Organization's Mission

ÖRAV’s mission is to use existing opportunities and resources in the most efficient way to deliver projects that will support teachers’ and educators’ professional and personal development; to make them the leaders in raising the next generations who will guide the future and make teaching receive the value and respect it deserves in the society by showing that this occupation requires special information, talent and attitude. The primary purpose of Öğretmen Akademisi Vakfı (ÖRAV) is to serve in every way for the development of teachers in Turkey, enhancing their capacity to raise the next generation, and helping them reach level of recognition and esteem they deserve in the society. Before foundation of ÖRAV, Ministry of National Education (MEB) used to be the only organization that provides training programs for teachers, especially for the ones working at state schools; and even those trainings were considered “inefficient and time consuming” by the teachers. Since its foundation, ÖRAV aims to fill the gap between teachers’ developmental needs and the service that they receive and thus working with MEB to deliver its projects on the field.

Impact

Although there are many organizations and foundations working at the education sector in Turkey, and there are many donors who build schools or support students who are in need, ÖRAV is the only independent organization (other than MEB) which focuses on the development of the quality of teachers. After teachers graduate from university, they do not find many opportunities to update their information and education techniques, other than the in-service trainings of MEB. ÖRAV provides very different approach to teachers’ development than MEB’s approach. ÖRAV’s trainings are interactive; require the contribution and active participation of the teachers, they are fun and they take place in the schools’ classrooms that teachers work at. Because of all of these reasons, the information and the approach we present to participants are more permanent. By the end of October 2011, we have reached 45.407 teachers, in 1.697 schools, in 67 provinces of Turkey, in ÖSY project. There are many more volunteer teachers that apply to receive the trainings. At the end of the fifth year of the project, ÖRAV will reach 100.000 teachers.