Exploring the Educational Experiences of Turkish Refugee College Students in Turkey and the United States

• In Event: Toward a Humanizing and Equitable Discourse With Refugee Newcomers: Resisting the Double Standard

Abstract

Refugee children continue to resettle in the United States and contribute to the rich diverse tapestry of educational institutions (Weddle, 2018). This paper recognizes the uniqueness of refugee students and their diverse needs (Hos, 2016). Researchers have identified that refugee students have endured a plethora of traumatic pre- and post-resettlement experiences (Bemak & Chung, 2017; Dryden-Peterson, 2016; Gram et al., 2016; Rumbaut & Portes, 2001). These experiences can have devastating effects on their psychological, emotional, and cognitive well-being (Park & Katsiaficas, 2019). However, education has been recognized as a vital human right for empowering economically and socially marginalized children, including refugee children (Blackburn, 2005; Clark, 2020; Park, 2017; UNESCO, 2019; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 2021). However, despite information gathered on other groups of refugee students, there are no holistically-designed programs in U.S. schools that specifically address the unique emotional, psychological and educational needs of refugee students, which further impedes their academic proliferation and success. Thus, it is imperative to have a discussion pertaining to how to best meet their needs in order that they would gain access to their fundamental human right of education and academic freedom.
The most recent wave of immigrants from Turkey has been since the 2016 coup attempt. The wave consisted primarily of intellectuals and scholars who had been subjected to anti-democratic practices of the Turkish government (Aydin & Langley, 2021a). As a result, they and their children fled Turkey as a result of persecutions, injustices, and human rights violations that were imposed on them by the Erdogan government and its supporters after the July 15, 2016 coup attempt. This research study was the first attempt to gain insight into the educational experiences of this group of refugee students. This particular group of refugee children are unique due to the financially secure and higher academic status of their parents, a strong Muslim faith, an association to the Gülen Movement, high academic standings before the July 15, 2016 until the time of this study as well as ongoing fear and uncertainty even after resettling in the U.S.
In this presentation, I will share the insights gleaned from a qualitative phenomenological study that explored Turkish refugee college students’ perceptions on their educational experiences in Turkey and the U.S. Their perspectives pertaining to their personal and educational journey as a young adult suffering persecution in their homeland to college students in the U.S. who were facing new challenges of an unfamiliar culture, language, educational institution, and societal structure. Researchers have found that although some students become emotionally, psychologically, and cognitively inhibited by their traumatic experiences, others including the participants in this study, became resilient and were able to proliferate their personal and academic success. The findings highlighted the need for educational stakeholders to be informed of the uniqueness of each group of refugee students, and be equipped with the tools and resources that would enable them to provide a safe, fair, and equitable educational experience for refugee students.

Authors

• Kristina Andrews, Lindsey Wilson College
  Presenting Author

• Hasan Aydin, Florida Gulf Coast University
  Presenting Author