The prestige of sociological knowledge and the employment of sociologists

The countless benefits of the appropriate use of sociological knowledge in Turkey can be pointed to through concrete events and examples. In this way, it can be said that the tensions between state and society in the country have decreased, healthy channels of communication have come into play in their place, and important progress has been recorded both toward the state machinery working more effectively and efficiently and toward raising social capital to the most productive levels.

Conversely, it is even possible to recall how some examples of social engineering in our recent past, because they did not heed sociological knowledge, blew up in the faces of those who attempted them. The understanding displayed on this matter by Çevik Bir, one of the mighty generals of February 28, is a typical example. In the incident recounted by Taha Akyol, when Akyol reminded him that the social engineering operations of February 28, lacking sociological data and assessments, would cause serious trauma and a serious rupture among the people, Bir's answer was a cautionary one (in substance): "When we ask sociologists, they confuse our minds."

Yet those who take on social engineering must not have their minds confused; they must not run into "social legislation" obstacles. Perhaps precisely for this reason, the structures they would build with the engineering they would carry out could never go beyond makeshift, shanty-like formations. Indeed, all the structures produced by the social engineering of February 28 turned out rotten, flimsy and of poor quality. The complications of its policies were dragging the country almost toward paralysis.

Granted, it is also possible to use sociological knowledge with bad intentions in greedy engineering operations, simply to reach short-term results. There are countless examples of this too. But the remedy for this too lies in firming up somewhat more the position of sociological knowledge and assessment in modern societies.

In our last article we drew attention to the parallel relationship between the success recently achieved in Turkey in efficient administration and state-society integration and the rising prestige of sociological interest at the administrative level. But we said that, paradoxically, this parallel is not proportionally reflected in sociology education or in the employment of sociologists in the public or private sector in Turkey. Unfortunately, beyond that, at the level of higher education, there is a serious degree of indifference toward the employment of sociologists, whose numbers are in fact growing.

In Turkey there are 63 Sociology Departments, 43 at state universities and 20 at foundation universities. The total yearly student quota of these departments (according to the 2008 ÖSYM results) is 2838. The number of sociologists whose scores were calculated in the 2008 KPSS alone is 5091. The state, which began recruiting sociologists for the first time at the end of 2005, has hired only 164 in these three years, and only 24 in the latest recruitment. For example, at the Ministry of Justice, in municipalities, in police directorates and at the SHÇEK, compared with Psychologists (13.4%) and Social Work Specialists (26.4%), other professional groups doing the same work, the proportion of posts given to Sociologists (despite a much higher application rate) remains at a much lower level (0.4%).

Moreover, even when sociologists take various posts in public institutions, they encounter serious inequalities in terms of their personnel rights, arising from the fact that their posts and service classes are not defined.

When no attraction is created in the field of employment, it is very difficult for a field of science to record adequate development. Although sociology education at universities is sufficiently widespread, raising interest in the profession to higher-quality levels can be possible through improvements in the profession's field of employment. Even without this much improvement, there are urgent measures that need to be taken to strengthen the profession of sociology, which has proven its high contribution to the state, to the development of democracy and to society in general.

First of all, sociology education in high schools (together with philosophy and psychology courses), which used to have a greater weight but has recently been reduced, absolutely needs to be given more importance. If need be, the "philosophy group" questions in the university exams should be increased so that more importance is thereby given to them in high schools as well. It is clear that by increasing sociological interest in younger generations, these would, besides creating a better-equipped and higher-quality youth, also indirectly have a positive effect on the employment of sociologists.

Furthermore, there should be no doubt that the employment of sociologists in state units such as, in particular, the Ministry of Justice, the State Ministry Responsible for Women and Family, the SHÇEK, the Ministry of National Education, the Ministry of Health, many units of the General Directorate of Security, and the Ministry of Culture is no longer considered a luxury for modern societies, and that the employment of sociologists in these areas will bring a more coordinated, integrated and healthy functioning of state and society.

One must not hold back from heeding the report and proposals prepared on this subject by Cahit Bağcı, AK Parti Çorum deputy, who is himself a sociologist, and the parliamentary question submitted by Prof. Dr. Alim Işık, MHP Kütahya Deputy, concerning the personnel rights of sociologists.

Not forgetting that, as sociological knowledge is given esteem, we will move rapidly toward a world more real, more humane and more functional than the worlds we build with our delusions…

Correction: Esra Erdoğan, the elder daughter of Prime Minister Erdoğan, whose sociology education we mentioned in our last article, is currently doing a doctorate in sociology in America; his other daughter Sümeyye Erdoğan did not study history but public administration, and then did a master's degree in the field of Social Policy at the LSE. I thank Ayşenur E., who alerted me to the correction.