Learning to Teach in a Global Crisis: Teachers’ Insights from a Temporary Non-Formal Refugee Education Project in Gaziantep

Turkey is home to 1.2 million child refugees whom has been the most vulnerable since the beginning of the Syrian conflict, which is considered to be the worst humanitarian crisis of this century. More than 50% of school age child refugees are out of school (UNICEF, 2017) in Turkey. This paper reports one of the findings of a case study of a temporary non-formal education project (Learning Turkish)1, that focused on supporting 4-6-year-old Syrian children with Turkish language and literacy development. The purpose of the paper is to focus on the teachers’ and administrators’ experiences in learning to teach young refugees in the time of crisis. Data sources include in-person interviews and observations. Findings from this study confirm that in times of crisis teachers and administrators focus on being in the moment, teaching in the moment and learning to teach refugee children. Teachers and administrators reported that the experience in this project contributed to their teaching and personal development and enhanced their civic responsibility and personal growth. This study also confirmed that improvements are needed in making schooling available to all refugee children and training teachers to work with students who have experienced trauma. One of the limitations of the project was its unsustainability due to funding. The paper concludes with implications for educational policy makers and non-formal education providers