Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies
Volume 13, Issue 1, 2018, Pages 7-18

Digital game-based education for Syrian refugee children: Project Hope (Article)

Sirin S. , Plass J.L. , Homer B.D. , Vatanartiran S.* , Tsai T.
  • a Applied Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, United States
  • b CREATE, New York University, New York, NY, United States
  • c Educational Psychology, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, United States
  • d Educational Sciences, Bahcesehir University, Instanbul, Turkey
  • e CREATE, New York University, New York, NY, United States

Abstract

Turkey is the top refugee-hosting country in the world, with more than three million registered Syrian refugees. An international research team was the first to document the educational and mental health needs of Syrian refugee children, finding that an overwhelming majority are not enrolled in school in Turkey, partly as a result of language barriers, and that about half suffer from Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or depression. The present study was designed as an innovative intervention using an online, game-based learning intervention for refugee children, named Project Hope. Data gathered from a controlled field experiment show significant improvements in Turkish language acquisition, coding, executive functioning and overall sense of hopefulness. Implications for policy, practice and research are discussed. © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Author Keywords

Game-based curriculum Refugee children Mental health Digital games Executive functions Syrian refugees

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85040045684&doi=10.1080%2f17450128.2017.1412551&partnerID=40&md5=952bc04e1006151ee29465e9c11e7e00
DOI: 10.1080/17450128.2017.1412551
ISSN: 17450128
Cited by: 2
Original Language: English