The price of child care: Middle-class religious mothers navigating the ECEC field in 2020s Istanbul

This study examines the structure of the early childhood education and care (ECEC) field in Türkiye through a qualitative case study conducted in Istanbul. It is based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with 50 women, including parents, teachers, and school managers, combined with participant observation in the field. It explores how middle-income, highly educated, and religious mothers navigate the complex and stratified ECEC landscape, negotiating limited economic resources while pursuing aspirations related to both their children's education and their own cultural tastes. Drawing on Bourdieu's field theory, this study critically analyzes the political and economic dynamics that structure the ECEC field and examines how economic, cultural, and social capital shape parental choices in interaction with institutional structures. Focusing on two key themes, social class and religious habitus, it shows that cultural capital, shaped by education and participation in the cultural field, produces divergent effects when intersecting with these themes. On the one hand, cultural capital contributes to the reproduction of social inequalities through middle-class maternal practices within the uneven ECEC structure, shaped by limited public provision and growing privatization. On the other hand, it reshapes pedagogical orientations within the diverse structure of religious habitus, facilitating transformation in educational practices and expectations.