SUSTAINABILITY IN EDUCATION IN VULNERABLE GROUPS: ACCESS TO EDUCATION SERVICES FOR CHILDREN OF SEASONAL MIGRANT AGRICULTURAL WORKER FAMILIES IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

This study aims to examine educational status of seasonal migrant agricultural worker (SMAW) families and their children, one of the vulnerable groups in Turkiye, under pre-pandemic conditions, as well as their access to educational services during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this study, designed according to the mixed research method, purposive sampling was used. The data were collected through face-to-face surveys, in-depth interviews, focus group interviews, and key person/institution interviews. The findings showed that adults and children in SMAW households were mostly primary or middle school graduates due to financial constraints, and unlike boys, girls dropped out of school due to gender-based reasons such as early marriage and the belief that girls should not be educated. With the pandemic, it revealed that the existing problems experienced by children in SMAW households regarding access to education and its sustainability have deepened further. The findings of this study suggest that without the development of necessary support mechanisms to increase the continuity of education for children who start working for the first time with their parents in the agricultural sector during the pandemic period, it is inevitable and permanent that the children who started working during this period will be disconnected from education in the long term.