This study aims to determine the level of inclusion of arts education in the development plans of the Republic of Türkiye. The study was designed using qualitative methods, employing document analysis techniques. The studied documents consisted of 12 development plans accessed from the website of the Presidency of Strategy and Budget of the Republic of Türkiye. Content analysis was performed on the data, utilizing the MAXQDA software. The findings reveal the functions of art in the teaching and learning process, the institutionalization of art education, and the economic dimension of art education in development plans. The results show that art education in development plans is not limited to cultural identity and value transfer; it also has a strategic dimension in terms of economic development, social integration, and the cultivation of qualified human capital. However, it can be stated that the goals expressed in development plans are often not sufficiently supported by concrete strategies for implementation. In this regard, it is recommended that art education be supported by institutional mechanisms that will strengthen it with feasible policies and be integrated with creative industries, disadvantaged groups, and teacher education processes.

Educational programs are fundamental components for fostering targeted behaviors and internalizing essential values. Teachers play a crucial role as the practitioners of these programs in the field. In response to the evolving demands and dynamics of the 21st century, teachers are expected to become curriculum literate in order to effectively comprehend, plan, implement, and evaluate educational programs. This study aims to examine the curriculum literacy levels of pre-service teachers enrolled in the Department of German Language Education in terms of the dimensions of objectives, content, the learning–teaching process, and assessment and evaluation. In addition, it investigates whether curriculum literacy levels differ significantly according to gender, academic year, and reasons for choosing the department. The originality of this research lies in the limited number of studies in the literature examining the curriculum literacy levels of pre-service teachers in the Department of German Language Education with respect to these variables. In this study, survey research design was employed. Data were collected from 113 pre-service teachers at Gazi University using the Curriculum Literacy Scale developed by Akyıldız (2020). The findings indicated that participants demonstrated the highest curriculum literacy in the objectives dimension and the lowest in the assessment and evaluation dimension, while moderate levels were observed in the content and learning–teaching process dimensions. Curriculum literacy levels did not differ significantly by gender; however, significant differences were found according to academic year and reasons for choosing the department. Finally, the findings were discussed and recommendations were presented.