Introducing the series

Series of “The challenges that face integration of Syrian students in the Turkish schools” is regarded one of the surveys[1] that was performed by the Community Unit inside the Syrian Dialogue Center which aims at studying the decision of integrating the Syrian students inside the Turkish schools, which was issued in 2016, and know to what extend the Syrian students adapt in these Turkish schools as well as the problems and challenges they face and the methods of achieving success in this experience and increasing its effectiveness.

This series is consisted of three sections, as section one, entitled “Four years since the integration decision, Syrian Students inside Turkish Schools”, displays the legal frameworks that regulates the management of the Turkish schools. It also provides a primary assessment that measures the level of success of integration experience for the Syrian students inside Turkish schools according to three assumed determinants.

The second section with the title “School System and its effect on the integration process” states the role of the teacher as well as the management system inside the school in supporting or hindering the integration efforts and it also highlights a group of “Additional external factors” that might have direct or indirect effect on the success of these efforts.

While the third section, whose title is “Student and family, effect of internal and external factors on the success of integration efforts”, focuses on a group of factors that might affect the Syrian student, who is the basis of integration process success, negatively or positively. Section three also probes to the role of the family and its effect, and also displays some “general factors” that participated in the success of integration processes with a group of students, in addition to a group of recommendations that might help in the success of this experience and easing hardships.

Executive Summary First edition

The integration decision that was issued in August 2016 put an end for the existence of interim education schools in Turkey in a phased manner – that took about 4 years- resulted in school joining of about 700k Syrian students who represent 70% of the total Syrian students that are eligible for education.

In this paper (which is the first section of the series) we aim at assessing the experience of integrating Syrian students in the Turkish schools after about four years from its beginning and this can be done by focusing on three criteria:  They are the ability of the students on bypassing the language barriers, studying the relationship of the student with the school as an educational foundation and his level of acceptance for it in addition to his ability on making social relationships with his Turkish peers as it demonstrated a group of results that can be summarized in the following points:

Language difficulties and the ability to bypass them

• Many Syrian students still face language problems like inability to understand what is being said for them or to express themselves or studying their lessons and materials despite attending school regularly for more than an educational year. Males demonstrated more hardship than the females in bypassing language difficulties.
• Although the primary stage is regarded the easiest regarding curricula which fits the students age and rely mainly on group and fun activities, the language problems appeared clearly among Syrian students in this stage.
• Despite spending more than 3 years in the Turkish schools, about 13% of the students that joined Turkish schools after the issuance of integration decision, still suffer big weakness in the Turkish language. 

Impressions around school

• 39% of parents see that their children have a good relationship with the Turkish schools which about 23% see that the relationship of this children with the Turkish schools is still weak although many of these students have already bypassed the language barriers.
• The impression formed by a lot of Syrian students that joined after the mandatory integration decision looks static, as for example, the negative impressions haven’t been changed nor the relationship of the students with the school have been enhanced after spending many years in it. This tells that bypassing language problems and getting used to the school atmosphere weren’t the main reason behind forming this impression and feeling of discomfort, and there might be other reasons behind this feeling.
• Syrian students that joined Turkish schools before the integration decision showed higher ability to adapt with the school and form a good impression about it.
• Males demonstrate higher difficulties than the females in accepting their existence in the Turkish schools as 59% of males aren’t comfortable in their schools compared to 48% of the females.

Ability to form friendships

• 72% of the Syrian students faced difficulties in forming friendships with their Turkish peers 37% of them are still unable to make any friendship with their Turkish peers.
• The Syrian students in the primary stage faced the highest difficulties in forming friendship with their Turkish peers compared to the rest of the stages as they formed 47% from the total number of students that can’t make friendships.
• After moving to the Turkish schools, new difficulties that aren’t related to the language barrier appeared for the Syrian students in making friendships, as 16% of the Syrian students were totally unable to form any kind of friendship with their Syrian peers while 33% of them were totally unable to form friendship with any Turkish students. The male students demonstrate high difficulty in forming friendships with their peers with from the Syrians or the Turkish students, while the females demonstrate difficulty in forming friendship with their Turkish peers.
• The language factor wasn’t the most significant factor that led to the difficulty of forming friendships as there is about 15% to 19% from the students that bypassed the language barriers and spent at least three years in the Turkish schools but yet still have difficulties in forming friendships.

Additional results

• 46% of the Turkish teachers regarded the integration between Syrian and Turkish students is with medium effect, while 39% of them saw that the social integration process between the two parties is weak.
• 92% of the Turkish teachers regarded that less than half of the Syrian students were able to succeed in integration with their Turkish peers while the rest face big challenges that are still unable to bypass.
• Comparing the Syrian students to the Arab students in Turkey, the results of the Arab students sample come close to the results of the Syrian students sample in most aspects of the study as the same problems appear to present for them in the same percentage. However, the Arab students demonstrated more flexibility in bypassing language problems in forming friendships with Turkish students.
• Comparing the status of the Syrian students in Istanbul City to the status of the students in the rest of the Turkish cities, the results of Istanbul’s sample come close to the results of the general sample that includes most of the Turkish cities to a big extent and in many aspects of the study but the status of the Syrian students in Istanbul city looks a little bit better than the rest of the Turkish cities.