DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE LANGUAGE BARRIER SCALE FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Abstract

This study aims to develop a scale that examines the communication difficulties that migrant and refugee students face in the primary school period, the initial stages of their involvement in the educational process. As a result of a questionnaire administered to 271 primary school teachers via the simple random sampling method, the reliability of the measurement method was found to be .96. As a result of explanatory factor analysis, it was seen that 39 items constituted a four-factor structure (Deprivation, Labeling, Exclusion, and Acceptance). Data were then compiled by administering the scale to 112 teachers again for confirmatory factor analysis. According to the findings, the goodness of fit values were at good levels and the factor structure was validated. “Language-related difficulties” and “language barrier” were found to be two different phenomena. In order to understand the language barrier as a phenomenon that gives continuity to language-related difficulties, it is necessary to develop a perspective that puts students’ school experiences at the center and evaluates them within the context of their own unique conditions. In this context, a perspective that questions the performance-based climate of schools is also needed.

Keywords: Language barrier, primary school students, immigrant students, refugee students, exclusion.

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