Centrally Planned, Locally Tweaked: Higher Education Policy and Syrians in Turkey

In this paper, I investigate how local actors’ involvement and policy preferences may influence the outcomes of the centrally formulated policies. To do so, I will examine the higher education policy for the Syrians and its implementation in Turkey is varying environments in host cities affect the educational preferences and aspirations of Syrian refugees for the Syrians and its implementation in Turkey is varying environments in host cities affect the educational preferences and aspirations of Syrian refugees for the Syrians in Turkey and how local actors’ involvement and preferences may affect Syrians’ educational preferences and aspirations. Access to higher education is a crucial component for the cohabitation of the host communities and immigrants. Currently one fourth of the total population of Syrians are between 15 and 29 and they are scattered around the country. However, the local conditions and opportunities influence refugees differently and indirectly affect the outcomes of the higher education policy. The results of this study mainly depend on the data from an original survey conducted in 2017 in five of the most refugee populated cities in Turkey; Adana, Gaziantep, Istanbul, Kilis, and Mersin; with a sample of 1000 respondents between the ages of 17 and 29. The data was collected via face-to-face interviews with individual respondents. The survey investigates the limitations that the refugees encounter in their incorporation to the higher education and vocational training system in Turkey in addition to refugees’ aspirations for higher education. In order to make a comparative analysis of these five cities, an index of accommodation is formulated to assign scores to the cities in the study. According to the results, depending on their host cities the refugees respond differently in their academic preferences. The refugees’ aspirations may vary with respect to which department to choose depending on host cities and available opportunities and how differently refugees experience obstacles against their participation in higher education in individual cities. This study also helps to confirm that local policies and conditions may have an effect on the centrally formulated policies’ outcomes.