Teaching culturally and linguistically diverse students for the first time: a phenomenological inquiry into in-service teachers' perceptions, lived experiences, and pedagogies

Kaygisiz S.

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF TEACHER EDUCATION, vol.48, no.4, pp.780-800, 2025 (SSCI, Scopus) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 48 Issue: 4
  • Publication Date: 2025
  • Doi Number: 10.1080/02619768.2023.2265546
  • Journal Name: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF TEACHER EDUCATION
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, IBZ Online, EBSCO Education Source, Education Abstracts, Educational research abstracts (ERA), ERIC (Education Resources Information Center)
  • Page Numbers: pp.780-800
  • Keywords: culturally and linguistically diverse students, Culturally responsive teaching, interpretive phenomenological analysis, multicultural education, teacher education
  • Middle East Technical University Affiliated: No

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the perceptions, lived experiences, and pedagogies of in-service teachers who are teaching culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students for the first time through interpretive phenomenological analysis. Based on qualitative data, the findings revealed that teachers demonstrated no discrimination or stigmatisation against CLD students. They tended to hold imagined distress against teaching them, which was rooted in their concern about the language barrier, low-preparedness level, and being uninformed of their presence. Teachers' initial negative perception evolved into positive following a fruitful teaching experience. Their pedagogies were informed by snap decisions instead of informed decisions. Instances of the limited conception of caring and culturally incongruent pedagogies were identified. Findings provided an initial knowledge base on some fundamental issues to be addressed in the journey of preparing culturally and linguistically responsive teachers in Turkiye.