The Status, Structure and Characteristics of Education in the Ottoman Empire

Abstract

The present study tries to identify the status, structure and characteristics of Islamic education in the Ottoman Empire. A descriptive and analytical method along with a historical approach was used in the study. The findings indicated that the Ottoman Empire has been focused on the education and its characteristics since it has been established and it has also addressed the Islamic teachings regarding education and its components such as educational reforms, school building, educational goals and educational texts. This empire, which had been considered one of the powers of the Muslim world for a long period of time and included a wide range of Asia and Europe, had remarkable impacts on various fields such as education in society as well as its territory and sovereignty. Therefore, the present study tries to show the structure and system of education in Ottoman Empire based on Islamic teachings by using library documents and sources. The findings indicated that the Ottoman kings had paid special attention to the preservation of Islamic education, and had tried to train specialists in the field of Islamic education in order to achieve these educational goals. On the other hand, the findings showed that the educational reforms in the Ottoman Empire have stimulated educational institutions.

Keywords

• education and training
• ottoman empire
• educational objectives
• instructional materials
• educational reforms