The private education dilemma: Why public school teachers are opting for alternative options for their children?

In this study, the preference of public school teachers for sending their children to private schools has been regarded as a dilemma, and the reasons behind the choices made by public school teachers and the consequences of these preferences have been uncovered through semistructured interviews with public school teachers. The research was limited to the views of 17 teachers working in public schools in Ankara, Turkey, in the 2021-2022 academic year who send their children to private schools. The phenomenological method, which is one of the qualitative research methods, was used in this study. The data obtained from the interviews were analysed using content analysis technique. As a result of the analysis, the reasons why public school teachers send their children to private schools can be categorized into two groups. The first category, "push factors away from public schools," comprises four sub-categories: "the physical condition of schools," "lack of school services," "lack of academic offerings" and "school population". The second category, "pull to private schools," includes four sub-categories: "spoils system," "religionization," "allurements of private schools," and "education and training incentives given to private schools." According to the participants, the most important consequences of private school existence are social segregation and the inequalities that arise between students attending private schools who go to private schools and those who cannot. Disparities between public and private schools are also examined in accordance with the participants' views under the codes of disparities related to students, teachers, and administration. Finally, the participants' recommendations for strengthening public education explored across four codes such as "building/physical changes in the school", "changes in school services", "academic changes" and "state policy changes". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]