King's College London

Dr Cevat Giray Aksoy has received a grant of about £90,000 to support research into how conflict in Syria affects the behaviour and integration of displaced Syrians abroad, focusing on the educational outcomes of Syrian refugee children in Turkey.

Dr Aksoy will also examine whether intensifying conflict in refugees’ hometowns continues to shape their investment in human capital even after they have reached safety.

The analysis will draw on data linking individual school records for more than 50,000 Syrian students in Turkey to georeferenced conflict data from their districts of birth in Syria. This approach will allow the research team to study refugee integration and education outcomes using precise, large-scale administrative records.

Funding for the project was awarded by Reducing Conflict and Improving Performance in the Economy, funded by the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.

Dr Aksoy, from the Department of Political Economy at King’s, said: “This research examines whether developments in refugees’ places of origin continue to affect educational investment after displacement. By linking administrative school records in Turkey to georeferenced conflict measures from Syrian districts of birth, we can provide evidence at a scale and level of precision that is rarely possible in refugee research.

“The findings will help inform host-country education policy today and contribute to thinking on Syria’s longer-term reconstruction, where the education and skills accumulated in exile will be central to rebuilding human capital.”