Comparison of parental aspirations, success pathways and strategies in lower and upper-middle class families in Türkiye

This article examines how parents’ socio-cultural and classbackgrounds shape expectations and parenting practicesconcerning their children’s success, within the context of neo-liberal familialist policies in Türkiye. Since the 1980s, theretrenchment of state services in education and skills provision haspositioned parents as the primary actors responsible for theirchildren’s future. Drawing on Gillies’ (2008) discussion of ‘newparenting in the neoliberal era,’ this article considers how Türkiye’sunique socioeconomic and historical context reshapes parentalaspirations and strategies. Based on semi-structured interviews with44 parents from lower and upper-middle classes, the studycompares how “success” is defined, the expectations placed onchildren, and the resources mobilized to achieve these goals. Thefindings show that both groups share the aspiration of raising a“successful child” who obtains a good education, a stable careerand social respect. However, resource differences generatedivergent practices. Upper-middle-class parents focus on cultivatingautonomy, sociability and skills that open pathways to self-realization and global competitiveness. Lower-class parents, facingstructural constraints, emphasize resilience, moral responsibility,and realistic awareness of social position, enabling children tonavigate barriers and pursue upward mobility. These contrastingstrategies reveal distinct social functions of parenting across classes,aimed at sustaining or improving family standing aimed growinginequality.