The school adaptation of Syrian children in Turkey

Turkey which hosts millions of Syrians who had to leave their country following the Syrian civil war faced serious pressure about meeting various needs such as shelter, nutrition, and adaptation of this mass. These needs are more pronounced in children as the most vulnerable group among Syrians and most in need of care and attention. Therefore, it was significant for these children to adapt to school besides their academic success and social and emotional well-being. In this study, it is focused on Syrian primary school children's process of adaptation for school and various obstacles and opportunities encountered during this process. While there is a great deal of research on refugee integration, studies addressing the needs and challenges of refugee children from an educational perspective are limited. Studies detailing the adaptation process of refugee children to school and basing them on long-term data collection are scarce. In this context, the principal purpose of this study was to examine the varying levels of actors and environments influencing the school on Syrian children's adaptation to school, and the hard conditions and various needs they are in. For this purpose, ethnographic design, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the study, and the data collection process of the study took two years. The findings that emerged based on the fundamental theoretical perspectives and field data that shaped this research were interpreted according to various factors. The focus of the data and findings of this study on Syrians' post-migration experiences is considered an important contribution to the field. Besides, the school adaptation model of Syrian children presented in this study claims to be a useful tool to examine refugee children's adaptation to school. Therefore, this research has a unique quality with its method, theoretical framework, holistic perspective, and the models it put forward. In this context, research results showed that exclusion, prejudice, social distance and cultural differences based on in-group and out-group interactions, and the compelling conditions they were in were the determining factors in the adaptation process of Syrian children to school. The study was completed with how Syrian children can adapt to school healthily.