The Project of Raising Healthy and Resolute Generations During the Single-Party Period of the Republic of Turkey: Compulsory Physical Education

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to provide information about the Beden Terbiyesi Mukellefiyeti Kanunu (Compulsory Physical Education Program), which was drafted in the 1930s after the foundation of the Republic of Turkey, enacted under the Beden Terbiyesi Kanunu (Law on Physical Education) in 1938 and was started to be implemented in 1940, and to call in question the level of applicability of the law. Especially for the research to be more reliable, the primary sources concerning the subject were reached, the archives of Turk Spor Kurumu (Turkish Sports Association) Journal, Beden Terbiyesi ve Spor (Physical Training and Sports) Journal, Ulku (Ideal) Journal, and Cumhuriyet (Republic) Newspaper were scanned and information regarding the subject of the research was reached. Together with the Law on Physical Education, which aimed to raise individuals that embraced and assumed the conservation of the Kemalist ideology and were ready to sacrifice their lives for their country, all men aged 12 to 45 years and all women aged 12 to 30 years were accepted as obliged to receive physical education and participate in sports activities for four hours a week accompanied by the trainers. Those who did not comply with this obligation were subject to various sanctions stated by the law. For this purpose, all physical education obligates wore the same type of clothes and participated in the same type of sports activities. As a result of this research, it was seen that the number of participants in the sports activities was rather few in the Period of Compulsory Physical Education, which is an unknown period in the Turkish Sports History, and the targeted healthy and resolute Turkish youth could not be formed. Besides, the Law was abolished in 1964 as it violated the personal rights section of the Constitution of 1961.