Contribution: 

Millions of Syrian people have been displaced since the outbreak of the Syrian war in 2011, with over 6.6 million Syrians being displaced out of their country and another 6.7 million people being internally displaced (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 2021). This refugee crisis in the world has been compared to the one created by the Second World War (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2016).  

It is important to give attention to the schooling experiences of new refugee children as it plays a vital role in their social inclusion in the wider community (Peterson et al., 2017). It is particularly important in the case of Syrian given the ongoing war in Syria which indicates that returning home is highly unlikely for current refugees, at least in the foreseen future. In addition, it cannot be excluded the possibility of more people seeking refuge over the coming years. The right to education for all refugee children is declared in Article 22 of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees under which all the signatory states ‘shall accord to refugees the same treatment as is accorded to nationals with respect to elementary education’ (UNHCR, 1951, p.6).   

This paper will present the methodological reflections of a study about the educational inclusion of Syrian refugee children. The research aims to critically investigate the educational experiences, opportunities, and challenges of Syrian refugee children in Greater Glasgow, the United Kingdom. While this study focuses on the case of Scotland, it is applicable to other European countries as Syrian refugees have been ‘scattered’ across Europe. 

The research aims to answer the following questions: -  

1- What are Syrian refugee children’s overall educational experiences? 

2- To what extent Syrian children can access, participate, and achieve in schools?  

3- What are the main opportunities and barriers associated with their educational inclusion in schools? 

The theoretical framework of the study is based on two key notions: inclusion and equity in education. Given that both inclusion and equity are broad concepts, and to better situate my study in a more framed structure I will adopt Unterhalter’s (2009) equity in education and the Index for Inclusion that was developed by Booth and Ainscow (2002) to help me analyse my data.  

Method: This study will employ a qualitative approach to obtain an in-depth understanding of the educational experiences of Syrian children. A case study design (Curtis et al., 2014), will be used as it is suitable to investigate the education of Syrian refugee children in mainstream schools in a Scottish city. The ongoing war in Syria has severely affected, one is tempted to say every single Syrian, most Syrian people regardless of their political affiliation, gender, age, location, ethnicity, religion, or any other factor. As a result of this uniqueness, using a case study method with Syrian refugees would put me in a better position to understand and analyse their educational experiences, which may not be free from complexities. Data collection methods include semi-structured interviews with 15 Syrian families and an online survey questionnaire for teachers. The flexible and reliable nature of semi-structured interviews has been a significant factor to employ them as the main method for data collection. This method will give a supportive structure to talk to Syrian families and get an appreciation of what they perceive as being important (Bryman, 2004) about their educational experiences. Syrian families in the Greater Glasgow area will be recruited. Interviews will be conducted face to face or online with both adults (parents/carers/other family members) and children in an agreed-upon place that is suitable for the families and the researcher alike. The estimated time for each interview will be about 30-60 minutes. In addition, school educators (teachers/headteachers/deputy teachers/teachers’ assistants) across Greater Glasgow will be invited to complete a survey questionnaire through social media platforms. Using an online— self-completion—survey questionnaire with school educators is particularly beneficial as it is less time-consuming and quick to administer considering that school educators are already overloaded with schoolwork. Thematic analysis will be applied to analyse the data collected from the interviews and survey questionnaires by adopting Lichtman’s (2010) method—the three Cs— for qualitative data analysis: coding, categorizing, and concepts/themes.

Expected outcomes: The expected outcomes of the proposed research will provide a useful overview of the educational experiences, challenges, and opportunities for Syrian refugee and their families. By identifying positive approaches and actions that boost the educational inclusion of Syrian children, this research can contribute to the development of awareness in schools and educational practitioners across Europe, who could benefit and learn from these successful models and utilize them within their own settings. On the other hand, it would be equally important to identify any potential barriers that hinder the educational inclusion of Syrian children to be addressed and catered for. Considering the perspectives of children, families, and educators will allow me to engage with different voices and experiences of the same phenomenon. This study can provide useful data which could be applicable to other refugee groups in similar circumstances in the UK and beyond.

References: Booth, T. and Ainscow, M. 2002. Index for inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools [Online]. [Accessed 26 March 2021]. Available from: https://www.jugendfuereuropa.de/downloads/4-20-3946/Index English.pdf%0Ahttps://www.eenet.org.uk/resources/docs/Index English.pdf. Bryman, A. (2004) Social research methods. Second edition. London, Oxford University Press. Creswell, J.W. 2005. Educational Research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Second edition. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. Curtis, W., Murphy, M. and Shields, S. 2014. Research and Education [Online]. Florence: Taylor and Francis. Available from: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/gla/detail.action?docID=1576019. Mason, J. and Dale, A. 2014. Using Survey Data: Researching Families and Households In: Understanding Social Research: Thinking Creatively About Method [Online]. [Accessed 10 June 2021]. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781446287972. Peterson, A., Meehan, C., Ali, Z. and Durrant, I. 2017. What are the educational needs and experiences of asylum-seeking and refugee children, including those who are unaccompanied, with a particular focus on inclusion? Canterbury Christ Church University. Unterhalter, E. 2009. What is equity in education? Reflections from the capability approach. Studies in Philosophy and Education. 28(5), pp.415–424. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2016. SYRIAN REFUGEE HEALTH PROFILE. , pp.15–21. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeehealth/pdf/syrian-health-profile.pdf. UNHCR 1951. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. [Online]. Available from: https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/atrocity-crimes/Doc.23_convention refugees.pdf. UNHCR 2019. Stepping up: Refugee education in crisis [Online]. [Accessed 12 January 2021]. Available from: https://www.unhcr.org/steppingup/. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 2021. Syria Refugee Crisis Explained. UNHCR.org. [Online]. [Accessed 1 December 2021]. Available from: https://www.unrefugees.org/news/syria-refugee-crisis-explained/.