Childhood in Türkiye: Educational, Sociological, and Psychological Perspectives ed. by Hilal H. Sen and Helaine Selin (review)

Reviewed by: Childhood in Türkiye: Educational, Sociological, and Psychological Perspectives ed. by Hilal H. Sen and Helaine Selin Evla Han Childhood in Türkiye: Educational, Sociological, and Psychological Perspectives HILAL H. SEN AND HELAINE SELIN (EDITORS) Springer, 2022, 343 pages. International organizations and governments over the last three decades have raised global awareness and attention to improving the quality of early childhood care, learning, and wellbeing. Similarly, significant social, technological, and political change has prompted a global discourse in educational policy. The contextual nuances and intersection of early childhood care and education, unique to a rich heritage and cosmopolitan culture as found in Türkiye (officially recognized by the United Nations as the Republic of Türkiye, as of 2021), may bring hope for a resilient nation to successfully face institutional and geo-political challenges. In their book, Childhood in Türkiye: Educational, Sociological, and Psychological Perspectives, Sen and Selin (2022) bring together contributors invested in educational change and early childhood development set in the social and political context of Türkiye. The book provides a multidisciplinary perspective on the current state of early childhood care, educational reforms, and practices. It focuses on three main areas: the concept of childhood and children's well-being; the psycho-social and socio-emotional factors that affect developmental outcomes, and; the prevention and interventions for responding to issues of bullying and child abuse. Seeking a brighter outlook and trajectory in life for children and young people, the editors and contributors call for inclusive social policy and an essential re-conceptualization of the social imagination of childhood that enables agency. In countries with fewer resources, such as Türkiye, there remains despite recent substantial economic development an overall lack of access to quality early childhood care and education due to socio-economic and environmental factors. Chapters two and three describe the approach Uyan-Semirci and Erdogan take with respect to Ben-Arieh's (2010) child well-being analytical and theoretical tool. In a noteworthy mixed-methods study, with 552 children representing different age groups and backgrounds, they explored factors that "make an imaginary child happy and unhappy." Despite the small sample size, the authors argue that socio-economic conditions not only impact child well-being but are a major cause of informal child labor in both rural and urban contexts. Another significant cause for [End Page 161] child labor stems from the cultural perceptions of "child" and "work." Thus, the question addressed throughout the book is: How does this interplay between perceptions and policies pan out? The contributors suggest that it is a common belief and practice that children are passive beings "pushed to grow up too quickly" in Türkiye (p.35). Despite the necessary legal regulations, Uyan-Semirci and Erdogan assert that a community-wide educational approach may be a more effective paradigm shift. The field of early childhood is at a critical juncture in light of unprecedented global inequity and expansion of educational ideals. This has resulted in a surge of academic communities advocating life-long learning and improved outcomes in the twenty-first century. This has often entailed a Eurocentric focus which remains contentious in Türkiye, where debates on secularism, modernity, and religiosity evolve in a politicized setting. In fact, I was reminded of my brief student experience in the late 1980s, when female students (and teachers, with the exemption of janitors) were prohibited from wearing hijab (Muslim head covering) on campus. I was referred to by a number during the student roll call in a class of almost 50, and each morning we would stand tall to pledge the student oath looking into the eyes of a portrait of Ataturk (the "father of Turks") displayed up at the front of the classroom, a rather stark contrast to public school life in Australia. Chapters 4–9 suggest that the current Justice and Development (Adalet ve Kalkinma Parti) government policy promotes communitarian values. As in most educational systems around the world, whether centralized or decentralized, education remains a political act that is highly regulated and bureaucratic as it is in the case of Türkiye. While legislation and frameworks appear to be constructed at the macro level, the twenty...