Challenges for Refugee Children at School in Eastern Turkey

Abstract

In this study, we focus on the challenges faced by refugee children at schools in Van, an eastern province at the Iranian border. Focusing on the teachers' assessment of problems encountered by refugee children at school, this paper is based on qualitative interviews conducted at three schools in the city centre of Van province. The qualitative interviews were conducted with a semi-structured interview schedule. As teachers reported, main problem areas are lack of Turkish language ability among refugee children, absence of education tailored for refugee children, and problems with relations with other pupils. Among recurrent themes, limited language skills that refugee children have mostly suffered from and problems with making friends among peers were prominent. The teachers interviewed were willing to address these issues encountered by refugee children and they seemingly considered these issues as part of a wider set of complex issues with multifaceted details.

An Investigation of Forcibly Migrated Syrian Refugee Students at Turkish Public Schools

“…These problems, that have the potential to be aggregated into social problems, cause refugee students to be grouped with other refugee students instead of socializing with others. This finding is in line with Şeker and Sirkeci [48] who also found out that refugee children's problems mainly stem from language barriers and cultural differences. Though teachers are generally aware of the language problems, they feel hopeless, as they are not given resources or opportunities to meet these needs.…”

Sosyal Bi̇lgi̇ler Öğretmenleri̇ Perspekti̇fi̇nden Mülteci̇ Öğrenci̇ler

“…Social studies teachers' awareness of refugee language deficiencies generally applies to all teachers with refugee students in their class. (Erdem, 2017;Şeker & Sirkeci, 2015;Saklan ve Erginer, 2017;Doğutaş, 2016;Tösten, Toprak ve Kayan, 2017). It is important for refugees to adapt to the social life of our country that an effective program to be prepared in accordance with the language learning needs of individuals aiming to learn Turkish.…”

Geçici Koruma Altında Bulunan Öğrencilerin Okula Uyumları (Türk ve Suriyeli Öğrencilerin Gözünden)

“…Bu faktörler içinde ise en ön plana çıkan sorunun dil sorunu olduğu söylenebilir. Alan yazın incelendiğinde de dil sorununun okula uyum etkileyen en önemli sorunlardan biri olduğu görülmektedir (Bircan ve Sunata, 2015;Bugay vd., 2016;Coşkun ve Emin, 2016;Culbertson ve Constant, 2015;ÇOÇA, 2015;Dorman, 2014;Dryden-Peterson, 2015;Emin, 2016;Erdem, 2017;Ereş, 2016;Göktaş, 2016;HRW, 2015;Keskinkılıç-Kara ve Şentürk-Tüysüzer, 2017;Kirişçi, 2014;Levent ve Çayak, 2017;Mercan-Uzun ve Bütün, 2016;Sarıtaş vd., 2016;Şeker ve Sirkeci, 2015;Yohani, 2010 (Ereş 2016;Göktaş, 2016;Kirişçi, 2014;Kirmayer vd., 2011;Levent ve Çayak, 2017;Li ve Grineva, 2016;Mercan-Uzun ve Bütün, 2016;SETA, 2017;Taştan ve Çelik, 2017;UNICEF, 2015;Yiğit, 2015). Li ve Grineva (2016) yaptığı çalışmada kültürel farklılıkların mülteci öğrencilerin baş etmesi gereken bir zorluk olduğunu ifade etmiştir.…”

“…Suriye'de kız çocuklarının erken evlendirildiği benzer araştırmalarda da ortaya konulmuştur (Bircan ve Sunata, 2015;Coşkun ve Emin, 2016;Culbertson ve Constant, 2015;Dorman, 2014;Emin, 2016;Jalbout, 2015;Tanrıkulu, 2017;Taştan ve Çelik, 2017;Watkins ve Zyck, 2014). Bazı araştırmalarda erken evliliğin ekonomik nedenlere dayandığı da dile getirilmiştir (Culbertson ve Constant, 2015;Dorman, 2014;Emin, 2016 (Erdem, 2017;Ereş, 2016;Polat-Uluocak, 2009;Sarıtaş vd., 2016;Şeker ve Sirkeci, 2015;Taştan ve Çelik, 2017;Yohani, 2010 (Bang, 2017;Briggs, 2011;HRW, 2015;Jalbout, 2015;Li ve Grineva, 2016) ve gelişimine uygun olmayan sınıflarda eğitim görmelerinin (Culbertson ve Constant, 2015;Ereş, 2016;HRW, 2015;Li ve Grineva, 2016;Sarıtaş vd., 2016;Şensin, 2016)…”