Abstract
Expanding the scope of inclusion beyond specific groups such as individuals with disabilities has led to the investigation of school systems’ inclusiveness from the perspective of all students. With this in mind, this research investigated the experiences of students and parents belonging to the ancient Syriac community in Turkey, who inhabited Mesopotamia since the inception of Christianity. Obtaining the views of 43 parents and their 46 children through semi-structured interviews, the school system was investigated at a political, cultural, and practical level in terms of the educational inclusion of Syriac individuals. Overall, student and parent views indicated that: (a) policy-making lacked an approach to reach all students and organize support for diversity; (b) school cultures needed to build a community whereby inclusive values were established; and (c) school practices lacked the organization to target and ensure the learning of all and mobilize resources to achieve this aim. Details of findings are included and discussed. Implications address the importance of building schools that consider the increasingly diverse school populations around the world, with a particular focus on cultural and religious diversity.
Highlights
Education is a fundamental human right (United Nations General Assembly, 1949, Article 26)
On the majority of occasions, inadequate attention is given to the power of school cultures to support or undermine developments in teaching and learning
In the interviews conducted with students and parents, elements of school culture were analyzed in terms of inclusion
Summary
Education is a fundamental human right (United Nations General Assembly, 1949, Article 26). Article 27 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities (United Nations General Assembly, 1949) declares that: Social Inclusion, 2020, Volume 8, Issue 3, Pages 296–306. In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, or to use their own language. The question of what mechanisms should be possessed by school systems for the inclusion of individuals of minority groups needs to be solved
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