ERIC Number: EJ1465249
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0261-9768
EISSN: EISSN-1469-5928
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Opening Pandora's Box: A Culturally Relevant Perspective on Elementary Teachers' Approaches to Educating Immigrant and Refugee Students in Turkey
Sibel Akin-Sabuncu1,2; Crystal Chen Lee3; Michelle Knight-Manuel4
European Journal of Teacher Education, v48 n2 p384-402 2025
Given the influx of immigrants and refugees in Turkey and across the globe, our study aims to examine how elementary teachers in Turkey are responding to the growing needs of immigrant and refugee students. Drawing on culturally relevant pedagogical frameworks, we interviewed 21 teachers to highlight if and how they build on cultural and individual strengths to reimagine educational contexts. In our phenomenological study, we found that teachers had trouble enacting all three tenets but discussed two out of three tenets the most: (a) academic achievement/student learning and (b) cultural competence. This study shows how national and international policies need to support the holistic needs of immigrant and refugee students in Turkey and beyond. Our study demonstrates glimpses of hope despite the multitude of issues we uncovered. We find light, beyond a Pandora's box, where teachers desire and want to learn more about immigrant and refugee students' holistic needs.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Elementary School Teachers, Refugees, Immigrants, Student Needs, Culturally Relevant Education, Academic Achievement, Cultural Awareness, Multicultural Education, Interpersonal Competence
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Turkey (Istanbul)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Faculty of Education, TED University, Ankara, Turkey; 2Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, the USA; 3College of Education, North Carolina State University, North Carolina, the USA; 4Morgridge College of Education, University of Denver, Denver, the USA