Exploring the impact of teachers’ past migration experience on inclusive education for refugee children

Abstract

Teachers play a key role in shaping students’ experiences in the learning environment. Studies on inclusive education in forced migration contexts, however, rarely examine what determines teachers’ positive behaviour and attitudes toward refugee students. This study examines how teachers’ past migration and occupational experiences impact their attitudes towards students who arrived through forced migration and whether they rely on teaching practices stemming from their past experiences to ensure a more inclusive school climate. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, we collected 228 surveys and conducted 9 focus groups with secondary education teachers in 11 public schools in 5 different cities in Turkey where students of Syrian origin who arrived through forced migration are registered. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of ‘habitus’ and ‘social capital’, this study argues that teachers’ past migration experiences enable them to create a more inclusive classroom experience for Syrian refugee children.