Participation Rights of Transnational Immigrant and Local Children in Class Lives in Preschool Education

Authors : Elif Nihan KURT, Hale KOÇER

Pages : 351-380

Doi:10.14812/cuefd.1261482

View : 93 | Download : 153

Publication Date : 2023-08-31

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The purpose of this research is to examine the perceptions of transnational immigrant and local children attending pre-school education in Turkey regarding their right to participate in classroom life and their participation in classroom life according to teachers\` views. In this research, sequential explanatory design merging model, which is one of the mixed research methods, was used. The study group consists of 41 children, 21 of whom are transnational immigrants, 20 of whom are local, attending a pre-school under the Directorate of National Education of Antalya, where immigrant children are dense and 9 teachers of these children. The Right to Participate in Pre-school Classes Scale was applied to measure the perceptions of pre-school children in the study group about their right to participation. Semi-Structured Interviews were conducted with teachers to get information about children\`s participation in classroom life. In the analysis of the quantitative data of the research, Mann Whitney U-Test was used and qualitative data were analyzed with descriptive analysis. The results of the analysis showed that there was no significant difference between the scores of transnational immigrant children and local children on the Right to Participate in Pre-school Classes Scale. According to the teachers\` views, it was determined that transnational immigrant children participated in play activities in the classroom more than other activities. It has been found that the participation of transnational immigrant children who speak Turkish in classroom life is similar to that of local children. The research findings were discussed based on the relevant literature. The implications of research findings for future theoretical and applied research are presented.
Keywords : Ulus Aşırı Göçmen Çocuklar, Çocuk Katılımı, Katılım Hakkı, Okul Öncesi Eğitim