Ongoing Projects

Literacy Development in Turkey: A Portrait of Literacy Practices from Migrant Homes

Principal Investigators: Dilara Koçbaş & Marilyn Chapman, University of British Columbia

The purpose of this study is twofold: (1) to describe how people from non-mainstream communities in Turkey use literacy at home and in the community, and (2) to create a “portrait” of literacy practices in a community where most students are considered at-risk of educational failure. There are scores of children coming from linguistically diverse families who begin to school without having any knowledge of the Turkish language (e.g., Aksu-Koç, Erguvanlı-Taylan & Bekman, 2002; Eğitim ve Bilim Emekçileri Sendikası, 2010; KONDA, 2006). This study aims to understand literacy development of children who are marginalized as a result of the conditions of internal migration and multilingualism.  The research sample consists of four focal children who are in the first grade. They are from households with low socio-economic social status and may or may not speak a language other than Turkish at home. The observations began when the focal children started the first grade and continued until the end of the school year. The data are gathered mainly in the form of in-depth interviews and on-site participant observations.  Over the course of the study, everyday literacy activities (“what”), the participants of these activities (“with whom”), the text types and the purpose of these activities, the language (“in which language”) and the modality (i.e., reading and/or writing) in which the activity is conducted are among some of the central themes that will be paid particular attention to. Links between children’s home and community literacy activities with other social domains, such as religion, will also be inquired into during data collection phases. By exploring these themes through ethnographic accounts, it is our hope to gain a holistic view of how literacy is embedded in the focal children’s lives, as well as any possible existing connections between literacy practices at home and other institutions. Furthermore, we aim to understand how focal participants’ literacy activities are determined by power relations prevalent in a society.