Preschool children's agency through participation in multicultural classroom environment

Date

2026-7-3

Author

Demirci Ünal, Zeliha

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This multi-sited ethnographical study investigated preschool children’s agency through participation in diverse peer culture. Data collection tools included participant observation, interviews with children, teacher interviews, field notes, and document review. Data were collected from Syrian and Turkish children (N = 32) and their teachers (N = 3) in three early childhood classrooms in Ankara, Türkiye during the 2024-2026 academic years. According to interviews, children demonstrated awareness of differences in culture, nationality, and language. Children emphasized language barriers created communication difficulties for play and socialization. Turkish children stated employing nonverbal communication, whereas Syrian children mentioned learning Turkish. Both groups mentioned selecting play partners from dominant children or their own culture. Observation findings revealed communication was mostly shaped through linguistic power relations or verbal/nonverbal strategies. Also, agency indicators were generally based on exclusion, inclusion, and apparent but asymmetrical participation. Peer culture included not only segregation but also solidarity and emotional intimacy. Play appeared mostly movement-based between cultures, whereas more verbal and material-based intra-culturally. Sharing, space, and regulations caused common conflicts with children's reactions including methods to promote either compliance or conflict. Power dynamics, language, and belonging caused social relationships to be fluid and shifting. Therefore, a new participation model for multicultural peer culture was developed according to children’s agency, and based on “flexible belonging,” “conditional participation,” “redirected participation,” and “constrained/collapsed participation.” Educators stated language barriers, families, and school environment affected children's agency and participation. Also, inclusive viewpoints in early childhood education increase children’s agency and participation, while exclusionary viewpoints segregate Syrian children.

Subject Keywords

preschool children, agency, participation, multicultural peer culture, new sociology of childhood

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/119738

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis