Exclusion and Resilience in Urban Education
Migrant and Refugee Students’ Struggles for Inclusion in an Urban District
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21313541 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Orhun Kaptan (0000-0002-1700-9365, Yıldız Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey, corresponding author), Miṫhat Korumaz (0000-0003-1800-7633, Yıldız Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey), Sui Lin Goei (0000-0003-4676-4447, Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, Zwolle, Netherlands) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-30 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Education and Urban Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0013-1245 • E-ISSN: 1552-3535 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00131245261450102 |
| OpenAlex | W7166717832 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 40 |
This study critically explores how urban inequalities shape the educational experiences of migrant and refugee students in Zeytinburnu, an ethnically diverse and economically marginalized district of Istanbul. Informed by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, a multi-stakeholder ethnographic design was employed to capture perspectives from administrators, teachers, municipal officers, experts, and students. Through content analysis, six interrelated themes emerged—cultural integration, discrimination and prejudice, economic hardship, educational disruption, language barriers, and social exclusion—highlighting how structural and contextual dynamics such as child labour and limited language support deepen school-based marginalization. The findings demonstrate that inequality is reproduced not only through institutional mechanisms but also through neighbourhood-level deprivation and weak social integration networks. The study argues that equitable educational reform requires interventions that extend beyond schools, addressing the socio-urban conditions that shape students’ opportunities for inclusion and learning
Ethnography · Inclusion (mineral) · Inequality · Poverty · Psychological resilience · Qualitative research · Refugee · Social exclusion · Structural violence · Education and experiences of immigrants and refugees · Peace and Human Rights Education · Turkey's Politics and Society
Ecological systems theory.
‘I'm Telling You … The Language Barrier is the Most, the Biggest Challenge’
The Bioecological Model of Human Development
An ecological model of adaptation to displacement
Australian school practices and the education experiences of students with a refugee background
Iraqi Refugee High School Students’ Academic Adjustment
Supporting refugee students in schools
Refugee-Integration-Opportunity Structures
Barriers to accessibility of learning among minority refugee children
School choice, social class and distinction
Refugees in higher education
Families and Neighbors as Sources of Disadvantage in the Schooling Decisions of White and Black Adolescents
Psychological and socio-cultural adaptation of Syrian refugees in Turkey
Sociology of education and the wasteland of refugee education research
Neighborhood distress and school dropout
Ethnic Sorting in The Netherlands
Examining Neighbourhood and School Effects Simultaneously
Problem or Opportunity? Asylum Seekers, Refugees, Employment and Social Exclusion in Deprived Urban Areas
Using Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory to Understand Community Partnerships
Tales From the Front Line
Politics of refugee education
Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Theory
School Selection as a Process
Why Does It Take a Village? The Mediation of Neighborhood Effects on Educational Achievement
Working with Immigrant Children and Their Families
Syrian Refugees in Turkey and Integration Problem Ahead
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |