The Politics of Education in Turkey - (Contemporary Turkey) by Zühre Emanet (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Control over education has been a keenly contested area since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in Turkey. Central to this contest has been the question of whose values would be passed down to future generations, with the inculcation of gender segregation in primary schools a key marker in ongoing cultural battles over Turkey's secularist founding principles and the growing dominance of Islamist political movements.

This book offers an in-depth analysis of gender inequality in action in the Turkish schooling system by examining changes in education provision and culture in the years since 2012. Based on two school ethnographies conducted in an AKP-dominated district of Istanbul where the author worked as a teacher and researcher, it examines neoliberal education policies and their co-option by the AKP and other Islamist movements to promote their own agendas, while also considering the effects of the struggle between rival Islamist groups. Grounding its theoretical approach with empirical evidence of ideology in action, it provides an important analysis of the way in which boys and girls are socialized in Turkey's public schooling system.

Review Quotes

A rare and sensitive ethnography of schooling that analyzes the policy upheavals that transformed educational culture and the socialization of gender in Turkey. An excellent read for students of gender, educational sociology, neoliberalism and Islam in Turkey that will be of huge relevance for scholars of gender and education more broadly, as well.
Yael Navaro, Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge, UK

Emanet's meticulous exploration and insightful analysis provide readers with a profound understanding of the multifaceted dynamics that shape education in Turkey. The book not only challenges existing paradigms but also invites readers to critically engage with the diverse complexities inherent in Turkey's educational context.
Turkish Studies

About the Author

Zühre Emanet holds a PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK. She has previously worked as a primary education teacher and is the co author with Deniz Kandiyoti of a an article in the peer-review journal Globalizations.