Investigating Changes to Refugee Education in Turkey: Political Motivations and National Interests Public
Soni, Isha (Spring 2022)
Published
Abstract
Following an attempted coup in 2016, Turkey’s leaders leaned into attitudes of nationalism and conservatism. In the months after the coup and concurrently with rising nationalist conservative sentiments, sweeping changes were made to Turkey’s treatment of refugee education. These changes indicated attempts to integrate refugees into Turkish society; they centered measures such as teaching Turkish language in schools in efforts to assimilate Syrian refugees into the Turkish populace. Integration efforts were a stark change from previous language from 2011-2016 from the Turkish government: Syrian refugees had been considered temporary residents and were expected to leave instead of becoming permanent citizens. Education measures that reflected this sentiment included the existence of Temporary Education Centers (TECs) and instruction in Arabic rather than Turkish. The conservative rhetoric occurring at the time heavily involved emphasis on strengthening Arab identity in Turkey. This paper describes the extent to which the new increase in nationalist sentiment and Arab identity building was responsible for these changes, and what that means for how Turkish leaders view their refugees, as permanent citizens or temporary residents, within a nationalist agenda.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction ..............2
1.1 The Puzzle.............2
1.2 Context and Literature Review.............5
1.3 My Approach.............12
Chapter 2: The Political and Historical Landscape.............14
2.1 Erdogan’s Authoritarian Regime.............14
2.2 The Requirements of Turkish Citizenship.............19
2.3 Evolution of Syrian Refugees’ Legal Status .............22
2.4 The History of Social Engineering through Education Reform in Turkey.............26
Chapter 3: Syrian Refugee Education Provision in Turkey .............34
3.1 The Evolution of Syrian Refugee Education Policy in Turkey .............34
3.2 Practical Barriers for Integrating Syrian Refugees.............41
3.3 Education Integration in Practice .............45
3.4 Completing the Puzzle.............49
Conclusion.............52
Bibliography .............56
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