THE JOURNEY OF EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHERS WORKING WITH REFUGEE CHILDREN: THEIR EXPERIENCES, STRENGTHS, AND NEEDS

Date

2024-6-14

Author

Işıkcı, Gözdenur

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The present study aims to investigate the journey of early childhood teachers working with refugee children regarding their experiences, strengths and needs over the years. Besides, this study investigates the perceptions of educators regarding Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT). Employing a phenomenological research approach, qualitative data was collected from 14 early childhood teachers. These teachers are actively engaged in the field, working with refugee children for a minimum of three years, and at least one refugee child is present in their classroom. The research methodology involves a Three-Interview Series. During the first interview, a semi-structured format is employed to elicit essential demographic and background information from the participants. In the second interview, metaphor cards were utilized to understand teachers‘ experiences, strengths and needs over the year. The third interview was conducted via Educational Journey Mapping as a data collection tool to summarize the process. After coding the data inductively, the findings revealed six major themes explaining teachers‘ experiences. These themes are Teachers’ Cultural Competency, Cultural Diversity in Curriculum, Communication Process with Refugee Children, Building Partnership with Refugee Parents, Relationship Between Local and Refugee Children and Professional Competencies and Development. To explain teachers‘ needs and strengths, two themes were identified: Teachers‘ Strengths Over the Years and Teachers’ Needs Over the Years. Under each theme, teachers‘ previous and current experiences, strengths and needs and the change in these aspects were identified. Finally, two themes emerged to identify teachers‘ perceptions of CRT: Teachers’ Initial Perceptions of Culturally Responsive Teaching and Last Perceptions of Culturally Responsive Teaching. The study yielded a few implications for teachers, teacher education programs, and policymakers.

Subject Keywords

Preschool Teachers‘ Experiences, Preschool Teachers‘ Strengths, Preschool Teachers‘ Needs, Culturally Responsive Teaching, Education of Refugee Children

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/109872

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis