German Teacher Candidates' Perceptions of Their Roles in the Lives of Syrian Refugee Students in Dresden
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GERMAN TEACHER CANDIDATES' PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR ROLES IN THE LIVES OF SYRIAN REFUGEE STUDENTS IN DRESDEN Sarah Elina Heineken A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS August 2019 Committee: Bruce Collet, Advisor Christy Galletta-Horner Christina Guenther © 2019 Sarah Heineken All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Bruce Collet, Advisor Beginning in 2011, the Syrian Conflict caused the widespread displacement of over five million people and caused a steep rise in the number of asylum seekers entering the European Union. Chancellor Angela Merkel adopted a controversial open-door policy in the summer 2015 that lifted previous quotas on the number of refugees that could enter Germany (Liebe, Meyerhoff, Kroesen, Chorus, and Glenk, 2018). This policy decision has led to an increase in the presence of Syrian refugee students in Germany public schools, particularly in regions that are less accepting of refugees and foreigners. This study examines the research question: how do German teacher candidates understand their role in the lives of the secondary school-aged Syrian refugees now present in German classrooms? Bourdieu’s (1973) social and cultural capital theory and Bronfenbrenner’s (1977) ecological systems theory provide a framework for my study and allow me to examine the ways in which German teacher candidates assess this phenomenon and identify critical forms of support that Syrian refugee students need. I collected data from eleven individual interviews with teacher candidates from a university in Dresden and coded the data to assess overarching themes that helped to answer the research question. The data suggest that German teacher candidates see themselves primarily as language instructors and cultural guidance counselors for Syrian refugee students, regardless of their content area or educational background. Major impediments exist in fulfilling these roles, namely in the forms of wide-spread racism and anti-refugee sentiment throughout Germany, difficulty in identifying the specific needs of Syrian refugee students, and a lack of training targeting work with refugee students in general. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis could not have been possible without all the feedback and support given to me by my thesis committee. I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Collet for all of your guidance and faith in me, both as a researcher and a person. I would like to thank Dr. Galletta-Horner, my methodologist, for replacing fear with joy in conducting my own research. Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Guenther for joining this committee: even though I never had the privilege of taking one of your classes, you made me feel so welcome in German Club and departmental events. I would also like to acknowledge German Academic Exchange Service for funding this research, as well as thank the Fulbright Student Program. If I had never had the opportunity to live and teach in Dresden before embarking on my Master’s degree, this project would not have been possible. Fulbright not only further stoked my passion for international education and cross- cultural exchange, but also connected me to some of the most welcoming and kindest peers and colleagues I have ever known, particularly including those residents of the Semmelweisstrasse. To my MACIE peers—your intelligence, compassion, and friendship always encouraged me to keep going, even in moments of self-doubt. I would also like to thank my roommates Arwa and Eva, who helped with translations, shared wisdom, and made me some late-night cups of tea. Your insights and good humor always kept me on the right track. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, Rik and Jane, and my family, whose history always sat near to my heart throughout this process. From my maternal great-grandparents, who fled the shtetl because of antisemitic persecution in Eastern Europe, to my paternal grandparents, who faced the horrors of World War II and the turbulence of the 1970s, 1980s, and early 2000s in Lebanon, and to my father, who came to the US both to escape war and get an education: they survived so that I might live. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………… 1 Background of the Study ........................................................................................... 1 Justification of the Study ........................................................................................... 3 Organization of the Chapters ..................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW .........................................……………………… 7 Literature Review ........................................................................................................ 7 A Brief Overview of the Syrian Conflict and German Response .................. 7 Defining the Refugee and Coded Language of the German Bureaucracy ..... 12 National Polices of the Intake and Support of Refugees in Germany ........... 14 The German School System and Teacher Candidate Training in the State of Saxony .................................................................................... 15 Impact of Flight on Refugees’ Education ...................................................... 25 Teacher Candidates and Refugees ................................................................. 26 Secondary Trauma and the Effects of Working with Refugees ..................... 28 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................... 32 CHAPTER III: METHODS ……………………………………………………………….. 39 Main Research Question ...........................…………………………………………. 39 Design …………………………………………………………………………….... 39 Methodology .................................................................................................. 39 Instruments ..................................................................................................... 43 Preparation for Research in Germany and Financial Support for the Study.............. 44 vi Participants ............................................................................................................ 44 Procedures ............................................................................................................ 48 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................ 49 Validity ............................................................................................................ 49 Limitations of the Study................................................................................. 49 Statement of Researcher Perspective and Bias Potential ............................... 51 CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ...........................………………………. 54 Findings………………………………………………………………...................... 54 Theme One: German Language as First Priority for Refugees ...................... 54 Theme Two: GSL as the Primary Infrastructure for Refugees in German Schools ………………………………………………. 57 Theme Three: Ambiguity in the Language Discussing Diversity and Integration……………………………………………………. 59 Theme Four: Perceived Need for Additional Training for Work with Refugee Students………………………………………………….. 60 Theme Five: Anti-Refugee Sentiment and Racism Impacts the Teaching Experience and Refugee Students’ Wellbeing ............................... 63 Theme Six: Lack of Awareness of/Contact to Syrian Culture and/or the Syrian Refugee Experience ............................................................................ 66 Theme Seven: Concept of Integration as a Communal Undertaking ............ 68 Discussion ............................................................................................................ 70 Implications for Main Research Question (RQ) ............................................ 70 RQ Part 1-German Language as Social and Cultural Capital within vii Integration Models ......................................................................................... 72 RQ Part 2-Navigating Teacher Candidates’ and Refugee Students’ Ecological Circles .......................................................................................... 80 Bias and Anti-Refugee Sentiment Impact on the Teacher Candidate Experience .................................................................................... 86 Parsing Out the Needs of Syrian Refugees and the Language of Inclusion.................................................................................... 89 Implications for Teacher Candidates in Saxony and Across Germany ......... 96 Summary of the Findings and Discussion ................................................................. 99 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ................................................……………………………. 100 Re-Summarizing the Findings and Discussion………………………………………. 100 Implications of the Study……………………………………………………………. 103 Suggestions for Further Research……………………………………………………. 104 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………… 107 APPENDIX A. CODEBOOK ...…………………………………………………………… 116 APPENDIX B. RECRUITMENT SCRIPTS…………………………………………………119 APPENDIX C. INTERVIEW AND FOCUS GROUP PROTOCOL ................................... 121 APPENDIX D. CONSENT FORM FOR INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS ........................... 124 APPENDIX E. CONSENT FORM FOR FOCUS GROUPS ............................................... 128 APPENDIX F. IRB APPROVAL LETTER ........................................................................