Educational Problems Experienced by Refugee Students: A Delphi Study from the Teachers' Perspective

This study aims to examine educational problems faced by students who had to leave their country from their teachers' perspective. The research study group consists of 27 teachers (22 women and five men) in Izmir. The Delphi method was used to collect and analyze data. In the study, teachers were asked about the problems experienced by refugee students during the adaptation period (the first three months) and at school while continuing their education to the Turkish Education System. According to results, refugee students, refugee families, and school administrators experienced adaptation and education problems mostly arising from the lack of the Turkish language during the adaptation and education process. Local students experienced difficulties while studying with refugee students due to age and development differences, changes in the classroom climate, and cultural differences. Local families could not accept refugee students during the adaptation process and experienced conflicts arising from cultural differences during the education process. The most common problem teachers experienced in the education process was that students had low academic success. According to results, providing additional language education for refugee students and multicultural education with psycho-education programs for school administrators, teachers, students, and parents was suggested.