Aydoğdu, Fatih; Gürsoy, Figen

Due to the problems experienced by immigrant children before, during and after migration, efforts to increase their social adaptation are considered important. In this study, it was aimed at investigating the social adaptation of the children of immigrant families who study in 6th and 7th grade in the schools determining whether the social adaptation training affect the social adaptation of the children of immigrant families studying in 6th and 7th grade. The data of the study were collected via “Need Recognition Form”, “Social Adaptation Scale” and “General Information Form” developed by the researcher. The social adaptation training program which was prepared to increase the immigrant children’s social adaptation was applied to experimental group total 24 sessions; during three months, twice a week and an hour a day. Also, the children in the control group continued their usual education. It was determined that the social adaptation scores of the experimental group increased significantly after the application and the effect of the program was permanent. No significant difference was found between the pretest–posttest scores of the control group. The obtained findings showed the social adaptation training program is effective on developing social adaptation of the children of immigrant families. This result reveals the necessity of supporting the social adaptation of immigrant children.

Aydoğdu, Fatih; Gürsoy, Figen

This research was conducted to examine the relationship between Turkish children’s respect for differences and their attitude toward refugee children. Using the purposeful sampling method, the study focused on seventh grade Turkish children with at least one refugee in their class at the Ministry of National Education secondary schools in the city center of Erzincan. The evaluative measures used to assess the level of respect shared between students were a “Respect Worth for Differences Scale” and “Attitude Scale for Refugee Students” As a result of the research, it was determined that gender did not make a significant difference in the level of respect between children. However, the number of siblings a student had and the length of their education with refugees did make a significant difference. In addition, it was determined that categorization and valuation, which are the sub-dimensions of respect worth for differences predict a child’s attitude toward refugee children.