Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
The concept that all individuals are born equal and can equally benefit from human rights has established the basis for
democracy. The principle that democracy doesn’t discriminate based on race, nationality, or gender, and supports
harmony, peace, and social engagement by incorporating personal freedoms and skills, has paved the way for the creation
of a democratic educational system in developed and developing societies. Within the context of democratic education, it
is important that attributes such as being male or female, wealthy or poor, disabled or healthy, do not assume a
determining role. In other words, this educational approach stands against gender and economic inequalities. Additionally,
democratic education does not hinder the encouragement and improvement of personal talents; rather, it reinforces them.
Indeed, both national and international institutions and organizations have been founded with the aim of supporting,
improving, and assessing this educational process in many domains. Their role is to determine shortcomings and suggest
solutions. One of the essential projects conducted by these organizations is the PISA project. The primary purpose of the
PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) project is to establish and sustain a secure and democratic
educational environment, in which students can enhance their own development and consequently raise their voices freely
within both the classroom and society.
This study particularly focused on the skill of reading, one of the significant subjects of the PISA project. The objective was
to determine the variables influencing the reading achievements of Turkish students who participated in the PISA 2018
project. For this purpose, data collected from 6890 Turkish students who participated in PISA 2018 were used, with a twolevel hierarchical model used for analysis. Through these analyses, it was established that elements such as social gender
norms, democracy, economic factors, socio-cultural status (ESCS), home possessions, use of metacognitive strategies, the
perceived classroom discipline climate by the students, and the perceived teacher support by the students were found
effective on the student’s reading performance. On a school-based level, the variables of school type (private-public),
school program type, and school location were observed to influence the effectiveness of reading achievement. The
obtained findings have been thoroughly discussed and proposed some recommendations for researchers, policymakers,
representatives of democracy, and practitioners.