Work 54 (2016) 759–764 DOI:10.3233/WOR-162309 IOS Press 759 Work Transition Narratives Becoming a blind teacher in Turkey: A long journey M¨ ujde Koca-Atabey Department of Psychology, Ipek University, Turan G¨ une¸ s Bulvarı, 648 Cadde, 06550 Oran, C ¸ ankaya, Ankara, Turkey E-mails: mujde.koca.atabey@gmail.com, kocamujde19@hotmail.com Abstract. The story of Hakan profoundly calls attention to the dialectical relationship between the macro and the micro influences on the social and political situated nature of disability, work life expectations and the transformative power of life-long learning. All of these are reflected in Hakan’s journey and his capacity to self-manage his needs and adapt in spite of disability adversity and impairment challenges at the turning points in his life. He used his ingenuity when faced with challenges by tapping into non-disabling environments (finding a university program that fit with his needs and he was able to meet standard examination expectations) and familiar human relationships (finding friends or family that agreed to read to him). His early experiences in the formal and informal labour markets that were available to him provided grounding into various workplace acumen and social requirements. In effect these experiences were part of his early employment socialization that are often overlooked as essential to being ready to shift from a job to deciding on a career in a changing labour economy. While Hakan developed his capacity and competencies to be ready for work in a viable career, the policy’s of prescriptive employment for the disabled shifted slightly to open up the door to more persons with impairments. Read on to find out the details of Hakan’s numerous experiences with turning points, shifts and his efforts to persist in becoming a teacher. Following this article there are reflective questions for deeper consideration and contemplation of the many relationships that shaped the journey. Keywords: Disability, blindness, work experiences, work orientations, social, psychological and political features of disability 1. Narrative introduction I am a scholar, a social psychologist, from Turkey who has practical and academic experience in rela- tion to disability [1]. This paper aims to provide the personal narrative of Hakan (a pseudonym); more specifically this is the journey of a visually impaired 35 year-old man towards becoming a teacher. Hakan lost his vision gradually due to a genetic condition called retinitis pigmentosa (RP). The accounts begin with his initial work experiences. The work life of Hakan started with various forms of hawking (i.e. act of selling in the street by shouting) jobs, con- tinued with a more established, governmental job where he became a switchboard operator. Finally, for the last five years, he has been a teacher in a spe- cial school. He also re-started his history degree at university. The interview with Hakan was conducted by the author and lasted nearly an hour. He agreed to tell his story, have it shared through this column and chose this pseudonym himself. The transcriptions provided below were read back to the participant for respondent validation procedure [2]. The narrative of Hakan’s work trajectory and his transitions are pre- 1051-9815/16/$35.00 © 2016 – IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved