ERIC Number: EJ1354281
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 27
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1040-9289
EISSN: EISSN-1556-6935
Summer Preschools for Syrian Refugee and Host Community Children in Turkey: A Model of Contextually Sensitive Early Intervention
Early Education and Development, v33 n5 p912-938 2022
Research Findings: This study evaluated the impacts of the Summer Preschools Program on 5-to-6-year-old Syrian refugee and local children from vulnerable communities of Turkey. Developed as a community-based contextually sensitive early intervention model, the program aimed to promote developmental well-being and school readiness of children from forced displacement and abject poverty backgrounds by supporting cognitive, language, and socioemotional development prior to primary school. A skill-based preschool education curriculum was implemented with 2620 children for 10 weeks at 140 classrooms in Southeastern Anatolia region across the war-torn border zone with Northern Syria. The study included 711 children in quasi-experimental design and pursued a multi-measure evaluation approach in seven early development domains. ANCOVA analyses revealed that after controlling for pretest scores, the intervention group scored significantly higher than the control group on posttest measures of preliteracy and prenumeracy, receptive and expressive language, and emotion-regulation skills. Additionally, there was a significant increase in social competence skills and decrease in internalizing/externalizing behavior problems. Intervention resulted in substantial improvements with mostly medium-to-large effect size. Overall, results suggest the effectiveness of the Summer Preschools as a compensation intervention strategy that can foster developmental well-being, school readiness, and resilience of children exposed to early life adversities. Practice or Policy: With its conceptual framework, intervention content, and implementation structure, the Summer Preschools model can inform support services and education policies of countries grappling with refugee influx.
Descriptors: Summer Programs, Preschool Education, Refugees, At Risk Students, Early Intervention, Child Development, School Readiness, Well Being, Poverty, Skill Development, Program Effectiveness, Interpersonal Competence, Behavior Change, Foreign Countries
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Turkey; Syria
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A