Inclusion Teacher Qualifications as a Basis for Refugee Education: A Framework Review According to Views of Turkish Teachers

Abstract

The present study aimed to discuss the teacher qualifications necessary to create inclusive education environments towards Syrian students who are under the status of temporary protection and educated in Turkey on the basis of the experiences and views of teachers. In the study, the phenomenological design was preferred as it was attempted to address the concept of inclusiveness specific to refugee students and to make sense of the concept based on the views of active teachers. The data of the study were collected through open-ended questions asked to 90 teachers teaching in classes including Syrian students together with Turkish students and the collected data were analyzed by using content analysis. The findings were reported within the context of 6 categories and 2 themes constructed considering 32 codes and each category was presented together with the related frequencies and percentages. The findings of the study showed that the teacher qualifications deemed to be necessary in refugee education were addressed under the dimensions “activity planning/implementation” and “teacher approach” by the participating teachers. Moreover, it was revealed that teacher qualifications regarding the issues such as knowledge and awareness about, attitude towards and communication with refugee students support the teacher qualifications related to activity planning and implementation. In light of the results of the study, various suggestions were made to develop teacher qualifications within the paradigm of inclusive learning.