Duygu Özge’s research while affiliated with Middle East Technical University and other places

The present study introduces systematic data on the cognitive and linguistic abilities of refugee children. We tested 9–10 year-old Syrian refugee children (N = 25) on their cognitive abilities (i.e., working memory, shifting, inhibitory control, and fluid intelligence) and vocabulary knowledge in Arabic and Turkish. We compared their performance to two non-refugee control groups with low socioeconomic status, matched on age and mother’s education: Arabic-Turkish bilinguals (N = 29) and Turkish monolinguals (N = 19). Refugee children lagged behind both non-refugee groups in the fluid intelligence task. Compared to their bilingual peers, they showed poorer performance in working memory and shifting tasks. On the other hand, these scores matched their monolingual peers, with only slower performance in the shifting task. Greater exposure to trauma and poverty were predictors for lower scores in refugee children’s cognitive tasks. On the language tests, refugee children exhibited a smaller Turkish vocabulary size compared to both non-refugee controls. Trauma exposure, poverty and kindergarten attendance factors were significant predictors for this difference. As for the Arabic language skills, Syrian children outperformed their bilingual peers in Arabic. Although Syrian children displayed a more balanced bilingual profile, their performance in their dominant language (Arabic) was poorer than the bilingual control group’s performance in their dominant language (Turkish). Overall, the results suggest that refugee children’s working memory, shifting and fluid intelligence abilities, as well as mother tongue development, were negatively affected by forced displacement, but they were able to develop Turkish vocabulary skills and match Turkish monolinguals on both working memory and shifting abilities. This is the first piece of evidence suggesting that while being a refugee has adverse effects on children’s cognitive and linguistic development, holding bilingual status may actually create a protective shield in some cognitive abilities for disadvantaged refugee children.

War trauma is often accompanied by poor living conditions in the new environment in a manner preserving or even deteriorating the negative influences of war. Several researchers have investigated the refugee experiences of displaced children. Often they have focused on the detrimental effects of war on psychological well-being, mental health, educational settings, social adaptation, quality of nutrition, financial difficulties, safety and language learning experiences. Each of these effects has been proven to negatively affect cognitive abilities; however, the current study reviews the key studies to reveal the cognitive and linguistic outcomes of holding refugee status in the early childhood period. Doing this, we aim to reveal the adverse conditions that affect refugee children’s three core abilities of executive functions, namely working memory, inhibitory control and shifting. In addition to cognitive outcomes, we present the factors that may affect these children’s mother tongue development and their experiences with the language spoken in the host country in the context of schooling. This study suggests that refugee children should be assessed for their cognitive and language abilities after arriving in the country of resettlement so that their needs can be identified and addressed effectively. Caretakers should also be given both psychological and financial support to enrich their children’s language and cognitive input. Also, the outcomes of the research in this field should be effectively shared with different stakeholders from the caregivers and teachers of the refugee children to the NGOs and policymakers responsible to take solid actions to counter the adverse effects of displacement.

The Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, and caused has more than five million people to seek refuge outside the country. In the more than eight years since the war started, a large population of children have thus grown up as refugees, particularly in Turkey, which has absorbed the large majority of displaced Syrian families. However, very little is known about the cognitive and language development of these children. For instance, it is unclear how their traumatic displacement experiences might impact their development and how their language abilities would develop. Our focus group consists of individuals who were forced to leave their countries because of the life-threatening events they experienced. Nevertheless, they must learn to make their way in Turkish society, learning a new language, a new culture, and developing mature cognitive and social skills. For many displaced children, it is imperative to acquire a new community language – i.e., Turkish – but it is unclear what environment is optimal to encourage this. For instance, does immersive education in a Turkish language school promote strong Turkish language development or does it hinder children’s cognitive and social development, since they may fail to engage in class or interact with their peers, leading to worse outcomes?