Syrian Refugee Middle School Students’ Perceptions of the History Subjects Taught in Social Studies Lessons

The purpose of this research is to determine perceptions of refugee middle school students in Turkey about history subjects taught in social studies classes. Accordingly, the study was designed in the phenomenology model, a qualitative research method. The sample included 58 middle school 7th and 8th grade Syrian students (28 female, 30 male) legally registered in Gaziantep province of Turkey in 2019-2020. Convenience sampling method was used to select the schools, and criterion sampling, a purposive sampling method, was used to select the sample from students in these schools. Research data were collected with a questionnaire form containing open-ended questions created by the researcher, and subjected to descriptive analysis. Considering the results of the research, one can say that the students could remember the history subjects they learned, and found Ottoman history subjects more interesting. However, they found history lessons boring, and studying history subjects was not effective in creating patriotic perceptions.