The right to education for all groups is a fundamental human right. However, there still exist various hurdles obstructing children’s access to education. Coming from a marginalized group, for example, lowers children’s... [ view full abstract ]
The right to education for all groups is a fundamental human right. However, there still exist various hurdles obstructing children’s access to education. Coming from a marginalized group, for example, lowers children’s chance of enrolling and attending schools. Societal actors and decision makers usually tend to not pay attention to children’s voices, especially to ones from marginalized groups. This is also true for Turkey. Although Turkey is a multi-cultural country, so far, little attention has been paid to children’s experiences concerning their education in nomadic communities. There is an urgent need to listen to, respect and value children’s perspectives concerning their education. This study aims to explore issues related to nomadic children’s education through use of a multi-informant design. We have conducted interviews with children and adults of a nomadic group, namely Yoruk Turkmens, and teachers about nomadic children’s enrolment, attendance, attainment, experiences, and problems in schools.
We sampled nomadic Yoruk Turkmen children, their parents, and grandparents, as well as teachers working with these children from a southern city in Turkey. The study sample consisted of five children (aged between 6-to-8 years), eight adults from two generations (two mothers, two fathers, two grandmothers, two grandfathers), and five teachers (N=18). Prior to carrying out the study, the participants were informed about the study and their role in it.
Participants’ responses were tape recorded and then transcribed. The data gathered in this investigation consist of textual data from participants’ responses and researcher’s field notes. Currently, qualitative procedures are being used to code and analyze the textual data to perform a cross-case analysis of each case looking for divergent and convergent patterns. Data are being analyzed for the content, patterns, emergent themes, and narrative properties by constant comparative methods. Findings will be presented and discussed based on cultural-historical conceptualization.
