Youth Poverty from the Perspective of Teachers: A Qualitative Study on the Poverty Experiences of Unappointed Teachers

As a historical phenomenon, poverty has been shaped by economic and social transformations. In countries with a high youth population, such as Türkiye, the level of economic development, labor market problems, and disruptions in the transition from education to employment create significant problems for young people. The study examined youth poverty through the experiences of unassigned teacher candidates. To this end, the economic and social deprivation, perceptions of poverty, coping strategies, and efforts to escape poverty of unappointed pre-service teachers were examined. The study is qualitative, and a phenomenological research design was used. The findings showed that poverty is not only caused by economic reasons, but that lack of social participation, lack of political proximity, lack of access to resources, lack of capability, and lack of time are also part of this phenomenon. As a result, it is emphasized that in the fight against youth poverty, education policies should be revised, solutions for the labor market should be developed, and solutions should be developed to ensure that the transition from education to work takes place on the same plane.