Access, Qualifications and Social Dimension of Syrian Refugee Students in Turkish Higher Education

Erdoğan, Armağan; Erdoğan, M. Murat

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-77407-7_17

Cited by 15 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…Lack of official statistics makes it unlikely to come up with a socio-economic and educational inference about parents of Syrian university students. However, as the above-given data about a group of Syrian students indicate, 60% of them have parents either or both of which have attained higher education (Erdogan and Erdogan 2018). This reminds us of the concept of family educational capital (Howard et al 1996).…”

Section: Discussion On the Inclusivity Of The Policymentioning

confidence: 84%

“…According to Mülteciler Dernegi (2019), this ratio does not exceed 5.7. As the above-given survey of a group of Syrian students reveals, education cost of 57% of the group is sponsored by their parents, while 25% have to work for it (Erdogan and Erdogan 2018). This reminds us of the risk of elitism in internationalization (Ergin 2019b).…”

Section: Discussion On the Inclusivity Of The Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…No nation-wide social, economic, demographic or educational data are available about Syrian university students' parents. However, findings about higher education attainment of 379 Syrian students' parents can give us a clue about the profile of parents (Erdogan and Erdogan 2018). A vast majority of this group of Syrian students' parents attained higher education.…”

Section: A Closer Look At Syrian Students In Turkish Higher Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are no available country-wide data about the financial status of Syrian students in Turkey. However, Erdogan and Erdogan's (2018) survey with 395 Syrian students in Turkish universities gives an idea about it. Out of them, 18% receive a scholarship, 24.93% work, and 57.65%'s education expense is sponsored by their families.…”

Section: A Closer Look At Syrian Students In Turkish Higher Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Integration Policy for Syrian Refugees’ Access to Turkish Higher Education: Inclusive Enough?

Ergin

Wit

2020

European Higher Education Area: Challenges for a New Decade

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Opening its door to 3.6 million Syrians, Turkey is host to the largest refugee population today (UNHCR 2020). In addition to providing them with humanitarian aid, Turkey has made academic and financial reforms to enhance Syrian refugees‘ access to higher education (Ergin and de Wit 2019). Thanks to these reforms, over 27,034 Syrian refugees accessed Turkish universities as of the end of 2019 (CoHE 2020). Appreciating this humanitarian effort of an emerging country without abundant resources, this study questions how the government policy of enhancing Syrian refugees‘ access to Turkish universities could be more inclusive. In this respect, using available official statistics of current Syrian students in Turkish higher education, this study reveals which Syrian refugees have accessed higher education in Turkey and what should be done to enhance the access of other Syrian refugees who are left behind there.

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Section: Discussion On the Inclusivity Of The Policymentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Discussion On the Inclusivity Of The Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Closer Look At Syrian Students In Turkish Higher Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Closer Look At Syrian Students In Turkish Higher Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Integration Policy for Syrian Refugees’ Access to Turkish Higher Education: Inclusive Enough?

Ergin

Wit

2020

European Higher Education Area: Challenges for a New Decade

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“…Comparing these results with the ED-I, there is a significant difference. In the first wave of the research, the students who stated that they work was about 25%, and the scholarship percentage was 18% (Erdogan and Erdogan 2018). This result indicates that the number of students who work to support their studies has doubled.…”

Section: Vulnerabilities and Challenges Of Syrian Studentsmentioning

confidence: 92%

Syrian University Students in Turkish Higher Education: Immediate Vulnerabilities, Future Challenges for the European Higher Education Area

Erdoğan

2020

European Higher Education Area: Challenges for a New Decade

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Since 2011, millions of Syrian people have had to leave their country and seek shelter in neighbouring countries and in Europe. Forced migration or displacement creates multiple vulnerabilities while trying to settle in a new environment. Socioeconomic, cultural and psychological vulnerabilities hinder them from participating actively in society. Higher education is one of the main ways that refugees and displaced people cling to hope for a better life. Their access to and participation in higher education has been a challenging route for many reasons both for themselves and also for the higher education systems and universities in their host countries. Turkey has a unique place in regard to Syrian refugees. It hosts the largest refugee population in the world with 3.6 million Syrians and 500,000 asylum seekers from other countries, such as Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Turkey has a young population with the 5–17 age group comprising 21% of the population, but the Syrian population is much younger as its rate is 30%. Turkey is also the country with the largest student population in the European Higher Education Area. The incomparable magnitude of the situation, among others, plays a crucial role in developing new integration policies. In spite of the ongoing difficulties and challenges, the past nine years proved a success story in protection, social cohesion and integration of these newcomers. Turkey has been suffering from some challenges, such as a supply and demand imbalance in higher education. Demographic factors, shortcomings of the higher education system and the unemployment rate among university graduates have been some long-term challenges for Turkish higher education. Moreover, a common misconception in public opinion, that Syrian refugees are admitted to Turkish universities without fulfilling the requirements, adds new challenges for future policies. Both the sheer number of migrants and also the emergency of the situation during this migration flow necessitated some action to be taken in the area of higher education. In a country like Turkey, where there is high competition between students to pass the nationwide university selection exam each year, encouraging Syrian students to access higher education seems to be an area for discussion. This paper is based on the fieldwork of research conducted in the context of the Hopes-MADAD project entitled “Elite Dialogue II- Dialogue with Syrian Refugees in Turkey through Syrian Academics and Students” in 2019. The main research subject is which types of vulnerabilities Syrian university students face, and how they can integrate into society in Turkey. New approaches and definitions are needed to touch the actual needs of the refugees to be actively involved into society. Nevertheless, research on the higher education practices of vulnerable groups in general, and of Syrian students in particular, is largely missing.

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Introduction: Refugees in Higher Education—Questioning the Notion of Integration

Berg

Grüttner

Streitwieser

2021

Higher Education Research and Science Studies

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Access, Qualifications and Social Dimension of Syrian Refugee Students in Turkish Higher Education

Cited by 15 publications

References 1 publication

Integration Policy for Syrian Refugees’ Access to Turkish Higher Education: Inclusive Enough?

Integration Policy for Syrian Refugees’ Access to Turkish Higher Education: Inclusive Enough?

Syrian University Students in Turkish Higher Education: Immediate Vulnerabilities, Future Challenges for the European Higher Education Area

Introduction: Refugees in Higher Education—Questioning the Notion of Integration

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