Educational policy-making and hegemony: monolithic voices from civil society

McGrath, Simon; Karlidag-Dennis, Ecem; Stevenson, Howard

Abstract

This article discusses the changes in basic education in Turkey, with a particular focus on religious education and its ramifications for the education system. The latest education reform, 4+4+4 (or 4+), the largest education reform in recent Turkish history, has brought radical changes to the school system regarding religious education. For this research, journalists and teacher unionists were interviewed to investigate civil society’s perspective on the reform. Several themes were extracted from the data analysis but this article focuses on one dominant theme, namely the rise of religiosity. We argue that the state and its private associations (i.e., media, unions, and political parties) are actively encouraging a process of Islamisation and a gradual but stronger emphasis on Islam in public sphere in order to consolidate its hegemonic dominance.

Citation

McGrath, S., Karlidag-Dennis, E., & Stevenson, H. (2019). Educational policy-making and hegemony: monolithic voices from civil society. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 40(8), 1138-1153. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2019.1647091

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 19, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Aug 5, 2019
• Publication Date: Nov 17, 2019
• Deposit Date: Jul 23, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 6, 2021
• Journal: British Journal of Sociology of Education
• Print ISSN: 0142-5692
• Electronic ISSN: 1465-3346
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 40
• Issue: 8
• Pages: 1138-1153
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2019.1647091
• Keywords: Sociology and Political Science; Education
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2328551
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01425692.2019.1647091
• Additional Information: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in British Journal of Sociology of Education on 05.08.2019, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/01425692.2019.1647091
• Contract Date: Jul 23, 2019