Challenges faced by teachers who teach mathematics to Syrian students

Due to the civil war that started in their countries, many countries of the world, especially Turkey, have been under the influence of the migration wave of Syrian refugees. Education is one of the most important keys that will enable Syrian immigrants under temporary protection status to adapt to the society they live in and the country they live in. Syrian immigrants have been in the education system of our country for about ten years. Inclusion of immigrants in the Turkish education system in the fastest and healthiest way is important both for their integration into society and for the welfare of the country. The most common studies in the literature on Syrian immigrant students who have become a part of the Turkish education system; It focuses on topics such as language problem, adaptation to society and school, behaviour and adaptation problems. In this study, the difficulties faced by mathematics teachers who teach Syrian students are discussed. The working group consists of 15 mathematics teachers working in 9 different secondary schools in Gaziantep in the 2020-2021 academic year, where Syrian students are the majority. In the study, a semi-structured interview form consisting of 7 open-ended questions was used to collect the data, and the analysis of the data was made with descriptive content analysis in qualitative research methods. As a result of the research, it was seen that the language problem of Syrian students still continued. It has been determined that Syrian students have difficulties in abstract topics, problem situations and long (new generation) question styles. On the other hand, it has been determined that Syrian students are successful when compared to other courses in cases where the universal mathematical language and operations are more. According to mathematics teachers, unusable textbooks and crowded classrooms are among the other difficulties encountered while teaching Syrian students.