EECERA 2025 Conference – Guest Blog #1: Teaching on the Margins

One of a series of short blog posts by presenters who will be sharing their work at the upcoming annual conference in Bratislava, Slovakia. Any views expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of their affiliated institution or EECERA.

Teaching on the Margins: What Do Preschool Teachers Need to Support Refugee Children?

Ayşe Duran Yılmaz – Adıyaman University

Photo by Jutta Kamp on Unsplash

As global migration patterns continue to shift, refugee children are increasingly entering early childhood education systems—bringing with them diverse languages, cultures, and lived experiences. While inclusive education is often promoted as a guiding principle, the practical realities of implementing inclusive practices remain complex. Among the key stakeholders in this process are preschool teachers, who face the daily task of creating learning environments that are not only developmentally appropriate but also socially just.

At EECERA 2025, I will present my qualitative study entitled “Refugee Children in the Scope of Inclusive Education: Needs of Preschool Teachers.” The research examines how early childhood educators understand and navigate their responsibilities when working with refugee children, and what support they need to implement inclusive practices effectively. While refugee children’s experiences have received considerable scholarly attention, the voices of teachers—especially those working at the preschool level—are less often heard in policy debates and academic discourse.

The study adopts a phenomenological approach, aiming to explore the lived experiences of educators who have worked directly with refugee children in Türkiye. Teachers were selected using criterion sampling, focusing on those with classroom-level experience in diverse settings. Through semi-structured interviews, the study investigates the challenges these educators face, the strategies they employ, and the systemic gaps they identify in their practice.

One of the central themes of this research is the tension between inclusive ideals and institutional limitations. Teachers often express a commitment to supporting all children, but encounter barriers such as language differences, cultural unfamiliarity, large class sizes, and limited access to targeted training. They are expected to act as cultural mediators, language facilitators, and emotional caregivers—yet many report feeling underprepared for these roles. This raises important questions about the adequacy of teacher education programs and ongoing professional development structures.

Rather than focusing solely on deficits, my study also highlights the resilience, creativity, and empathy that many teachers bring to their work. Educators frequently draw on their own values, experiences, and informal networks to meet the needs of refugee children. In doing so, they become quiet agents of change—crafting inclusive practices from the ground up, often in the absence of formal policy support.

In my EECERA session, I will present the conceptual and methodological framing of the study, alongside key questions that have emerged from the fieldwork:

– How do early childhood educators define inclusion when working with refugee children?

– What types of knowledge and training do they identify as most valuable?

-How can early childhood systems better respond to the evolving needs of both children and teachers?

Rather than presenting fixed conclusions, this session aims to spark dialogue among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers about how to reimagine inclusion—not just as a goal for children, but as a transformative framework for early education systems. I also hope to exchange experiences with others conducting similar research in different national or regional contexts.

The broader goal of my work is to contribute to a more nuanced and teacher-centered understanding of inclusive education in refugee contexts. This means recognizing educators not just as implementers of policy, but as co-constructors of more equitable and responsive learning environments. By elevating their voices, we may begin to design support systems that truly reflect the complexities of teaching on the margins.

📧 ayse.duran@adiyaman.edu.tr
🔗 ResearchGate
🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/ay%C5%9Fe-duran-yilmaz-a2703a336/

Let’s use EECERA 2025 as an opportunity to listen, learn, and imagine better futures—for refugee children, for teachers, and for the systems we build together.

Ayse Duran will present work referred to in this blog in Symposium Set B (25th August) and Symposium Set F (26th August). (Schedule liable to change; please refer to final programme for details)