Evaluation of families' household education expenditures at secondary school level

In the research, which aims to determine the types and amounts of household education expenditures made by families with children in secondary education and to examine what these expenditures mean for families at different socioeconomic levels, was conducted with a mixed pattern in which quantitative and qualitative research Decently coexist. Parallel pattern, which is one of the mixed pattern approaches, was used in the research. Case study design was used within the scope of the qualitative dimension of the research. The data were collected with the semi-structured interview form and the maximum diversity sampling method applied to 15 parents through interviews and analyzed with content analysis. In this direction, care has been taken to ensure that the children of the families are at different class levels, that their schools and families are at different socioeconomic levels. In the quantitative dimension, a screening model was used to compare the types and amounts of educational expenditures made by families and to compare them according to some variables. The quantitative sample of the study consists of 371 parents of students who study at different socioeconomic levels in public schools in the city center of Tokat and were determined by cluster sampling method from different grade levels. Quantitative data were collected through a questionnaire. In addition to various descriptive questions, participants were given questions to determine their thoughts about the financing of secondary education, their views on the expectations of the state regarding the use and provision of the right to education. In the analysis of the obtained quantitative data, Kruskall Wallis H test and Mann Whitney U test were used using descriptive statistical methods and SPSS-26 package program. Both quantitative and qualitative results of the research have been reached and it seems that these results support each other. In the research, the educational expenditures made by families differ according to the educational level of the parents, the professional status of the parents, the place where they live and the monthly income of the household. According to the qualitative findings of the research, the meaning given by parents to education varies according to their socioeconomic status, past lives and expectations. An important part of the instrumental approach of parents to education in the research is; it is seen that they make sense of education as a way to have a good future, a profession or an income. In addition, parents stated that socioeconomic differences and the conditions of the regions they live in pose the most problems in their children's education. The expectation of almost all parents from the state is that education should be publicly financed and economic, regional and school-based differences should be eliminated.