Navigating diversity among nationally diverse children in schools: Voices of teachers, counselors, and students

This study examines the challenges, positive experiences, and proposed solutions associated with the integration of immigrant students in nationally diverse public primary classrooms in Türkiye, utilizing the frameworks of multicultural education and acculturation theory. Employing a qualitative multiple-case design, data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 22 participants, including 10 classroom teachers, 5 principals or vice-principals, 2 school counselors, and 5 immigrant students, as well as classroom observations and document analysis. Reflexive thematic analysis identified persistent barriers to inclusion, such as language difficulties, cultural adaptation challenges, limited parental engagement, uneven academic performance, and problematic placement and equivalency practices. These school-level issues were further compounded by systemic factors, including the absence of structured orientation programs, a centralized monolingual curriculum, and limited institutional resources. Concurrently, participants reported positive outcomes such as enhanced empathy, intercultural awareness, and collaborative learning among students in nationally diverse classrooms. The findings underscore the necessity of comprehensive school-level measures to support immigrant students' integration, including structured orientation processes, sustained language support, intercultural training for teachers, transparent placement procedures, and inclusive practices that position diversity as an educational resource. This study contributes to educational and social psychology by demonstrating how multicultural education and acculturation theory can be integrated to illuminate how school-level practices influence immigrant students' adaptation, sense of belonging, and peer relations, and by offering context-sensitive implications for interventions that promote equity and psychological well-being in increasingly diverse educational settings. • Immigrant students experience interconnected linguistic, academic, and social integration challenges. • Everyday school practices shape immigrant children's acculturation, sense of belonging, and peer relations. • Integrating multicultural education and acculturation theory explains how inclusion is enacted at the school level. • Stakeholders emphasized language support, structured orientation, and flexible placement as key inclusion mechanisms.