‘Arik's journey among the children’: teacher agency enactment to get closer to each child

This case study investigated how a preschool teacher in a linguistically and culturally diverse Israeli city exercised her agency through an innovative classroom initiative designed to foster language awareness and cultural knowledge among children aged 5–6. The teacher, an immigrant herself, designed ′Arik’s Journey Among the Children’, in which a symbolic doll travelled with each child to their home, returning with records of family language and cultural traditions, which were then shared in class. The study employed a linguistic ethnography approach, which involved video-recorded observations, two semi-structured teacher interviews, parent interviews, and field notes collected over eight months. Thematic analysis revealed that the initiative fostered children’s reflection on language use, promoted their linguistic curiosity, enhanced cultural knowledge, and validated their multiple identities. The teacher’s approach to learning about children and their families positioned her as both an educator and learner within the multilingual classroom. Findings demonstrate how personal biography, contextual shift, and teachers’ sensitivity to the growing linguistic and cultural diversity in the classroom can shape agency. This study enriches early childhood research by offering a grounded example of how teacher-led initiatives can promote equity, inclusion, and identity development in diverse educational settings.