Perception and practice of social studies teachers in cultural harmony: The case of Syrian asylum-seeker students

The acculturation of asylum seeker and refugee students is essential for them to be useful individuals and active citizens. Social Studies course has an important role in the acculturation of asylum seeker and refugee students. The aim of the present study is to reveal acculturation perception of Social Sciences teachers who have Syrian refugee students in their classes and to reveal their experiences and the practices they have developed for the acculturation of these students. The basic qualitative research approach was adopted in the study. The study group of the research included 20 Social Sciences teachers from districts of Istanbul that are densely populated with Syrian asylum seeker students. The semi-structured interview form was used in the research as the data collection tool. Interview data were analyzed content analysis technique. Research findings showed that participants described acculturation as; acceptance, respect for differences, observance of social rules, commitment to national values and as cultural transmission. It was revealed that teachers experienced problems such as the problem of language, academic insufficiency, peer bullying and during the acculturation of Syrian students. Teachers have stated that they provide information, perform reading and writing activities, encourage peer teaching, use visual materials and carry out cultural activities about migration for the acculturation of the Syrian students in their classes. As extra-curricular activities, teachers carried out trips and group works as well as practices to allow for migrant students to spend time with non-migrant students. Teachers suggested that they should be given in-service training, specialist teachers should be trained to meet the educational needs of Syrian students, migrant and non-migrant families should be instructed, an independent acculturation training program should be established and temporary training practices should continue for the acculturation of Syrian migrant students.