Bridging Integration and Reintegration in Higher Education for Displaced Populations

This study examines the dual challenges of integration and reintegration faced by forcibly displaced populations, with a particular emphasis on their access to and inclusion in higher education. Türkiye emerges as a distinctive and exemplary case in facilitating refugees' access to higher education, ensuring continuity in learning, and fostering skill acquisition even amidst displacement. Over the past decade, higher education system in Türkiye has created a relatively supportive environment, particularly for Syrian students, equipping them with linguistic proficiency in Turkish and competencies aligned with Türkiye’s higher education curriculum. However, as discussions on Syria’s reconstruction intensify, a critical question arises: How can these youth, whose identities and professional skills have been shaped by Türkiye, be reintegrated into their homeland to contribute effectively to its post-conflict rebuilding? This research introduces a novel conceptual framework to examine the challenges experienced by this population, situated between semi-integration in Türkiye and aspirations for a new life in Syria. The paradox of "double integration" underscores the duality that while these youth represent a success story of uninterrupted education during displacement, their reintegration into a fractured homeland poses profound socio-political and economic challenges. By exploring the intersections of migration, education, and post-conflict reconstruction, this study seeks to advance scholarly understanding of the long-term implications of higher education policies for refugees. It underscores the transformative potential of higher education, not only as a mechanism for local integration but also as a catalyst for transnational reconstruction, thereby reframing the discourse on forced migration, development, and the role of higher education in building resilient societies.