An Investigation of Forcibly Migrated Syrian Refugee Students at Turkish Public Schools

This study is a descriptive phenomenological research that aims to reveal Syrian refugee children' experiences within formal public schools in Turkey. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews from 28 teachers who teach these refugee Syrian students. Results show that the students are under the effect of post-traumatic stress disorders, they have problems understanding and communicating the content in class, there are issues stemming from overcrowded classes, teachers have not been involved in decision-making processes regarding these students, there does not seem to be an reliable effort to increase teachers' capacities to better deal with these students, nor are they effectively informed about refugee students. The study also presents discussion related to integration of refugee students into mainstream classes, lack of an effective system to address issues, and some suggestions for policy making in the case of refugee students.