Problems in and solution proposals for accessing education in the context of social inclusion of refugees

The purpose of this research is to reveal the problems faced by and solution proposals of teachers, counselors/psychological counselors and managers working in educational institutions with students of different nationalities in Samsun, Turkey along with their ideas about social inclusion in the education process. Also, the examination of the problems faced by the parents of refugee students in accessing education and of their expectations of social inclusion are amongst the other purposes of the research. The research was designed with phenomenological method, one of the qualitative research methods, and the study group was determined by criterion sampling method, one of the purposeful sampling techniques. The research was conducted in İlkadım, Atakum and Canik districts of Samsun. 37 participants consisting of administrators, guidance counselors/psychological counselors and teachers working in primary schools, secondary schools, and high schools with the majority of refugee students, and parents of 14 refugee students with different nationalities were interviewed in the research. A semi-structured interview form was created by the researcher as a result of the literature review conducted for the research. Content analysis and descriptive analysis approaches were used in analyzing the data. As a result of the research, it was seen that the participants expressed the notion of migration and refugee mostly through emotional and financial concepts.It was determined that the participants experienced discipline, indifference to the lessons, violence, academic inadequacy, language, and communication problems pertinent to instructional processes involving refugee students. It was observed that the participants generally approached the social inclusion processes of refugees positively and stated that employment opportunities should be provided to refugees, public institutions should take a more active role in ensuring social cohesion and refugees should learn the values and culture of Turkish society. As a result of the research, it was concluded that activities should be organized for both refugees and Turkish citizens to participate in together and ensuring a balanced distribution of refugee students to schools is necessary. It has been determined that refugee parents expect Turkish citizenship from the state as well as secure employment, access to free health and education, and good neighborliness .They also expect not to be excluded and to be respected by the members of the society.