This book reframes gender and education issues from a feminist and capabilities perspective through a multi-generational study of women as teachers. It explores how different understandings of gender, equality and education generate a variety of approaches with which to pursue gender equality in education.

PART I.- Chapter 1. Introduction: Conceptualising Gender Justice.- Chapter 2. Understanding(s) of Education, Gender Justice and Human Development.- PART II.- Chapter 3. Understanding Context: Political History, Gender Politics and Education Provision in Turkey.- Chapter 4. The Women and Their Micro-Contexts.- Chapter 5. Exploring Gender Inequalities in Personal Spaces and Private Sphere.- Chapter 6. Education and Changing Lives.- Chapter 7. Working for Social and Gender Justice.- PART III.- Chapter 8. Conclusion: A Capabilities-based Human Development Approach to Gender Justice and Education in Turkey.

“Firdevs Melis Cin provides an original and innovative account of what three generations of Turkish women teachers have reason to value for their well-being and agency as teachers and in their lives. Drawing on rich and fascinating life history empirical data from the women’s experiences in their families and neighbourhoods, in school as students and then as teachers, and in their personal lives we are given a vivid account of the continuities and changes in women’s lives.  We see the persistence of gender inequality even as new spaces of freedom have opened up for women, and we see a closing of political space and commitments compared to the energy of republican times and struggles against authoritarian rule in the later period. Through all this Firdevs Melis Cin skillfully weaves the voices of her participants in context and in history for a compelling and pathbreaking account of women’s actual lives and lived gender injustices in Turkey.”(Melanie Walker, Distinguished University Professor, University of the Free State, South Africa) “Firdevs Melis Cin has undertaken a thorough and scholarly analysis of what constitutes being a woman and a teacher in Turkey. It is a timely and welcome addition to the literature, creative in the theoretical framework, and ambitious in its aims because it reaches three generations through a historical sequence. The book offers a series of detailed, insightful critical explorations of the key themes of feminism, education and society and constitutes a remarkable contribution to the debate.” (Dr. Aurora Lopez-Fogues, Assistant Professor and Researcher, Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain)

"Firdevs Melis Cin provides an original and innovative account of what three generations of Turkish women teachers have reason to value for their well-being and agency as teachers and in their lives. Drawing on rich and fascinating life history empirical data from the women's experiences in their families and neighbourhoods, in school as students and then as teachers, and in their personal lives we are given a vivid account of the continuities and changes in women's lives. We see the persistence of gender inequality even as new spaces of freedom have opened up for women, and we see a closing of political space and commitments compared to the energy of republican times and struggles against authoritarian rule in the later period. Through all this Firdevs Melis Cin skillfully weaves the voices of her participants in context and in history for a compelling and pathbreaking account of women's actual lives and lived gender injustices in Turkey." (Melanie Walker, Distinguished University Professor, University of the Free State, South Africa) "Firdevs Melis Cin has undertaken a thorough and scholarly analysis of what constitutes being a woman and a teacher in Turkey. It is a timely and welcome addition to the literature, creative in the theoretical framework, and ambitious in its aims because it reaches three generations through a historical sequence. The book offers a series of detailed, insightful critical explorations of the key themes of feminism, education and society and constitutes a remarkable contribution to the debate." (Dr. Aurora Lopez-Fogues, Assistant Professor and Researcher, Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Spain)

Questions the relationship between gender, education and equality through the lens of the capability approach Sheds light on issues of justice and equality with regards to female teachers as societal actors and agents of change Focuses on the lived experiences of female teachers across several generations to highlight gender inequality