Arastaman G., Demirkasımoğlu N.
EDUCATION + TRAINING, vol.1, no.1, pp.1-17, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)
-
Publication Type:
Article / Article
-
Volume:
1
Issue:
1
-
Publication Date:
2026
-
Doi Number:
10.1108/et-01-2026-0062
-
Journal Name:
EDUCATION + TRAINING
-
Journal Indexes:
Scopus, Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), ABI/INFORM, Education Abstracts, Educational research abstracts (ERA), ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA), Psycinfo
-
Page Numbers:
pp.1-17
-
Hacettepe University Affiliated:
Yes
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines how recent reforms in teacher employment in Türkiye reshape teacher candidates' professional identities and perceptions of employability.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a qualitative design based on sensemaking and liminality, drawing on semi-structured interviews with 22 third- and fourth-year teacher candidates from various public universities.
Findings
The analysis identifies five interrelated patterns. First, teacher identity is suspended as candidates are positioned as neither fully students nor fully teachers. Second, employability is experienced as fragile and largely externally determined, shaped by exam-centered public employment and unequal access to social and cultural resources. Third, prolonged uncertainty turns the future into an emotional burden marked by anxiety, regret and conditional attachment to the profession. Fourth, socioeconomic background strongly influences which career pathways appear open or closed, revealing employability as a socially embedded rather than individual process. Fifth, internships and entrepreneurial experiences function as key moments of sensemaking, either strengthening commitment to teaching or prompting career reconsideration.
Practical implications
The findings highlight the need for more predictable, supportive and equitable pathways into the teaching profession that reduce uncertainty and mitigate identity-related and emotional costs for teacher candidates.
Social implications
By demonstrating how employment reforms reproduce inequalities through differential access to resources, the study underscores the broader social consequences of selective and control-oriented employment policies in education.
Originality/value
The study conceptualizes recent teacher employment reforms as a policy shock that produces identity suspension and emotional costs, offering a novel account of employability as a socially embedded and emotionally shaped process rather than an individual achievement.