The first day of the symposium was held at Gazi University and started with opening speeches by ECOEI Academic Council Member Prof.Hasan Bacanlı, Dean of Gazi University’s Faculty of Education Prof. Mahmut Selvi and ECOEI President Prof.Mehmet Akif Kireçci. The panels opened with the keynote speech by Prof. Niyazi Karasar, whose talk focused on thinking scientifically and research education within the Perceptual Framework of scientific will.
The first panel of the day started with the presentation titled “Ziya Gökalp: The Education Ideologist of the Republic” by Professor Sadık Kartal from Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Faculty of Education. In the second presentation of the panel, Professor Bahri Ata from Gazi University, Faculty of Education gave a talk on Haşim Nahit Erbil's views on education to produce modern technology. Dr. Seval Hallaç provided input on Namik Kemal's views on women's education, followed by Rıfat Dağlı from Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, who talked about Muallim Cevdet's thoughts and observations on education.
In the second panel, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bayram Özer from Ondokuz Mayıs University, Faculty of Education discussed Al-Ghazali's views and provided a comparison with contemporary thinkers. The second speech of the panel held by Yusuf Ziya Aktaş from Gazi University was about Mehmet Zekai Konrapa and the teaching of Islamic History. The last speaker of the second panel Assoc. Prof. Dr. Volkan Duran from Iğdır University, Faculty of Science and Letters presented a talk on Sadreddin Konevi's moral classification in the context of Kohlberg's theory of moral development.
The third and last panel of the day started with Prof. Dr. Selçuk Uygun from Süleyman Demirel University, Faculty of Education, who delivered a presentation on Kâzım Nami Duru, his place in the history of Turkish education, and his views on education. The topic of Kadir Ceylan’s presentation from Yüksek İhtisas University was “An educationist officer Kazım Nami Duru's thoughts on education in the founding years of the Republic”. Lastly, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gönül Türkan Demir from Amasya University, Faculty of Education held a presentation about “Sergeant Teachers' Training Centers in the writings of Primary Education Inspectors Osman Turgut Erkekli and Süleyman Edip Balkır.”
The second day of the Education Thinkers Symposium was held at the Grand Mercure Hotel in Ankara. The first panel started with a presentation by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ferah Güçlü Yılmaz, who shared her insights on Sadrettin Celal Antel's educational approach and contributions to the Turkish education system. Her presentation was followed by Prof. Dr. Hamide Kılıç from Manisa Celal Bayar University, Faculty of Education who delivered a presentation with the title “A Multifaceted Educator of the Republican Era: Sadrettin Celâl Antel”. Ömer Faik Numanzade was the topic of the third speech at this panel presented by Assoc. Prof. Dr. İkram Çınar from Kafkas University, Dede Korkut Faculty of Education. Gülden Günaydın from Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Hasan Ali Yücel Faculty of Education held the last speech of the panel about people who were raised in the Selahattin Ertürk School.
In the second panel on December 24, the symposium proceeded with a presentation on Mustafa Şekip Tunç's philosophy of education in the context of pluralism and personalism given by Prof. Dr. Levent Bayraktar from Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. After that, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Savaş Karagöz from Aksaray University, Faculty of Education delivered a speech about Süleyman Şevket Tanlı’s understanding of education. Lastly, Erol Kömür spoke on educational pioneers who initiated intelligence and talent testing studies in Türkiye.
In the last panel of the symposium, Musa Bardak from Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Faculty of Education delivered his speech that thematized Ahmet Kemal Pasha and the role of Ottoman education in the transition to public administration. The second speaker of the panel Prof. Dr. Funda Demirel from Ankara University, Faculty of Educational Sciences talked about İsmail Hakkı Tonguç's understanding of economic and social development as an educational thinker. The last speaker was Prof. Dr. Tuğçe Arıkan from Bilkent University, who discussed the Educator İsmail Hakkı Tonguç.
The symposium ended with a closing speech by Professor Hasan Bacanlı. ECOEI will publish a conference proceeding of this symposium in Turkish and English.
