Prof. MEHMET TORAN

Mehmet Toran, Ph.D., is a professor of early childhood education at Istanbul Kültür University. He completed his undergraduate studies at Karadeniz Technical University, his graduate studies at Hacettepe University, and earned his Ph.D. at Gazi University. From 2009 to 2010, he was a visiting doctoral researcher in the Department of Child Studies at the University of Gothenburg, funded by a scholarship from the Swedish Institute. Prof. Toran held the title of Assistant Professor between 2011 and 2019, Associate Professor between 2019 and 2024, and has been working as a (Full) Professor since June 2024.

Toran began his professional career as a preschool teacher in public schools under the Ministry of National Education from 2001 to 2005. He then worked as a research assistant at Gazi University from 2005 to 2009. From 2010 to 2015, he was a faculty member and department head in the Preschool Education Department at Girne American University's Faculty of Education. Since 2015, he has continued his academic work in the Department of Early Childhood Education at Istanbul Kültür University's Faculty of Education. He has also held administrative roles within the same faculty, including department chair and vice dean.

In addition to his national academic work, Prof. Dr. Toran holds significant international roles. From 2024 to 2027, he is serving as an external evaluator for the early childhood education undergraduate program at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK). Additionally, he has been an external evaluator on the doctoral committee at the University of Helsinki since 2024.

Prof. Dr. Toran has also volunteered extensively with many national and international professional organizations and NGOs. He has been a member of the World OMEP since 2004 and the EECERA Turkey Coordinator since 2011. Since 2021, he has volunteered with Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Education (RECE), and since 2022, he has volunteered with the Childhood, Law& Policy Network. Since 2024, he has volunteered with INEE. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Childhood, Education & Society.

His research focuses on early childhood education curricula, approaches to early childhood education, early childhood education policies, child poverty, children's rights, and critical pedagogy.