{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T06:05:30Z","timestamp":1790661930365,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790640000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Turkey hosts the world\u2019s largest refugee population, and extracurricular activities have increasingly been positioned as potential supports for refugee students\u2019 psycho-social adjustment, school belonging, and peer integration. However, a comprehensive synthesis of ECA-related outcomes for refugee students in Turkish educational settings remains absent from the literature. This systematic review examined the associations between extracurricular activity participation and refugee student outcomes across psychological, social, and educational settings-related domains. Following PRISMA guidelines, studies were evaluated using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT), and findings were integrated through the Systematic What Is Known (SWIM) framework. Findings suggest that ECAs are associated with potential improvements in school attachment, perceived social wellbeing, and aspects of psychological adjustment; however, outcomes varied substantially across studies and participant groups, and the overall certainty of evidence remained low to very low. The findings further suggest that many extracurricular activities operate primarily within an integration-oriented framework, producing individual-level benefits without consistently addressing relational and structural barriers to equitable participation. The review highlights the importance of culturally responsive facilitation, inclusion-oriented programme design, and greater attention to refugee students\u2019 own perspectives in future research and practice. Overall, extracurricular activities appear promising but insufficiently understood mechanisms for supporting refugee students\u2019 inclusion and psycho-social adjustment within educational settings.<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Systematic review registration<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Open Science Framework (OSF),\n                      <jats:ext-link>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.17605\/OSF.IO\/EG4X8<\/jats:ext-link>\n                      .\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1882378","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T05:50:20Z","timestamp":1790661020000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Extracurricular activities and refugee students in Turkish educational settings: a systematic review"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Esin","family":"Hazar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Education, Sivas Cumhuriyet University","place":["Sivas, T\u00fcrkiye"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"37","DOI":"10.3817\/muhakeme.734383","article-title":"Suriyeli \u00e7ocuklar\u0131n e\u011fitim ve uyum sorunlar\u0131n\u0131n de\u011ferlendirilmesi: K\u0131z\u0131ltepe \u00f6rne\u011fi [Evaluation of educational and adaptation problems of Syrian children: The case of K\u0131z\u0131ltepe]","volume":"3","author":"Abay","year":"2020","journal-title":"Muhakeme Dergisi"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1064","DOI":"10.1111\/jora.12890","article-title":"Promoting positive development among refugee adolescents","volume":"33","author":"Abdi","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. 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Educ."},{"key":"ref5","first-page":"99","article-title":"STEM etkinliklerinin yabanc\u0131 uyruklu s\u0131\u011f\u0131nmac\u0131 \u00f6\u011frencilerin s\u0131n\u0131ftaki sosyal uyumuna etkisinin ara\u015ft\u0131r\u0131lmas\u0131 [investigation of the effect of STEM activities on the social adaptation of foreign refugee students in the classroom]","volume":"3","author":"Ar\u0131soy","year":"2022","journal-title":"Uluslararas\u0131 Temel E\u011fitim \u00c7al\u0131\u015fmalar\u0131 Dergisi"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"180","DOI":"10.58667\/sedder.1667639","article-title":"Adaptation of Syrian refugee students to the educational process: student and teacher views","volume":"5","author":"Arslan","year":"2025","journal-title":"Siirt Journal of Education"},{"key":"ref9005","article-title":"Sosyal uyum \u00f6l\u00e7e\u011fi: \u00d6l\u00e7ek geli\u015ftirme \u00e7al\u0131\u015fmas\u0131","volume":"14","author":"Aydo\u011fdu","year":"2020","journal-title":"Akdeniz E\u011fitim Ara\u015ft\u0131rmalar\u0131 Dergisi"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"693","DOI":"10.19030\/ajbe.v5i6.7391","article-title":"Clarifying the meaning of extracurricular activity: a literature review of definitions","volume":"5","author":"Bartkus","year":"2012","journal-title":"Am. 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Youth Stud."},{"key":"ref22","volume-title":"A Study of Leisure Attitudes and Benefits for Senior High School Students at Ping Tung City and Country in Taiwan [Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation]","author":"Ho","year":"2008"},{"key":"ref9006","first-page":"285","article-title":"The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) version 2018 for information professionals and researchers","volume-title":"Education for information","author":"Hong","year":"2018"},{"key":"ref23","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref25","volume-title":"The Effect of Regular Recreational Activities on Refugee Secondary School Students Who Stay in the Accommodation center. 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[Unpublished doctoral dissertation]","author":"Sa\u011f\u0131n","year":"2022"},{"key":"ref9003","article-title":"School attachment scale for children and adolescents: The study of validity and reliability","volume-title":"Elementary Education Online","author":"Savi","year":"2011"},{"key":"ref38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1080\/02614367.2026.2652888","article-title":"Exploring refugee high school student involvement in leisure and active citizenship","volume":"45","author":"Serpil","year":"2026","journal-title":"Leis. Stud."},{"key":"ref39","first-page":"431","article-title":"M\u00fclteci \u00f6\u011frencilerin T\u00fcrk e\u011fitim sistemine entegrasyonunda ya\u015fad\u0131\u011f\u0131 problemler [Problems experienced by refugee students in integration into the Turkish education system]","volume":"2","author":"Sucu","year":"2024","journal-title":"Int. J. Orig. Educ. 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[Unpublished master\u2019s thesis]","author":"Y\u0131lmaz","year":"2023"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Psychology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1882378\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T05:50:26Z","timestamp":1790661026000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1882378\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]]},"references-count":51,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1882378"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1882378","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-1078"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-1078","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]]},"article-number":"1882378"}}