Friday, February 14, 2025
1-2 PM US CT
In-person: Memorial Union (0008) – Multicultural Greek Council Room (4th Floor)
Zoom: https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/92436496536?pwd=3EDkVZbtaLfux4P2baSTHGErGkwZyE.1
In Turkey, admission to selective high schools requires students to achieve high scores on a one-time, time-pressured, competitive high-stakes exam called the Exam for Transition to High School (LGS). What common experiences and emotions do children share when facing a national exam, even though their daily lives and educational experiences have many uniquely different features? Drawing on qualitative data from 8th-grade students in Istanbul and Hatay, this presentation will examine both commonalities and contextuall unique differences that shape students’ experiences during the exam year by focusing on the theme of family and discuss the implications of having a high-stakes high school admission policy on the well-being of children.
About the Speaker: Aydın Kaan Şenel is a master’s Degree Student at the Department of Educational Policy Studies, UW-Madison, with a concentration in Comparative International Education and Global Studies. He graduated with high honors from both the Department of Psychology and the Department of Philosophy at Boğaziçi University, Istanbul. Kaan focuses on reimagining the educational content to place children’s well-being at the forefront. His goal is to contribute to the development of critical alternatives to the prevailing neoliberal and neoconservative education policies in Turkey.
About Karpat Talks: The Karpat Talks is a series of presentations designed to highlight the research of graduate students, scholars, and visiting academics in Turkish Studies. The talks aim to create a space for dialogue and knowledge exchange on topics ranging from Ottoman history to contemporary Turkish issues.
About K-GRADS Society: The Karpat Graduate Student Society (K-GRADS Society) is a platform for graduate students at UW-Madison to connect and share their research related to Turkish studies. It provides a supportive environment for networking, mentorship, and collaboration among emerging scholars in the field of Turkish and Ottoman history. K-GRADS Society organizes the Ottoman Turkish Reading Group and Karpat Talks. If you are interested in joining the K-GRADS Society, please fill out our sign-up form or send us an email: karpatgradsociety@gmail.com
Organized by the K-GRADS Society
Sponsored by the Kemal H. Karpat Center for Turkish Studies and the Department of History