A Comparison of Gender Inequality in Turkish Education System with that of EU Countries

Abstract

This study sets out to display the inequality on gender basis in the Turkish education system while making a comparison of the current state in Turkey with that of EU countries. The method used in the research is document analysis. The population constituted Turkey and 27 EU countries, and without taking a sample, the whole population is intended to be reached. The research data come from such institutes as OECD (2012), UIS (2011), EURYDICE (2009), and the Ministry of Education (2012) since access to the latest statistical data is required. As for data analysis, the percentage of and the arithmetic mean of EU countries’ values are examined on the relevant dimensions and comparison is made with the values of Turkey. According to the outcomes of the research, Turkey is still well behind the EU countries in terms of girls’ gross schooling rates and gender parity index at all stages of education and expected number of years of girls’ formal schooling from primary school to higher education