Honoring their voices: A refugee family, an early childhood education program, and the spaces in between - A case study through a Bourdieusian lens

The purpose of this study was to learn about the interactions between a refugee family and the teachers and staff from an early childhood program in the United States. Using Bourdieusian (Bourdieu, 1986, 2005; Noble, 2013; Reay, 1995) thinking tools of capital, habitus, field, and doxa, I investigated the family’s interactions and experiences with the early childhood education (ECE) program serving their two young twin daughters. In-depth interviews, document analysis, and fieldnotes served as data collection tools. Through this study, the researcher looked at how this family used, transformed, and adapted their habitus and capital to a) learn the tacit rules of an ECE program to maneuver in it better, and b) form meaningful home-school relationships with teachers and staff. The researcher also identified beliefs and assumptions held by teachers and staff about a) the education of young children, b) diversity, c) families, and d) refugee education. Also, any perceived assumptions of staff by the family that might have contributed to the creation of institutional barriers or the creation of family capital. This study’s broader impact was to honor and give a platform to the voices of ECE teachers and staff who might work with refugee populations and most importantly to honor a refugee family whose voice is often not heard in policy discussions.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Curriculum and Instruction

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Olguin, Ana Aracelly

Contributors dc:contributor

• Sanders-Smith, Stephanie C
• Bresler, Liora
• Ostrosky, Michaelene
• Thorstensson Dávila, Liv
• Smith-Bonahue, Tina

• Education

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2021 Ana Olguin

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/113803

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F113803