Youth Poverty from the Perspective of Teachers: A Qualitative Study on the Poverty Experiences of Unappointed Teachers

Öz

As a historical phenomenon, poverty has been shaped by economic and social transformations. In countries with a high youth population, such as Türkiye, the level of economic development, labor market problems, and disruptions in the transition from education to employment create significant problems for young people. The study examined youth poverty through the experiences of unassigned teacher candidates. To this end, the economic and social deprivation, perceptions of poverty, coping strategies, and efforts to escape poverty of unappointed pre-service teachers were examined. The study is qualitative, and a phenomenological research design was used. The findings showed that poverty is not only caused by economic reasons, but that lack of social participation, lack of political proximity, lack of access to resources, lack of capability, and lack of time are also part of this phenomenon. As a result, it is emphasized that in the fight against youth poverty, education policies should be revised, solutions for the labor market should be developed, and solutions should be developed to ensure that the transition from education to work takes place on the same plane.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Youth Poverty
• Deprivation
• Unemployed Teacher Candidates
• Employment

Kaynakça

1. Aksan, G. (2012). Yoksulluk ve yoksulluk kültürünün toplumsal görünümleri. Selçuk Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 27, 9–19. google scholar
2. Aktaş, G. (2020). Kentsel yoksulluk ve gençlerin yoksulluğu deneyimleme biçimleri üzerine bir alan çalışması: Denizli örneği. Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 44(1), 1–18. google scholar
3. Baş, T. ve Akturan, U. (2013). Nitel araştırma yöntemleri: NVivo ile nitel veri analizi. Seçkin Yayıncılık. google scholar
4. Bayhan, V. (2006). Türkiye’de gençlik: Sorunlar, değerler ve değişimler [Youth in Turkey: Challenges, Values and Changes] In M. Zencirkıran (Ed.), Dünden bugüne Türkiye’nin toplumsal yapısı [Turkey’s social structure from the past to the present] (pp. 561–583). Nova Yayınları. google scholar
5. Bayhan, V. (2017). Gençlik ve kuşaklar: Kuşaklara göre gençliğin değer ve davranışları [Youth and generations: The values and behaviours of young people across generations] In M. Zencirkıran (Ed.), Davranış bilimleri [Behavioural sciences] (2nd ed.), (pp. 311–342). Dora Yayınları. google scholar
6. Benlisoy, F. (2003). Öğrenci muhalefetinin güncelliği. Toplum ve Bilim, 97(2), 281–300. google scholar
7. Bilgen Susanlı, Z. (2016). Understanding the NEET in Turkey. Eurasian Journal of Economics and Finance, 4(2), 42–57. https://doi.org/10.15604/ejef.2016.04.02.004 google scholar
8. Erikli, S. (2016). Genç yoksulluğunun temel belirleyicileri: Eğitim ve düzgün iş. Gazi Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 18(1), 283–302. google scholar

9. Esping-Andersen, G. (2011). Tamamlanmamış devrim: Kadınların yeni rollerine uymak (S. Çağatay, Çev.). İletişim Yayınları. (Orijinal eserin basım tarihi 2009) google scholar
10. Eurostat. (2025). At-risk-of-poverty rate by poverty threshold and educational attainment level. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_li07/default/table?lang=en. google scholar
11. Financy, F., Sitorus, F. K. (2024). Wilhelm Dilthey’s thoughts on understanding, hermeneutics, and communication. Asian Journal of Philosophy and Religion, 3(1), 17–28. https://doi.org/10.55927/ajpr.v3i1.9360 google scholar
12. Furlong, A. (2016). The changing landscape of youth and young adulthood. In A. Furlong (Ed.), Handbook of youth and young adulthood (2nd ed., pp. 3–11). Routledge. google scholar
13. Furlong, A., ve Cartmel, F. (2007). Young people and social change (2nd ed.). Open University Press / McGraw-Hill Education. google scholar
14. International Labor Organization [ILO]. (2020). Global employment trends for youth 2020: Technology and the future of jobs. Geneva: Author. google scholar
15. International Labor Organization [ILO]. (2022). Global employment trends for youth 2022: Investing in transforming futures for young people. https://www.ilo.org/publications/major-publications/global-employment-trends-youth-2022-investing-transforming-futures-young google scholar
16. Kapar, R. (2023). Türkiye’de çalışanların yoksulluğu, yoksunluğu ve sosyal dışlanmaları. Reflektif Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 4(2), 279–308. https://doi.org/10.47613/reflektif.2023.106 google scholar
17. Levine, D. P. (2004). Poverty, capabilities and freedom. Review of Political Economy, 16(1), 101–115. https://doi.org/10.1080/0953825032000145481 google scholar
18. Lüküslü, D. (2014). Türkiye’de gençlik miti: 1980 sonrası Türkiye gençliği. İletişim Yayınları. google scholar
19. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2024). Society at a glance 2024: OECD social indicators. https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2024/06/society-at-a-glance-2024_08001b73/918d8db3-en.pdf google scholar
20. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2025a). Youth employment and social policies. https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/youth-employment-and-social-policies.html google scholar
21. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2025b). Government at a glance 2025: Poverty and inequality. OECD Publishing. https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/government-at-a-glance-2025_0efd0bcd-en/full-report/poverty-and-inequality_5f7b56a0.html google scholar
22. Stiglitz, J. E. (2018). Eşitsizliğin bedeli: Bugünün bölünmüş toplumu geleceğimizi nasıl tehlikeye atıyor? (O. İşler, Çev.). İletişim Yayınları. (Orijinal eserin basım tarihi 2012) google scholar
23. Sukarieh, M., ve Tannock, S. (2015). Youth rising: The politics of youth in the global economy. Routledge. google scholar
24. Turkiye Today. (2024, May 15). Half of young job seekers in Türkiye live on $96 a month during rising costs: Report. Turkiye Today. google scholar
25. Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu [TÜİK]. (2025a). İşgücü istatistikleri, Mayıs 2025. https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=Isgucu-Istatistikleri-Mayis-2025-54063 google scholar
26. Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu [TÜİK]. (2025b). İstatistiklerle gençlik, 2024. https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=Istatistiklerle-Genclik-2024-54077 google scholar
27. United Nations [UN]. (2003). World youth report 2003: The global situation of young people. http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/documents/worldyouthreport.pdf google scholar
28. United Nations Development Program [UNDP]. (2008). Human development report: Youth in Turkey. Ankara: Author. google scholar
29. United Nations Development Program [UNDP]. (2014). UNDP youth strategy 2014–2017: Empowered youth, sustainable future. https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/publications/UNDP_YouthStrategy-2014-17_Web.pdf google scholar
30. Usanmaz, A., ve Kahraman, F. (2020). Güvencesizlik, gençlik ve inşaat: İnşaatın eğitimli gençleri üzerine bir araştırma. Gençlik Araştırmaları Dergisi, 8(20), 106–128. google scholar
31. Valiente, O., Capsada-Munsech, Q., ve de Otero, J. P. (2020). Educationalisation of youth unemployment through lifelong learning policies in Europe. European Educational Research Journal, 19(6), 525–543. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474904120908751 google scholar
32. Vergin, N. (2008). Siyasetin sosyolojisi. Doğan Yayıncılık. google scholar World Bank. (2007). World development report 2007: Development and the next generation. Washington, DC: Author. google scholar
33. Yalçıntaş, A., ve Akkaya, B. (2019). Türkiye’de akademik enflasyon: “Her ile bir üniversite politikası” sonrasında Türk yükseköğretim sistemi. Ankara Üniversitesi SBF Dergisi, 74(3), 789–810. https://doi.org/10.33630/ausbf.551330 google scholar
34. Yaman, Ö. M. (2013). Türkiye’de gençlik sosyolojisi çalışmalarına dair bibliyografik bir değerlendirme. Alternatif Politika, 5(2), 114–138. google scholar
35. Yassine, A., ve Bakass, F. (2023). Youth’s poverty and inequality of opportunities: Empirical evidence from Morocco. Social Sciences, 12(1), 28. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12010028 google scholar
36. Yentürk, N., ve Başlevent, C. (2007). Türkiye’de genç işsizliği (Araştırma Raporu No. 2). İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi Gençlik Çalışmaları Birimi. google scholar
37. Yi, G., ve McMurtrey, M. E. (2013). The impact of academic inflation on the labor market: If everyone has a PhD, who will be the custodian? International Journal of Electronic Finance, 7(3–4), 250–262. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJEF.2013.058605 google scholar