Experiences of early childhood teachers with refugee children and their families in New Zealand.

This qualitative narrative inquiry examined the teaching and learning experiences of six early childhood teachers working with refugee children and their families in an urban district of New Zealand. Using (a) filmed observations, (b) semi-structured interviews with teachers, and (c) stimulated recall interviews I collected narratives about the teachers’ encounters, and the relationships they developed, with refugee- background families and their children in their centres. Research journals kept by the teachers and myself as the researcher recorded further reflections on the data and supplemented the oral narratives. This study also investigated the sources of knowledge teachers relied upon when working with families and children who were refugees; and how their professional training prepared them for teaching refugee children.

My analysis used theoretical constructs from Dewey’s notions of experience (Dewey, 1938), culture and culturally responsive practices (Gay, 2000; Ladson-Billings, 1995), and ethics of care (Noddings, 1995), to understand teachers’ experiences of working with refugee children and their families.

Data were transcribed and analysed using a constant comparative analysis within the framework of sociocultural theory (Rogoff, 1995 and Vygotsky, 1978). Through a detailed examination of the teachers’ narratives and stories, I found that teachers created a culture that demonstrated an ethic of care to support refugee children during enrolment and settling phases, and celebrated the diverse cultures refugee children brought into the centres. The study also found that teachers’ experiences with refugee parents were characterised by language and cultural barriers. The parents had contrasting educational perceptions to those held by teachers which made communication between teachers and refugee families a challenge. Teachers in this study attempted to promote refugee families' participation and reported moments of deep satisfaction in connecting refugee families with the community.

The findings of this study indicate that teachers did not experience adequate opportunities in their initial teacher training to learn about how to address the needs of refugee children. They noted that they lacked training in understanding children with refugee experiences, parent communication, and culturally diverse practices. The need for continual professional development in working with refugees from culturally diverse backgrounds was highlighted by the teachers. Implications for teacher preparation and practices are discussed in light of existing research literature.