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Journals / Muallim Rıfat Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 8 Sayı: 1

School Expectations of Turkish and Refugee Preschool Children: A Qualitative Study on Language, Meaning, and Narrative

Okul Öncesi Dönemde Türk ve Mülteci Çocukların Okula İlişkin Beklentileri: Dil, Anlam ve Anlatı Üzerine Nitel Bir Çalışma

Ayşe Duran Yılmaz(ADIYAMAN UNIVERSITY)0000-0002-3815-596X
Büşra Vural Şenel(HARRAN UNIVERSITY)0000-0001-8541-4867
Pages
56–75
Publication Date
2026-01-31
DOI
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

The findings indicate that children’s school expectations are shaped around themes such as play, peer relationships, teacher support, acceptance, and a sense of safety.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:This study aims to examine preschool children’s expectations of school within the framework of language, meaning, and narrative.
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Key Findings & Data:The research explores the school expectations of Turkish and refugee children attending early childhood education through children’s own verbal narratives elicited after an interactive book reading activity.
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Conclusion & Impact:The findings indicate that children’s school expectations are shaped around themes such as play, peer relationships, teacher support, acceptance, and a sense of safety.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Okul öncesi eğitim · Okul beklentileri · Çocuk anlatıları

Abstract

This study aims to examine preschool children’s expectations of school within the framework of language, meaning, and narrative. The research explores the school expectations of Turkish and refugee children attending early childhood education through children’s own verbal narratives elicited after an interactive book reading activity. Adopting a qualitative research approach, data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The findings indicate that children’s school expectations are shaped around themes such as play, peer relationships, teacher support, acceptance, and a sense of safety. While Turkish children’s narratives tend to construct school as a more structured and regulated environment, refugee children’s narratives emphasize school as a space associated with play, acceptance, and protection. For both groups, school is primarily defined through relational and emotional experiences rather than academic outcomes. Interactive book reading functioned as a safe narrative context that enabled children to express their school expectations through symbolic and narrative forms. Rather than framing children’s expectations in terms of individual deficits or adjustment problems, this study conceptualizes them as meaningful narrative constructions through which children make sense of their experiences. In doing so, the study offers a child-centered, ethical, and contextual contribution to the early childhood education literature.

Özet

Bu çalışma, erken çocukluk döneminde çocukların okula ilişkin beklentilerini dil, anlam ve anlatı bağlamında incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Araştırma, okul öncesi dönemde öğrenim gören Türk ve mülteci çocukların okul beklentilerini, etkileşimli kitap okuma etkinliği sonrasında çocukların kendi dilsel anlatıları üzerinden ele almaktadır. Çalışma nitel araştırma yaklaşımıyla yürütülmüş; veriler, yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmeler yoluyla toplanmış ve nitel içerik analizi yöntemiyle çözümlenmiştir. Bulgular, çocukların okula ilişkin beklentilerinin oyun, akran ilişkileri, öğretmen desteği, kabul edilme ve güven gibi temalar etrafında şekillendiğini göstermektedir. Türk çocukların anlatılarında okulun daha çok düzenli, yapılandırılmış bir mekân olarak algılandığı; mülteci çocukların anlatılarında ise okulun oyun, kabul ve korunma ihtiyacının karşılandığı bir alan olarak anlamlandırıldığı görülmektedir. Her iki grup için de okulun akademik kazanımlardan çok ilişkisel ve duygusal deneyimler üzerinden tanımlandığı ortaya konmuştur. Etkileşimli kitap okuma etkinliği, çocukların okul beklentilerini sembolik ve anlatısal yollarla ifade edebildikleri güvenli bir anlatı bağlamı sunmuştur. Çalışma, çocukların okul beklentilerini bireysel eksiklikler ya da uyum sorunları çerçevesinde ele almak yerine, çocukların deneyimlerini ve anlamlandırma süreçlerini yansıtan anlatısal üretimler olarak değerlendirmekte ve erken çocukluk literatürüne çocuk merkezli, etik ve bağlamsal bir katkı sunmaktadır.

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Cite This Article

Yılmaz, A. D., Şenel, B. V. (2026). School Expectations of Turkish and Refugee Preschool Children: A Qualitative Study on Language, Meaning, and Narrative. Muallim Rıfat Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, Cilt: 8 Sayı: 1, 56–75. https://ajindex.com/articles/1530024

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