Veiled discriminations- A sociological study on the perceived marginalizations experienced by veiled teachers at private educational institutes in Türkiye

This study is an attempt to examine an often-covert discrimination held against veiled Muslim educators who apply at Turkish Private Schools. Paramount to this work is that this occurs within the private education sector, which often caters to wealthier, upper middle-class parents. Türkiye's most sought-after, well-established educational institutes produce students who often go on to occupy positions of power in Turkish society. The historical socio-cultural influence of these schools is thus an important part of the study to situate the problem and understand its underlying historical and dynamics. As evidenced from the research, hiring practices of elite private schools continue to be skewed towards Eurocentric-looking teachers, a clear indicator of the promotion of a divisive ideology. The overarching aims of this research is to unveil a) the nature of religious marginalization in Turkey, as evidenced by the discrimination in the hiring process and employment of veiled teachers in private education b) to theoretically dissect the reasoning behind this 'transformational paralysis' phenomenon perpetrated by private educational entities with regards to changes in society and finally c) to show the kind of impact education can have in society via the perpetuation of divisive ideologies. The methodology for this work is a mixed qualitative approach that relies on a historical analysis around the history of private schooling in Türkiye, a questionnaire, interviews with teachers and administration at schools, in addition to a visual ethnography of schools' websites and galleries. In conclusion, the research indicates that veiled teachers are being discriminated against when being interviewed for job positions at wealthy private schools and that religious visibility at many private educational institutes is not welcome. Key words: Headscarf Discrimination, Private education, Divisive Ideology, Transformational Paralysis