Expectations of Syrian refugee and Turkish parents living in Gaziantep from preschool teachers in the context of ınclusive education

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to comparatively reveal what parents of both Syrian refugee and Turkish children in a multicultural educational environment expect from preschool teachers in the context of inclusive education. This study was designed as a phenomenology study from qualitative research designs. In this study, conducted using the interview technique, the views of Syrian refugee and Turkish parents with preschool-age children on their expectations from teachers in the context of inclusive education were examined. The study group consisted of 20 parents, 10 Turkish parents and 10 Syrian refugee parents living in Gaziantep city centre, selected by snowball sampling method. According to the results, it was determined that the expectations of Turkish and Syrian parents overlapped in some points, while in some cases they diverged. When the parents' expectations from the teachers were analyzed, it was concluded that Syrian refugee parents had expectations mainly related to language. In contrast, Turkish parents had expectations mostly related to the affective characteristics of the teacher.