Drama in ELT for Refugee and Migrant Pre-Service EFL Teachers: Religious and Cultural Challenges
Journal of International Students, vol.16, no.17, pp.359-376, 2026 (ESCI, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 16 Issue: 17
- Publication Date: 2026
- Doi Number: 10.32674/rx4rje98
- Journal Name: Journal of International Students
- Journal Indexes: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, EBSCO Education Source, Education Abstracts, ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Psycinfo, Social Science Premium Collection (ProQuest), Education Collection (ProQuest), Education Source Ultimate (EBSCO)
- Page Numbers: pp.359-376
- Keywords: Drama in ELT, Immigrant Education, Palestinian Refugees, Syrian Refugees, Trauma-Informed Pedagogy
- Open Archive Collection: AVESIS Open Access Collection
- Bursa Uludag University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
Forced migration has placed growing numbers of Syrian and Palestinian students in Turkish higher education, yet drama-based pedagogy—despite its recognized psychosocial benefits—remains poorly understood as a potential site of religious and cultural tension for these students. This study explores the classroom dynamics of Syrian and Palestinian female migrant/refugee students enrolled in a Drama in an ELT course within an English Language Teaching Program at a Turkish public university. Data were collected over a 4-week period through participant observation, semistructured in-depth interviews, and document analysis and were analyzed using thematic analysis. Sharing similar sociocultural characteristics—being Muslim, female, and war-displaced students—the two groups revealed strikingly different academic performances and social behaviors. The Palestinian students were highly successful, with active participation and confident self-expression, while the Syrian students reported academic difficulties, social withdrawal, and embodied vulnerability. The data were interpreted through the lens of cultural capital, rooted in a collective tradition of education-as-resistance. These findings suggest that one-size-fits-all approaches are inadequate in migrant/refugee education and point to the need for trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and differentiated pedagogies in language teacher education programs that serve religiously and culturally diverse student populations.