Learning and unlearning in Turkish Education Systems’ refugee education policies: A critical and comparative perspective on the policy shift

• In Event: Highlighted Session: Migration, Education, and the Making of Policy and Discourse

Proposal

Introduction

Anatolia, nowadays Turkey, is one of the most popular destinations for migrants throughout history. Turkey, After the Syrian civil war, rising of ISIS, and the Afghanistan crisis has received millions of refugees. The largest group is Syrian because Turkey had an open-border policy for Syrian migrants for the long term. Nearly 4 million Syrian refugees live in Turkey, half of whom are school-aged and children (PMM, 2022). In April 2013, the Ministry of National Education [MoNE] declared that all Syrian children who are temporarily protected have the right to education (Seydi, 2014). After that, Turkey has implemented three different models to meet Syrian refugees' educational needs.

In the first model, a community-based educational approach was employed due to bureaucratic barriers. Syrian children were educated in Arabic, and revised Syrian and Libyan curricula were used (UNICEF MENA, 2015). Also, the educators were Syrian. This model was limited to refugee camps. In order to increase the schooling rate, MoNE suspended some registration requirements and opened Temporary Education Centers [TECs] in the city centers (Arık Akyuz et al., 2018). Also, Turkish was taught. This model served as a transition area for the following phase of integrating Syrian students into the Turkish educational system (Türetken, 2017). Turkey follows UNHCR's new refugee education paradigm to provide a quality and sustainable education; however, this approach restricts access to Arabic and background culture.

Each model obviously has its benefits and drawbacks. This paper discusses these different educational models from the perspectives of Syrian children, parents, and teachers to illustrate which model would integrate Syrian children into Turkish society without assimilation. Also, the paper will create space for policymakers to reexamine their actions and their results on refugees.

Conceptual Framework
1. Literature Review
Research on Syrian refugees, is somewhat limited even though Turkey hosts the largest refugee population from Syria (World Vision, 2020). It could be argued that three main factors contribute to this situation: nationalism, financial issues, and the overall position of Syrians in Turkey (Kizilok, 2014). Rising nationalism, economic downturn, and unstable political system complicate Syrian refugees' and people's lives who have a positive connection with Syrians (Atalay, 2019.; Cagaptay, 2019.; Karakaş & Köylü, 2019). Where the Turkish school system and its migrant policies are mostly examined in the context of educational research, the problems of Syrian refugees are less studied. Furthermore, studies on Syrian children's educational experiences focus mostly on social inclusion and integration. For example, Akyuz et al. (2018) assessed Turkish educational policy from the perspective of social integration, and Unutulmaz (2019) analyzed Turkey's education-related policies and practices. Studying parents and teachers, Celik and Icduygu (2019) examined how Turkish authorities' actions affect Syrian children's assimilation into the national educational system, and they also argued that corporate cultures, language difficulties of the parents, teachers' practices, and profiles of migrant children all have an impact on the quality of education. Whereas some research has documented foreign teachers working in an abroad country and others have focused on teachers' experiences in higher education (Collins & Reid, 2012; Harris-Garad, 2021; Kirk, 2010; Mendenhall, 2018; Shirazi, 2019), only some scholars have focused on experiences of teachers from refugee backgrounds. For example, Balkar et al. (2016) have studied the problems and obstacles that Syrian teachers face in Turkish temporary education centers.
2. Research design
This research is designed to be qualitative research. For the research, twelve children, six parents, six Syrian teachers, four Turkish teachers, and one society leader were interviewed. Participants live in a southern Turkey province. Except for children's interviews, each interview lasted about 25-40 minutes. The researcher asked questions about participants' experiences with the Turkish education system and the refugee education paradigm shift in the Turkish education system.

In this paper, I employ critical theory. Critical educational theories are theoretical, political, and pedagogical answers to the realities of the world to change the goals, scope, and methods of education to promote social and cultural transformation via people's progressive development (Mellor, 2022). Education should empower marginalized groups (Freire, 2000). New approaches in refugee education could be the critical factor that promotes the integration process of refugee children into national education systems. From this perspective, I will discuss how transforming the educational system could enhance and improve the Syrian student experience in an educational environment.
3. Data Analysis
The researcher received his bachelor's degree as a teacher in Turkey, and he worked with Syrian refugees. Thus, he has meaningful experience and connection with participants and the education system. Interviews were done in Turkish and Arabic. Arabic and Turkish parts of the interviews were translated into English, and all data were transcribed verbatim. Transcribed data were open-coded (The SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods, 2008), and codes were synthesized to themes (Guest et al., 2012).

Preliminary Findings
Ignoring Syrian children and their educational needs will not last forever. Policymakers and other stakeholders will take responsibility. Unfortunately, all actors in refugee education will suffer from the current paradigm.
All models were compared based on five factors: curriculum, language, school design, qualified human power, and relationships. Almost all participants have concerns about the curriculum. For example, Asaf state that "the curriculum does not prepare Syrians for returning to Syria or staying in Turkey or moving to a third country." The Turkish education system is monolingual, so speaking Arabic is not allowed. A parent, Selma, refrains from teachers because of the language barrier. Turkish schools are not migrants friendly because there is no space for Syrian students and teachers to present something about their home country. Rana, a Syrian teacher, highlights that Syrians cannot celebrate their national days within the school borders.
Conclusion
The future of Syrians is one of Turkey's hottest social and political issues. 91 percent of Syrians, according to the Syrian barometer, do not wish to go back (Erdogan, 2022). It shows that the Syrian population's educational needs will be more complicated. Turkey has tried a different model. While the quality of education is increased, barriers between refugees and their culture, language, and society were made visible.

Author

• Adnan Turan, Arizona State University