İsmayıl Hakkı Baltacıoğlu, who lived in the 19th century, is one of the important names in the history of Turkish education. Baltacıoğlu's views on education are considered important because he examined the education systems both in our country and in Europe during the Ottoman and Republican Periods. “Does İsmayıl Hakkı Baltacıoğlu's educational approach shed light on today's education?” question constitutes the problem of the research. Baltacıoğlu is one of the important playwrights of the Republican Era theatre. According to Baltacıoğlu, education is not a matter of teaching, but a way of living and the duty of the school is to prepare children for life. He thinks that simply presenting information is not enough and that it is important to teach children how to use it in life. His understanding of education is based on the principles of "personality principle", "environment principle", "work principle", "productivity principle" and "initiation principle". He advocates a functional education rather than a purely theoretical education. It seems that Baltacıoğlu's thoughts are similar to the constructivism approach adopted today. There are many works of pedagogy, philosophy, sociology, art and literature.
Keywords: İsmayıl hakkı baltacıoğlu, education, educational approach, educational overview, teaching