The aim of the master thesis is to understand how neighborhood, family and school
influence on the educational attainment of young people. Within the scope of this
work, I conducted thirty two in-depth interviews with youth living in the Gü / zelyaka
gecekondu (squatter) neighborhood in Ankara. Gecekondu neighborhoods are
residential areas where rural migrants might initially or permanently move when they
come to the city in order to improve their life standards. However, many of them
have to survive here against conditions such as poverty and the insufficiency of
social services during the early years of their migration. Nevertheless, families can
develop survival strategies based on self-help networks like kinship and hemSehri
(people with same geographic origins) connections. Throughout this master thesis, I
discuss how young people&rsquo / s interactions within the disadvantaged neighborhoods,
school climate around the neighborhood, family background, conditions at home and
parental involvement influence the educational attainment of youth
The research revealed that despite the specific conditions of gecekondu
neighborhoods and heterogeneity amongst working class families, there is little
variation in educational attainment of the youth. The main reason for this low level
of educational attainment is the poverty they experienced or are still experiencing at
home. While such poverty may compel them to take up positions in the labor market
participation early in life, the influence of peer groups also discourages school
attendance, as the environment is one in which schools provide neither a good
quality education, nor a competitive educational environment.
Furthermore, poverty, the disadvantaged nature of the neighborhood and the strength
of the family network among the residents all serve to reproduce the inferior value of
iv
education in their life. On the other hand, family practices regarding education vary
with the transformation towards a nuclear family life, improvement in household
income and with increasing length of stay. Early migrant families who have better
life standards are more likely to encourage their children to stay in school in order to
find regular income jobs than are newcomer families who need a supplement to the
family budget since they are exposed to the worst conditions in the neighborhood.
The younger parents among early migrant families are more involved in their
children&rsquo / s schooling, and provide personal space for their children, enabling them to
adequately complete school work.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:METU/oai:etd.lib.metu.edu.tr:http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/3/12610323/index.pdf |
| Date | 01 December 2008 |
| Creators | Kaya, Gokhan |
| Contributors | Ayata, Sencer |
| Publisher | METU |
| Source Sets | Middle East Technical Univ. |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | M.S. Thesis |
| Format | text/pdf |
| Rights | To liberate the content for public access |
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