On Thursday 14th December 2023, the Hub for Education for Refugees in Europe (HERE) held our fifth webinar for members of the HERE Network and beyond to share information on a variety of refugee education projects from across Europe. The aim was to extend the critical conversations that were started at the Inaugural HERE Conference in 2022 and our previous networking sessions in March, May, June and October 2023, and to provide a space for teachers, practitioners, academics, researchers and other interested parties to come together to learn, discuss and make connections.

 

WATCH THE RECORDING

 

 

Presentations

The online event involved four lightning presentations:

Refugee identity construction in educational contexts

Mir Abdullah Miri (University of Bath)

This talk aims to present an integrated conceptual model that considers affective relations alongside core constructs to better understand refugee identity construction in educational contexts. It seeks to contribute to the field of refugee education by providing a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of refugee identity construction in learning environments.

HEART – Holistic Education for Asylum Seekers and Refugees Team

Jane Daffé and Beth Hilditch (HEART)

We are 3 ex-colleagues, experienced and current practitioners in the field of refugee education and mental health based in Nottingham, UK; our years of work with predominantly 15–19 year old unaccompanied asylum seekers and refugees have helped us to formulate a set of top tips/core principles for work in this sector that we seek to cascade to schools and other organisations via our HEART website and offer of training and advice.

The European Toolkit for Schools

Cosmin Nada (University of Porto; NESET)

The European Toolkit for Schools is a platform for sharing and disseminating promising practices to promote school success, inclusive education, and well-being at school. The European Toolkit for Schools is promoted by the European Commission and it is hosted on the European School Education Platform. School leaders, teachers, parents, and others involved in different aspects of school life can find helpful information, examples of measures taken, and resource materials to inspire their daily practices. The European Toolkit for Schools has many relevant resources connected to diversity in education and has been organising webinars focused on the inclusion of migrant and refugee children.

The Evaluation of the Stepping Stone Programme; A pilot 16+ ESOL programme in Northern Ireland

Declan Flanagan (NATECLA (Island of Ireland) Branch Chair)

This talk describes the evaluation of the first pilot ESOL 16+ course for newcomers in NI.ESOL provision has lacked professional and learner consultancy; it has been deemed racio-linguistic, reactionary and piecemeal, resulting in an educationally invisible or neglected cohort aged 16 to 19-year-olds from refugee/asylum seeker communities, including unaccompanied minors. These young people are in an indeterminate educational state due to their age, interrupted or little formal education, English language proficiency and not under the remit of the NI Education Authority. Therefore, they cannot access formal secondary, further or higher education. A pilot 16+ ESOL programme was developed, delivered, and evaluated within community education settings and provided 12 hours of structured education over 24 weeks for 12 young people. This evaluation measured the project’s impact on the participants’ development in English language ability and socio-emotional well-being skills.  The evaluation showed significant improvement in learners’ socio-emotional well-being, leading to subsequent improvement in English language development and greater motivation to continue engaging in education.

 

Links to resources shared during the meeting

 

We look forward to meeting together again early in 2024. All information on the next event will be shared via our Twitter (@hubHEREeurope) and newsletter (sign up here) – all are welcome!