The transformation of the public personel regime in turkey after 1980: The case of education sector

In this study, the transformation of the public employment from a status based on the Public Law into a flexible status reproduced in the market sphere and governed by the Private Law is analyzed in the case of the education sector. The transformation experienced in the state?s presence and scope in the public services has affected the public personnel regime thus the public employment. The education sector has become one of the most important fields to be analyzed for a meaningful relationship that might be established between the commodification or marketisation of the public services and the flexibility of the public employment. The transformation in the character of the education services shall have an effect on the employment of teachers in the direction from permanent status to contractual status.Recently, a process which could be considered as an indication of a transformation towards flexibility in the public sector teacher employment is underway in Turkey. Teachers started to be employed on contractual basis as well as permanent basis. The flexible employment of teachers in the public sector is going on despite the criticisms about taking away of existing rights and the fundamental difference between permanent status and contractual status. Therefore it is argued that flexible employment is used as an alternative to the permanent status for teachers, and tends to spread to all public sector employment.Keywords: Public Personel Regime, Flexibility, Education Sector, Transformation Process of Teacher Employment, Contractual Teachers.