Session Information
ERG SES E 12, Professionalism and Education
Paper Session
Contribution
As a result of Syrian crisis thousands of people were killed, left homeless or forced to take refuge in neighboring countries such as Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Beirut in order to escape from the violence in their country (Tepeciklioğlu and Eğrice Tepeciklioğlu, 172). The numbers of registered refugees as of date 18.12.2015 reached almost 2 million and 415 thousand people (Directorate General of Migration Management, 2015). As a contracting state Turkey applies the Geneva Convention dated 1951, with the reservation of “geographical boundaries”. Therefore; Turkey could provide refugee status only to the citizens of member states of the Council of Europe. Moreover, since the beginning of Syria Crisis Turkey carries out “open border policy”, does not reject the Syrians who want to move across the border however they are not granted refugee status. As they come from a country that is not a member of the Council of Europe, they can be recognized as “temporary asylum” (Human Rights Watch Raport, 2015; BBC, 2015).
Besides, being as a state party, Turkey could not remain unresponsive to the legal obligations which are raised by international conventions such as Convention on the Rights of Child, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights etc; various legal regulations (e.g. Temporary Protection Regulation) are entered into effect. Among the issues related to the Syrian asylum Education is utmost importance. According to the official figures, while most of the students (%80) living in camps receive education, only a few of the children living outside of the camps have chance to get education (Öztürk, 2015). Therefore, Education and Training Services for Foreigners Circular Letter was promulgated in September 2014 by Ministry of National Education in order to fulfill the international obligations and ensure the Syrian children who live outside camps to access education. According to this Circular, hereafter without demanding any residence permit, Syrian children are granted the opportunity to receive education with their foreigner identification document at state schools which are under the control of Ministry of National Education. In 2014-2015 academic year, in total 36.655 students registered to elementary, middle and high schools which belong to the state school system of Turkey (Human Rights Watch Report, 2015, 12). Despite this opportunity, various reports have mentioned some obstacles such as language barrier, economic problems, interfering with education (Human Rights Watch Report, 2015; Istanbul Bilgi University Child Studies Unit Report, 2015). That’s why, it is utterly necessary to identify the problems encountered in education.
Even though conditions of Syrian asylum seemed to concern neighboring countries, by the year 2015 on account of increasing number of immigrants it has become a concern for European countries. Nowadays, for some asylum Turkey seems to assume the role of a station to pass through (Deutsche Welle, 2015). Therefore, it is a necessity to handle the problems concerning Syrian refugees globally. (Kap, 2014).
The study aims to identify the educational problems encountered by teachers and Syrian students in public schools. Additionally, it is also aimed to suggest solutions through a comparison of the educational policies regarding the refugees in other countries, such as Lebanon and Jordan, and European countries - particularly Germany, where Syrian refugees reside. In accordance with the primary research goals, following questions will be answered:
1) What are the problems facing Syrian students within the process of education?
2) How are the relationships between Syrian students and their school mates and teachers at school?
3) In what ways the students and the teachers supported during the orientation period?
4) What are the suggestions of teachers’ about the problems which are encountered within the process of Syrian students’ education?
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Beste, A. (2015). Education provision for Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey Preventing a “Lost Generation”. Retrieved from http://i.unu.edu/media/gcm.unu.edu/publication/2352/AliceBestePolicyReport2015EducationRefugeesFinal.pdf Deutche Welle. (2015). Syrians are permanent in Turkey. Retrieved from http://www.dw.com/tr/suriyeliler-t%C3%BCrkiyede-kal%C4%B1c%C4%B1/a-18654827 Directorate General of Migration Management. (2015). Official figures of Syrian asylums in Turkey. Retrieved from http://www.goc.gov.tr/icerik3/gecici-koruma_363_378_4713 Human Rights Watch Report. (2015). “When I Picture My Future, I See Nothing” Barriers to Education for Syrian Refugee Children in Turkey. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/et/node/283247 Istanbul Bilgi University Child Studies Unit Report (2015). Suriyeli mülteci çocukların Türkiye devlet okullarındaki durumu politika ve uygulama önerileri (Situation of Syrian refugee children in Turkish State schools, policy and suggestions for application). Retrieved from http://www.cocukcalismalari.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Suriyeli-Cocuklar-Egitim-Sistemi-Politika-Notu.pdf Kap, D. (2014). Suriyeli mülteciler: Türkiye’nin müstakbel vatandaşları (Syrian Refugees: Turkey's forthcoming citizens). Retrieved from http://www.ikv.org.tr/images/files/Akademik-Perspektif-Aralik-2014_30-35(1).pdf Öztürk, S. (2015). Suriye’den göçün etkileri (Effects of Syrian Migration). GSA 2015 International Conference: Living the Global (Roehampton University, London). Retrieved from http://docplayer.biz.tr/3859709-Suriye-den-gocun-etkileri-gsa-2015-global-i-yasamak-uluslar-arasi-konferansi-roehampton-universitesi-londra-ingiltere-bildirisi.html Tepeciklioğlu O. A., Eyrice Tepeciklioğlu E. (2015). Teoriden Pratiğe: Suriye Krizi ve Uluslararası Toplum (From Theory to Practice: Syrian Crisis and International Society). Ankara Üniversitesi SBF Dergisi (Ankara University SBF Journal), 70 (1), 163-193. BBC (2015). “Suriyeli mülteciler dosyası: Misafirlik uzadı mı?”Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler/2015/10/151005_suriyeli_multeciler UNESCO (2011). The Hidden Crisis: Armed Conflict and Education, Efa Global Monitoring Report. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0019/001907/190743e.pdf
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