Syrian researchers in Turkey have conducted studies that show that Syrian refugee students in Turkey face difficulties in integrating because they cannot speak Turkish.
Five years ago, Turkey shut down Syrian schools in refugee camps on its territory, forcing students to enroll in Turkish schools. This caused problems like the language gap, which led many refugees to drop out, the studies’ authors say.
The studies also revealed that Turkish schoolteachers had not received training on dealing with students from different cultural backgrounds or those affected by war.
The Role of Language in Integration
One case study involved a school in Gaziantep, a Turkish city near the Syrian border that has received a large number of refugees. The study, led by Iman Sarmini, a lecturer at Gaziantep University who holds a Ph.D. in psychology from Damascus University, examined the role of language in the integration of Syrian students in Turkish schools.