Reports and Effects of German Experts on Physical Education and Sports in the Early Republican Era in Turkey

Abstract

After the proclamation of the Republic, major reforms took place in almost every field in the transition from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic of Turkey, that is, from a 600-year-old empire to a nation-state. This great transformation in the institutional structure and mentality put education at the focal point of the reforms. In order to change and increase the quality of education and training activities, many experts came to Turkey, conducted investigations and interviews, and prepared reports containing their recommendations. The main reference points for the founders of the republic were ‘health’, ‘youth’, ‘secularism’ and ‘equality between men and women’. ‘Physical education and sports’ were given importance on the way to reach the goal in these matters. The invited experts presented their works on physical education and sports. Within the scope of this study, the reports prepared by the German sports experts on physical education and sports were investigated, and all the reports reached were examined. In the analyzed reports, findings on physical education and sports were determined and solution suggestions were analyzed.