Computer' qualification in Finland illustrate how successful teacher-training schemes often start with small building blocks of competence to break down 'techno-fear'. Training needs to be customized to teachers' levels of skill. Pre-sifting of teachers for training so that they are at the right level contributes to success. In Portugal, the Minerva project which ran from 1985 until 1994 established a teacher-training tradition which led to many informal sessions in schools. These were formative first steps for many teachers (BECTA, 1998).
In Finland, a rolling program of training will see 9,000 teachers (10 % of the workforce) trained in ICT pedagogy over a total of five weeks on a course with 7-10 days of direct tuition followed by distance training and private study. The National Board of Education purchases the training from universities with faculties of education (12 in number) and offers it free of charge to teachers. Only those with a 'computer license' - a vocational certification of basic competence - are accepted. By 1998, 5,500 teachers had started the course. Trials are also taking place in Finland with students receiving bursaries to train teachers in ICT. Seventy bursaries were awarded in 1997 (BECTA, 1998).
In Denmark, the Danish National Centre for Technology Supported Learning (CTU) focuses on the teacher training, with programs for teachers. Without exception, all countries note the powerful developmental role played by large ICT education conferences and exhibitions. Sweden, Norway and the UK made particular mention of the developmental effect played by teacher attendance at these events (BECTA, 1998).
Most of the EU countries that train their teachers in the ICT have defined policies on the inservice training in this field. Most countries have an official plan for inservice training in which updating ICT skills is a priority. In Germany, updating ICT skills is part of an official plan but it is not regarded as a priority. Portugal is the exceptions as it does not have official plans in this area (EURDICE, 2000).
At primary level, inservice training in the new technologies is a right but not an obligation for all teachers, whether they are general or specialist teachers. In the UK, the New Opportunities Fund ICT training programs are intended to increase the expertise of all serving teachers in the use of ICT in their teaching, to the level of newly qualified teachers (EURDICE, 2001a).
At secondary level, inservice training in ICT is compulsory solely for teachers who specialize in technology in Germany, and Greece. The same is applied to specialist teachers at upper secondary level in the German-speaking Community of Belgium. In Ireland, Finland and Sweden, at the different levels of education, there is a pre-service support given by the government in acquiring and exploiting the opportunities provided by ICT. In Ireland, initiation into ICT through inservice training is not compulsory but has nevertheless attracted over 75 % of teaching staff to at least one of the training courses on offer. In the same way as in Finland provision in Ireland makes it easier for teachers not only to acquire basic ICT skills but also to use them for teaching purposes. This final point relates to over half of all teaching staff in Finland. In Sweden, provision started in 1999 and involves 50 % of teachers (EURYDICE, 2000).
Throughout the EU as a whole, more teachers in primary schools than their secondary school counterparts have completed an official training course on the use of computers or the Internet in teaching situation. This applies to Spain, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the UK. In Denmark, Germany, France, Portugal, Finland and Sweden, the percentages of primary and secondary schoolteachers who have received official training are not very different from the first group.
In Turkey, inservice training activities have been organized at local level and attended by 65.323 personnel only in 2001. In all inservice training programs, a total of 221.000 teachers have been trained in the use of computers, and primary education inspectors have had an intense inservice training (MEB, 2001).
The Ministry of National Education provides inservice training courses covering Computer Operation, Internet Operation, Authorware, Macromedia Dream Weaver, Data Entry, Web Design, Adobe Premier, Adobe Photoshop, Across Data Base, PowerPoint, Windows 98, Word, Excel, and ILSIS software in order (MEB, 2001):
a) to expand computer and other technology assisted education practice,
b) to make use of computer in education, teaching and management services,
c) to establish communication between central and provincial organizations and education institutions.
The countries in which a large proportion of schoolteachers (at both primary and secondary levels) have been trained in this way are Ireland, Finland and the UK. Conversely, fewer teachers at present in Germany, Greece, Luxembourg and Portugal than anywhere else say they have undergone official training (EURYDICE, 2001a).

The statistical data for Turkey about this concept does not exist yet.
Figure 3. Percentages of Primary and Secondary School Teachers in the EU Countries Who Had Received Official Training on Computer Usage (EURYDICE, 2001a).
The age of teachers seems to have little bearing on whether or not they have received official training in the use of computers or by the Internet. In the EU as a whole, the percentages of teachers who have had such training vary little related to age-group to which they belong. The youngest teachers have not received this kind of provision in any greater numbers than their elders, so ICT training -would still not appear to be fully incorporated in the pre-service education of teachers at the start of their careers. Older teachers, for their part, have been able to benefit from official inservice training. Similarly and, here again, in the EU as a whole, neither the sex of teachers nor, in the case of secondary schoolteachers, the subject they teach appears to have any bearing on whether or not they have undergone official training (EURYDICE, 2001a).
CONCLUSION
The results show that importance of the ICT in education is being raised in both Turkey and the EU countries. However, Turkey faces great educational challenges with great number of people to educate, a very large educational system, poor economic situation, inadequate technologies and mass number of students and teachers. In spite of these negative conditions, Turkey has to take required measures in order to catch up with the EU standards in integrating ICT into its educational system.
There is a relation between utilization of ICT and population, GNP, the number of students in primary and secondary education both in Turkey and the EU. Generally, countries with lower populations and number of students utilize ICT more than countries with higher populations and number of students. GNP is also highly related to utilization of ICT; as GNP increases, utilization of ICT also increases (see Table 1).
At primary level, learning about ICT has now become an integral part of the minimum compulsory curriculum in many countries in the EU (see Table 2). In a few cases however, the inclusion of ICT is a recent development. Elsewhere, schemes to include it are under way and sometimes the focus of experimentation in a small number of schools. They cover a broad range of skills, extending from the use of various software packages to communication via a network, not to mention CD-ROM or network-based information searches.
On the other hand, in Turkey, learning about ICT is not included in the compulsory curriculum in primary education. In the case of an elective course; it sometimes depends on the school or students.
A majority of teachers make use of ICT in the course of their teaching on a regular basis. In the European Union, 71 % and 60 % of teachers at primary and secondary levels respectively said they used ICT with their pupils on a fairly regular basis (EURYDICE, 2001a).
Even though there is no statistical data available in Turkey, according to Cinar's research conducted in 2002 approximately 12 % of 538 teachers who were selected randomly from all the cities in Turkey use computers once a day or more than once a day. They think they have enough computer literacy, they have positive attitudes toward computers; however they do not use computers for instructional purposes (Cinar, 2002).
In over half of all EU countries, ICT has become a compulsory part of the curriculum for the pre-service education of teachers for either primary or secondary education. However, as regards the pre-service education of secondary schoolteachers for whom data is available, official recommendations on the subject of ICT training are often general and stipulate only the compulsory nature of work on ICT during pre-service education. In most EU countries, minimum requirements concerning the amount of time to be devoted to the subject do not exist. Recommendations on content during pre-service education are more frequent and as much importance is generally attached to a practical command of ICT for personal use, as mastery of it for teaching purposes (EURYDICE, 2001a).
Organization, content and the amount of time are set aside for such training, in some countries, the prerogative of individual teacher training institutions. Their total freedom in this respect raises questions as to the compatibility of ICT training for future teachers in the institutions concerned and the uniformity of the skills they acquire.
Although all countries have laid down a policy for inservice teacher training which takes these aspects into account, it appears no less urgent to ensure that all future teachers acquire the necessary skills. This is an inescapable requirement if the younger generations are to master ICT.
In Turkey, parallel to the international practices in reforming pre-service teacher education for the new millennium, the Council of Higher Education has developed the new teacher education curricula for schools of education. According to the new curricula, a computer literacy course became a must course for all pre-service teachers to fulfill the requirements for teaching credential. This new course is designed to improve and enhance teachers' IT skills (Yildirim, 2000b).
Even though this computer specific course is the first attempt preparing Turkish pre-service teachers to use computer technologies in the classroom, this effort should go beyond only training the teachers on basic computer skills. If the Turkish Council of Higher Education is to prepare teachers for the 21st century, the Council should recognize the need for providing other courses concentrating on instructional strategies to promote teaching with the computer in the classroom. In addition to that the content of "Methods of Teaching" courses can be reorganized to introduce new teaching methods including those incorporating the computer. As a result of this reorganization, schools of education will not only be training pre-service teachers on technology but they will also be training pre-service teachers on teaching with technology (Yildirim, 2000b).
On the other hand, according to Yildirim, previous computer experience and providing teachers with equipment are important factors. Previous computer experience contributes to pre-service and inservice teachers' competency and has an effect on their attitudes. Therefore, teachers' computer competency should be assessed before they enroll in a computer competency course (Yildirim, 2000a)
Providing teachers with their own personal equipment is an undertaken measure intended to improve teachers' confidence and competence with ICT. The Multimedia Portables for Teachers Pilot in the UK shows that, once they have uninterrupted access, teachers are prepared to invest their time outside school in order to build their own ICT skills. They use CD-ROMs over 90%, the Internet 76% and portable at their homes and at school 95% for planning and delivering their teaching (BECTA, 2001).
As it is stated by Yildirim (2000a) and in BECTA (2001) in order to have teachers implement ICT in their courses effectively, in addition to computer literacy courses, first, teachers should be equipped with the knowledge of "teaching with technology" and then they should be provided technology access . .