Abstract Book of the 12th International Conference on New Findings in Humanities and Social Sciences
Year: 2025
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Storytelling as a Pedagogical Tool for Promoting Cultural Sustainability among Migrant Parents
Dr. Dikmen Yakali,Dr. Zahide Erdogan
ABSTRACT:
In the context of increasing skilled migration from Turkey, this study explores how storytelling can function as a pedagogical tool to foster cultural sustainability within Turkish migrant families in the United Kingdom. It focuses on how migrant parents construct and transmit cultural identity through personal narratives, particularly in relation to their children’s sense of belonging and identity formation. The project is grounded in an interdisciplinary framework combining migration studies, narrative identity theory, and cultural sustainability.
A mixed-methods approach was employed. A survey with 100 Turkish migrant parents was conducted to assess demographic profiles, cultural practices, and challenges related to integration and parenting in a transnational context. In addition, 15 semi-structured interviews with Turkish migrant parents provided in-depth insights into how parents narrate their migration experiences and how these stories serve to preserve cultural heritage and values across generations.
The findings suggest that storytelling is a powerful medium through which migrant parents articulate identity, manage cultural continuity, and mediate between host and origin cultures. Narratives not only support children’s emotional resilience but also function as a means of cultural transmission that reinforces a sense of belonging in diaspora. The study offers implications for both research and policy on migrant family well-being and cultural sustainability.
Keywords: Turkish diaspora, cultural sustainability, migrant families, storytelling, narrative identity