Education and COVID-19

Abstract

COVID-19 poses several challenges for education. Refugees and immigrants are among the groups most deeply affected by these challenges. This makes it even more significant to focus on the voices of these groups. Thus, this chapter examines the changes in schooling experiences of Syrian refugee children living in Altindağ district in Ankara, Turkey with the COVID-19 pandemic. Thematic analysis technique was employed in order to analyze in-depth interviews conducted with the parents of 13 Syrian refugee children at school level in August 2021. Drawing on the collected data, it is argued that the COVID-19 pandemic served as a litmus test to uncover the problems of refugee children related to education. Through the pandemic, the barriers and challenges that refugee children face regarding access to education have enhanced and even raised the risk of disengaging from education and dropping out of school.