{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,16]],"date-time":"2026-10-16T17:55:29Z","timestamp":1792173329443,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,16]],"date-time":"2026-10-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1792108800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>While extensive research has examined refugee students\u2019 educational adaptation in host countries, the educational reintegration phase following voluntary return remains underexplored. This qualitative study investigates the linguistic and academic adaptation experiences of Syrian students transitioning from Turkish-medium education in T\u00fcrkiye to Arabic-medium schooling in Syria after voluntary return. The study addresses an overarching question: how do returnee students experience the linguistic, academic, social, and psychosocial dimensions of this reverse educational transition? Using an exploratory qualitative design, data were collected through a seven-item open-ended written questionnaire from 15 middle-school students who had received several years of formal schooling in T\u00fcrkiye. Qualitative content analysis revealed that return does not constitute a simple linguistic recovery, but rather a reverse academic transition characterized by profound difficulties with academic Arabic, conceptual transfer, written production, and in-class assessment practices. The findings indicate that students\u2019 challenges were shaped not only by uneven Arabic literacy development but also by curriculum misalignment, pedagogical practices that participants perceived as more teacher-directed, limited peer interaction, and assessment practices that they perceived as unclear. Furthermore, psychosocial pressures, including re-migration-related distress, concentration difficulties, and increased family responsibilities, complicated their academic adaptation. Ultimately, these struggles reflect systemic institutional and contextual mismatches rather than individual deficits. By conceptualizing return as a distinct educational phase, this study contributes to the broader discourses on refugee education and bilingualism. The implications underscore the critical need for academic Arabic bridging programs, background-sensitive assessment frameworks, psychosocially responsive pedagogies, and school-based psychosocial support to ensure equitable reintegration into Arabic-medium schooling.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0361042","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,16]],"date-time":"2026-10-16T17:38:25Z","timestamp":1792172305000},"page":"e0361042","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The hidden challenges of return migration: Linguistic and academic re-adaptation of Syrian students to the Arabic Education System"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2707-1744","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Sevda","family":"Dolapcioglu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Hatay Mustafa Kemal University","place":["Hatay, T\u00fcrkiye"],"department":["Department of Education Science"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5707-3564","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Yunus Emre","family":"Akbana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Kahramanmara\u015f S\u00fct\u00e7\u00fc \u0130mam University","place":["Kahramanmara\u015f, T\u00fcrkiye"],"department":["Department of English Language Teaching"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"\u0130layda","family":"Uzun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Republic of T\u00fcrkiye, Ministry of National Education","place":["Hatay, T\u00fcrkiye"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"G\u00fclten","family":"Ko\u015far","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hatay Mustafa Kemal University","place":["Hatay, T\u00fcrkiye"],"department":["Department of English Language Teaching"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,16]]},"reference":[{"issue":"9","key":"pone.0361042.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1874","DOI":"10.1080\/00220388.2022.2075734","article-title":"Education interrupted: Enrollment, attainment, and dropout of Syrian refugees in Jordan","volume":"58","author":"C Krafft","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Dev Stud"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0361042.ref002","first-page":"3","article-title":"The education issues of Syrian students under temporary protection status","volume":"109","author":"S Dolapcioglu","year":"2021","journal-title":"Res Educ"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0361042.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"317","DOI":"10.1080\/13629395.2016.1189479","article-title":"Syrian refugees in Turkey: Multifaceted challenges, diverse players and ambiguous policies","volume":"22","author":"F Memisoglu","year":"2016","journal-title":"Mediterr Polit"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0361042.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1111\/imig.13379","article-title":"Refugee return, reintegration, and citizenship practices in post-conflict Syria","volume":"63","author":"O Dincer","year":"2025","journal-title":"Int Migr"},{"key":"pone.0361042.ref005","volume-title":"Bilingual education in the 21st century: A global perspective","author":"O Garcia","year":"2009"},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0361042.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1255","DOI":"10.1017\/S014271642000017X","article-title":"How language environment, age, and cognitive capacity support the bilingual development of Syrian refugee children recently arrived in Canada","volume":"41","author":"J Paradis","year":"2020","journal-title":"Appl Psycholinguist"},{"key":"pone.0361042.ref007","first-page":"1","article-title":"The role of age of arrival and language environment factors in Arabic heritage language development: A longitudinal study","author":"J Paradis","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Child Lang"},{"key":"pone.0361042.ref008","first-page":"49","article-title":"How long? 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