Maissam Nimer

Maissam Nimer is a sociologist working in the fields of sociology of migration, education, and gender with a regional focus on the Middle East and Turkey. She received her PhD in sociology from Paris Saclay University in July 2016. Her doctoral dissertation focused on mechanisms of social and cultural selection that explain the inequality of access to higher education in Lebanon. Her research has been supported by a number of institutions as she has received a Mercator-IPC Fellowship, a Koç University Seed Fund, a contribution allowance by the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie, and IMISCOE sponsorship. Her work has been published in international and regional academic journals including Gender and Education, Third World Quarterly, International Studies in Sociology of Education, as well as Idafat, Civil Society Review, and New Middle East Studies Journal. She obtained my MSc from the London School of Economics and BS from the American University of Beirut. She teaches sociology of education at Galatasaray University.

For more information: https://maissamnimer.wordpress.com/

Project: “Institutional Structures and Syrian Refugees’ Experiences with Turkish Language Education in Turkey”

Language is one of the most significant challenges for refugees in determining inequalities in terms of education, income, and social contact. However, access to language training in Turkey remains ad-hoc, restricted, and not formally institutionalized. While aiming to address the gap in academic research focusing on language instruction for refugees, this project aims to develop strategies for the policy-making community. As the Syrian crisis becomes increasingly protracted, Turkish state actors’ projects and plans progressively move toward permanence, and language integration plays a key role in finding durable solutions.

While the settlement of Syrian refugees in Turkey becomes a longer-term reality, and while the Turkish government continues to receive international funding to set up an integration system, this project aims to make recommendations about how the delivery, availability, and accessibility of language instruction can be improved. By examining the diverse experiences of refugee adults, structural/institutional variations in language training, and the ways in which refugees interact with these systems, this project seeks to develop strategies to facilitate integration and settlement in their host country.