Why Curriculum and Culturally Responsive Teaching is Important in the Education of Refugee Children: Some Suggestions from the Field

KARABACAK N., Üstündaǧ Kocakuşak N., Akar Vural R., Poyrazli Ş.

Social Policy and Society, 2025 (SSCI) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1017/s1474746425000028
  • Dergi Adı: Social Policy and Society
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, ASSIA, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, Social services abstracts, Sociological abstracts
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Culturally responsive teaching, curriculum requirements, refugee students, Syrian refugees, teaching practice
  • Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This study attempted to determine whether or not the educational curriculum is adjusted in state primary schools to meet the educational needs of Syrian refugee children, whether in-service training related to refugee children's education was provided, and what the educational needs of refugee students were. The sample was composed of 294 primary school teachers and 372 Syrian refugee students in Türkiye. The data were analysed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 24 and converted to percentage and frequency tables. The results indicated that the central curriculum and the teacher competencies were inadequate to meet the educational needs of the refugee children. It was also concluded that refugee students typically came from low socio-economic and educational backgrounds, however these students maintained a positive perspective toward education and were dedicated to fulfilling their student responsibilities such as attending school regularly and completing their homework. Some recommendations for future research and practices are presented.