Being the Teacher of Syrian Refugee Students: Teachers’ School Experiences

Abstract

This study aims to focus on the class and school wide experiences of teachers working with Syrian refugee students and to reveal what these experiences indicate in terms of inclusive education. The main hypothesis of the present study is that inclusive education should be reconsidered in terms of teachers’ in-service /preservice training, beliefs, attitudes and competencies. Qualitative design was employed in the study since it explored teachers’ lived experiences on refugee student phenomenon. The sample consisted of 21 teachers who were voluntary to participate and chosen from five schools located in two different districts of Kayseri where refugee population is dense. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed through content analysis. The results showed that teachers put into practice actions to boost refugee students’ active participation in classroom and reduce discrimination against them. However, the teachers believed that their efforts to provide refugee students with qualified and equal education were not sufficient. They also believed that they were not proficient to train refugee students. As for assessment, the results revealed that differences of refugee students were ignored, and this was caused by lack of legal regulations and knowledge. It was determined that teachers put forth an effort to design social environment in the classroom to include belonging and they had experiences consistent with reactive and preventive approaches. Lastly, it can be said that the main source of occupational motivation for teachers is affection for children. It was suggested that curriculum be designed in a way that it included refugee students, long-running studies be planned, and preservice / in-service trainings be reconsidered contextually.