Unveiling the veil of discrimination in Türkiye’s private education sector

Abstract

This article addresses a thriving discriminatory hiring policy against professional veiled teachers within the Turkish private education sector. The research presents findings based on 24 in-depth questionnaire-response type analyses completed by professional veiled teachers who have applied to private schools, in addition to sev-eral informal interviews held with recruitment agents and human resources admin-istrators at well-known private schools in Türkiye. Part of the research includes a historical analysis on education in the creation of the Republic and thereafter. Taken together, these results overwhelmingly point to a deeply rooted ideological view that prevents some private schools from having fair, open-minded hiring policies. This marginalizing attitude by many private education institutions, alongside a general acceptance by veiled Turkish teachers of this reality, lead to what I term a “transformational paralysis” or a failure to reflect change within the Turkish private education system. This study suggests that the only way to balance the educational sphere in Türkiye and bring it up to par with the realities of Turkish society would be to bridge strong ideological divides using the most effective tool of all: education. By challenging stale viewpoints held by previous generations and by promoting equity and diversity within the educational sphere, a more equitable education would promote tolerance and foster respect for religious differences in a society with a history of religious divide.