Countering the Deficit: A Policy Critique of the Syrian Refugee Education Response in Turkey

Abstract

Turkey hosts the largest number of refugees of any nation globally, and the influx of Syrian refugees has placed massive strain on the Turkish education system. In response, the Promoting Integration of Syrian Children to the Turkish Education System (PICTES) program was implemented to help strengthen the Turkish public-school system and increase education access for Syrian refugee students. This chapter uses Bacchi’s (2009) method of policy analysis to look deeply at the underlying assumptions in the PICTES program. This analysis reveals that while the PICTES program has made great strides toward helping refugee students gain more long-term and sustainable access to education, it reflects cultural deficit thinking and focuses more on what refugees’ lack and need than on what they already have. The author argues that the PICTES program needs to be revised to change the current deficit approach and emphasize recognizing and leveraging refugees’ cultural wealth.

Citation

Sorensen, E. (2023), "Countering the Deficit: A Policy Critique of the Syrian Refugee Education Response in Turkey", Wiseman, A.W. and Damaschke-Deitrick, L. (Ed.) Education for Refugees and Forced (Im)Migrants Across Time and Context (International Perspectives on Education and Society, Vol. 45), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 177-193. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-367920230000045010