Germany
Community building and integration through education
This chapter looks at different forms of integration in Germany and the ability of informal, less-traditional settings to facilitate individual connections and interpersonal exchange on an equal footing. The author draws on fieldwork involving speaking to newcomers, observing them in various settings, and conducting both formal and informal interviews. A language class, a community learning circle, and a walking tour…
2024
Experiences of language in migration: Communicating well-being in Finland and Germany
This study investigated adult learners’ experiences with the language of their new living environment. Migrants and refugees’ personal goals for language learning in their specific life situations were captured in in-depth interviews conducted as part of ethnographically oriented field studies in Finland and Germany. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was chosen as a structured approach to scrutinizing complex lived experiences. The…
2024
Immigrants and refugees at German universities: Diversity, internationalization and anticolonial considerations
This book takes a critical and historical perspective in parsing the current state of play for refugee and immigrant students in Germany, addressing federal, state, and institutional innovations as well as gaps in service. Drawing from de/post/anticolonial theory, it considers the levels of support for diverse groups including migrants, refugees, and racialized Germans, investigating why a comparatively well-resourced higher education…
2024
Educational and social integration challenges of Ukrainian refugee students in Würzburg, Germany
Refugees face considerable challenges when leaving their homes, friends, and family members. They have to fight with uncertainty, instability, and adaptation to new ways of life, new communities, rules, and traditions. Successful integration of refugee schoolchildren is a holistic process that involves actions from the government, school authorities, teachers and classmates, as well as refugee families. Despite numerous measures that…
2024
Importance of personality traits for destination-language acquisition: Evidence for refugees in Germany
We analyze the role of personality traits in destination-language proficiency among recent refugees in Germany. While personality traits have been shown to predict educational outcomes, they have been largely overlooked for immigrants’ language acquisition. We extend a well-established model of destination-language proficiency and assume that personality traits’ effects manifest through the channels of exposure, efficiency, and incentives. Using longitudinal data…
2024
Educational leadership and integration support for refugee children from Ukraine in German Schools in 2022–2024
In times of wars, the role of educational leadership in ensuring progressive development of education is accompanied by the task of supporting students in crises. This chapter outlines the measures to support refugee students from Ukraine, provided by German schools in 2022–2024. Decentralised education management and mandatory school attendance are emphasised. Various models of school integration and measures implemented by…
2024
Inclusive education for refugee students from Ukraine—An exploration of differentiated instruction in German schools
Currently, refugee Ukrainian learners are attending German mainstream schools, leading to an even more diverse student population. Given that the German school system is committed to provide inclusive education for all, this study aims to examine how teachers address Ukrainian students learning needs by means of differentiated instruction. To this end, a qualitative study was conducted in which eight elementary…
2024
Resilience in multicultural classrooms: School relationships can protect the school adjustment of immigrant, refugee and non-immigrant children
Background: According to the risk and resilience perspective, protective factors can attenuate the effect of risks and challenges on children's adjustment. For immigrant and refugee children, supportive relationships in the new context can be particularly beneficial. We expected that supportive school relationships play a protective role for the school adjustment of first-generation immigrant and refugee and non-immigrant children, by moderating…
2024
Teachers with a refugee background work as educators in Germany
This study's focus is to determine refugee teachers' views regarding their ability to work as teachers in Germany, their initiatives, and the challenges they face. In this context, the study was conducted based on qualitative research methodology. In order to collect data a total of 265 teachers residing in the 16 states of Germany were reached. Upon examining the results,…
2024
The right to higher education for refugees and forcibly displaced people: Briefing note compendium
The following briefing note compendium reflects wide-ranging analysis and insights of the various barriers that refugees and forcibly displaced people experience in accessing, progressing, and completing higher education. At the same time, the briefing notes present considerations that States and other higher education stakeholders should take into account to defend and promote the right to higher education for this equity…
2023
Education on hold: Addressing barriers to learning among refugee children and youth from Ukraine—Challenges and recommendations
The education of children both within and outside Ukraine has been disrupted for several years. Hundreds of thousands had already been internally displaced since 2014 as a result of the conflict in the eastern regions and Crimea, while the COVID-19 pandemic brought periods of extended school closures, a pivot to online learning and other major disruptions. Since the start of…
2023
Refugees’ gendered experiences of education in Europe since 2015: A scoping review
This scoping review aims to explore the role of gender in refugees' educational access, experiences, and outcomes in Europe since 2015. Gender can act as a significant barrier to education, and gender stereotypes and bias can affect learning opportunities and outcomes. As a response, a scoping review was conducted to explore the role of gender in refugees' educational access, experiences,…
2023
Dynamic multilingualism of refugee families meets monolingual language policy in German ECE institutions
Studies on Family Language Policy state that the shape of family multilingualism is embedded in diverse conditions within and outside the family, like historical, social and political factors, which influence family language practices. In this regard, the monolingual orientation of early childhood education (ECE) institutions in many European nation states is in tension with dynamic family multilingualism, thereby constituting a…
2023
Higher education for refugees: Policies and practices in the UK, Germany, and France
This chapter examines how different countries allow refugees to pursue higher education. Policy and practice comparisons will be made between the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. In many industrialized countries, refugees are able to pursue higher education. This is an important part of integrating these individuals into the societies in which they reside. However, depending on the country, there may…
2023
Education policy and refugees in England and Germany: Racist nativism and the reproduction of white supremacy
This paper argues that education policy in England and Germany racialises young refugees and asylum seekers and contributes to upholding white supremacy in the education system. Previous research in both countries has shown that education policy reproduces race inequality, and in England, it has been argued that education policy itself is an act of white supremacy. However, to date there…
2023
How much do “local policies” matter for refugee integration? An analytical model and evidence from a highly decentralized country
A growing number of studies have recently postulated a so-called local turn in the study of immigrant and refugee integration policy. A fundamental, yet untested, assumption of this body of research is that local (sub-national) policies and administrations shape how migrants and refugees integrate into society. We develop and apply an analytical model using multilevel modeling techniques based on large-N,…
2023
Navigating constraints, finding freedom: Exploring asylum seekers’ access to urban arrival infrastructures
This paper explores asylum seekers’ experiences of urban arrival infrastructures, illustrating how these provide asylum seekers with opportunities for familiarization with the reception location and its inhabitants. Drawing on two qualitative case studies in Augsburg, Germany, three different subsets of arrival infrastructures emerged as relevant to familiarization; infrastructures for information, for language learning and for social connection. The analysis shows…
2023
Educational inclusion or inequality? Opportunities and barriers for refugees with a temporary suspension of deportation for the purpose of training in the German vocational education and training system
This article examines the legal novelty of the so-called ‘Ausbildungsduldung’ (temporary suspension of deportation for the purpose of training) in Germany. Since research on this topic is still sparse, the current article analyses the impact of toleration status on training trajectories of young refugees. These trajectories are strongly linked to the completion of vocational training and thus successful integration achievements.…
2023
Building responsive education systems toward multiple disruptions in refugee education: Turkey and Germany as cases
Refugee students’1 education is disrupted by multiple spatial and temporal transitions – no matter where they come from, where they go, and what cause their forced migration. The first major disruption occurs with their flight from origin countries due to security or other reasons. The COVID-19 pandemic led to another dramatic disruption with a heightened risk of weakening hard-earned progress.…
2023
The organization of school integration for refugee children and youth in Germany: Identifying gaps in the current state of knowledge
According to international and European law, such as the Declaration of Human Rights (Article 26), the International Convention for the Rights of Children, and the European Reception Directive, Germany is obliged to grant refugee children similar access to education as to its nationals. While some German states incorporate refugee children in regular classes, other states set up so-called ‘welcome classes’…
2023
Challenges and coping: Perspectives of Syrian and Iraqi refugee youth in Germany
Refugee youth constitute around a third of the refugee population in Germany. We studied the experiences of newly arrived Syrian and Iraqi refugee youth, aged 14 to 18 years (N = 20), in Germany. We utilized semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis to investigate (a) the main challenges faced by youth and (b) their main coping resources to deal with these…
2023
School transition expectations of newcomer pupils in Germany: A pilot evaluation of a summer programme
Since 2015, over two million people have sought refuge and asylum in Germany.¹ Between January and August of 2022, the total number of first-time asylum-seeker applicants included close to 50,000 children under 18 years of age, which constitutes 42.9% of the total number of applications submitted to the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees [Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge].²…
2023
Inclusive education for refugee students from Ukraine — An exploration of differentiated instruction in German schools
Currently, refugee Ukrainian learners are attending German mainstream schools, leading to an even more diverse student population. Given that the German school system is committed to provide inclusive education for all, this study aims to examine how teachers address Ukrainian students learning needs by means of differentiated instruction. To this end, a qualitative study was conducted in which eight elementary…
2024
The use of gamification in the system of social and psychological adaptation of forcibly displaced teenagers from Ukraine: Reflections of the German experience
The article presents its own view on a partial solution to the problem of social and psychological adaptation of teenagers who, as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, have become forced migrants. Based on the conducted social-pedagogical experiment, it was found that social and psychological deafness is typical for forcibly displaced teenagers from Ukraine…
2024
Adult refugees and asylum seekers in university preparation programs: Competing identities and multiple transitions manifested in stigma consciousness and student self-identification
Preparation for university studies is key to enabling adult refugees and asylum seekers to reestablish their educational and professional careers in the host country. While refugees’ transition to higher education (HE) is embedded in multiple transitions regarding social position, educational career, and migration, related identities may compete. We investigate how this is manifested in stigma consciousness and precarious student self-identification…
2024
Psychological and pedagogical aspects of adaptation of displaced Ukrainian children to the educational environment of another country
The sudden and unexpected war in Ukraine led to a large flow of citizens displaced abroad. Almost half of them are preschool-and school-age children. The peculiarities of their adaptation to the educational environment of another country necessitates the study of the main aspects of adaptation in these conditions. The aim is to identify the psychological and pedagogical aspects of adaptation…
2024
Participation through qualification? De-, dis-, and special qualification of refugee women in the German vocational training system
Vocational qualification is generally regarded as a guarantee for sustainable gainful employment of refugees. Since the increased refugee migration in the year 2015, the field of vocational education and training in Germany has diversified considerably. However, despite high employment ambitions and existing qualification needs, refugee women have, so far, hardly ended up in qualified gainful employment or regular vocational training. This…
2024
The social cohesion dilemma: Theoretical reflections on critical music pedagogy
Critical pedagogy has become a crucial element in managing post-migration societies, especially concerning the social cohesion dilemma that diversity creates. Through an ethnography of critical music pedagogy with refugee youth that emerged from an activist context in the city of Dresden, Germany, this article demonstrates what is at stake for empowerment. Music pedagogy that aspires to be critical remains a…
2024
Adult refugees and asylum seekers’ basic need satisfaction and educational success in pre-study programmes in Germany
Host country education can be crucial for the social integration as well as labour market outcomes of refugees and asylum seekers. To meet the same admission criteria for studying at German higher education institutions (HEI) as other international student applicants, refugees and asylum seekers can attend pre-study programmes at preparatory colleges or language centres of HEI. According to the self-determination…
2024
Researching educational barriers in participatory real-world labs: Vocational training of refugees in rural counties in Germany
Introduction: As a result of the large-scale arrivals of refugees and migrants, Germany is facing the challenge of providing inclusive education pathways not at least for a successful integration into the labor market. In our research project laeneAs (Ländliche Bildugnsumwelten junger Geflüchteter in der beruflichen Ausbildung/The Rural Educational Environments of Young Refugees in Vocational Training), we focus on educational barriers…
2024
Welcome culture in German schools: Teachers’ perspectives
The secondary analysis focuses on teachers’ perspectives on welcome culture (Willkommenskultur) in German schools for pupils who have fled from Ukraine. The following research question was pursued: What aspects of the welcome culture become apparent in statements of teachers? Data from five group discussions with individuals from primary and secondary schools and an educational institution in Rhineland-Palatinate were analyzed. Participants…
2024
Online schooling and the digital divide: Challenges and opportunities for migrant students’ educational inclusion
This research note presents the key findings of a small-scale, mixed-methods international study which explored the challenges and opportunities of online schooling for the educational inclusion of Newly Arrived Migrant and Refugee Students (NAMRS). The study was conducted in 2022 in England, Germany and the Netherlands and the findings are based on the analysis of the experiences of NAMRS, their…
2024
Supporting the educational integration of young people seeking asylum and refuge: Examining good practices from Germany, Sweden and England
The educational integration of Newly Arrived Migrant and Refugee (NAMR) children and youth in a host country is complex. It requires educational systems responding to their diverse needs. Some of these needs are exacerbated by NAMR young people and their families’ limited understanding of the host country’s policies, structures, and procedures. Amidst these complexities, policy makers, practitioners, and other stakeholders…
2024
Psychological and pedagogical aspects of adaptation of students who received temporary shelter to the educational environment of another country
The study focuses on determining the features of social and psychological adaptation of students who have experienced changes in the ethno-cultural and ethno-political environment because of forced migration because of the hostilities in Ukraine. The research involved questionnaire method, method of monitoring student satisfaction and indexing the level of adaptation to learning. The results were processed using Pearson correlation coefficient,…
2024
Ukrainian refugee adolescents in Germany – A qualitative study on schooling experiences and the fulfillment of basic psychological needs
This study delves into the psychological well-being and basic psychological need fulfillment of Ukrainian refugee adolescents in the German schooling system during the 2022/2023 school year, following their displacement due to Russia's aggression against Ukraine in February 2022. Empirical studies indicate that forced migration disrupts children's lives, making them more vulnerable to mental distress. Unlike previous refugee groups, these Ukrainian…
2024
Ideologies on learner subjectivity in the German integration course
[...]scholars like Kien Nghi Ha and Markus Schmitz raised objections about the very establishment of the German integration program and argued that it extended the colonial legacy of seeking to control immigrants arriving in Germany.7 This was not an objection to or condemnation of genuine efforts to resettle refugees through language and culture classes, but rather a recognition that the…
2023
Assessing the criteria for equality of the right: Refugees’ higher education from the perspective of human rights [Hak Eşitliğine İlişkin Kriterlerin Değerlendirilmesi: İnsan Hakları Perspektifinden Mültecilerin Yükseköğrenimi]
With the Syrian refugee crisis, the subject of refugees’ access to HE, which was only partially funded owing to donor reluctance, was prominently covered in the news, with concepts such as preventing the lost generation, resilience, reconstructing countries, and education as a human right. With the Ukraine crisis, the issue of supporting the higher education of refugees came to the…
2023
Ethnic diversity fosters the social integration of refugee students
Forced migration has become a global megatrend, and many refugees are school aged. As social integration is key to their wellbeing and success, it is pivotal to determine factors that promote the social integration of refugee youth within schools. Here, using a large, nationally representative social network dataset from Germany, we examine the relationships of refugee adolescents with their peers…
2023
Prevalences of mental distress and its associated factors in unaccompanied refugee minors in Germany
Prevalences for mental disorders within minor refugees are comparatively high and heterogeneous. To reduce heterogeneity and identify high-risk subgroups, we compared unaccompanied refugee minors (URM) to accompanied refugee minors (ARM) regarding depressive symptoms and mental distress. Furthermore, we examined associative factors of mental distress in URM on a broad scale. We conducted a survey with a cross-sectional design in four…
2023
Integration & assimilation
Adult education & training
Caregivers
Gender
English
Resilience & adaptation
Unaccompanied & separated children
Mental health & psychosocial well-being
Formal education
Tertiary education
Detention & deportation
Language education
Germany
Surveys & questionnaire
Cross-sectional study
Regression analysis
Vocational & technical education
Pre-schoolers’ images, intergroup attitudes, and liking of refugee peers in Germany
There is extensive research on children's intergroup attitudes, but their perceptions of refugee children have rarely been studied. We conducted a study with 5- and 6-year-old children (N = 60) in Germany following the arrival of unprecedented large numbers of refugees in 2015 and 2016. Children completed a set of three tasks that measured their perceptions of refugee children (minority…
2023
With a little help from my friends? Acculturation and mental health in Arabic-speaking refugee youth living with their families
Introduction: Refugee youth are often faced with the compounding challenges of heightened exposure to traumatic events and acculturating to a new country during a developmental period when their sense of self is still forming. This study investigated whether refugee youth's acculturation orientation (separation, integration, marginalization, and assimilation) is associated with depressive and posttraumatic stress symptoms and aimed to identify additional…
2023
Teaching refugee students: the role of teachers’ attitudes towards cultural diversity
This article focuses on the role of teachers' attitudes towards cultural diversity in teaching refugee students in Germany. We examine which patterns of attitudes towards cultural diversity are common among teachers, how these depend on their professional experience and how they correlate with the perceptions of problems in teaching refugee students. Using data from the project 'Changing schools in a…
2023
Place of Residence Does Matter for Educational Integration: The Relevance of Spatial Contexts for Refugees’ Transition to VET in Germany
For the mostly young refugees who arrived in Germany around 2015/2016, completing vocational education and training (VET) represents the most promising opportunity for professional and social integration. However, access opportunities to VET are characterized by spatial inequalities: German districts vary considerably according to labour market structure, economic productivity and demographic development, which constitute the supply and demand for training places…
2023
Implementation and quality of an early childhood education program for newly arrived refugee children in Germany: an observational study
Early childhood education [ECE] can foster the social-emotional adjustment and development of young refugee children. Still, the large numbers of newly arriving refugee families challenge the ECE capacities of host countries. In Germany, state authorities have subsidized flexible ECE programs for refugee children in response to this situation. The goal of this study was to examine the implementation and quality…
2023
The role of recent refugees’ educational selectivity in their children’s educational decisions in Germany
This paper uses the example of newly arrived refugees to examine the role of recent migrants' educational selectivity in their children's educational decisions in Germany. Building on a theoretical model that understands participation in the educational system as the sum of investment decisions of rational individuals, we assume that positively selected parents are more ambitious about having their children admitted…
2023
School-based mental health screenings with Ukrainian adolescent refugees in Germany: Results from a pilot study
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, high numbers of Ukrainians, mostly women and children, have left the country. As of today, Germany has accepted more than one million refugees fleeing from Ukraine including similar to 200,000 children and adolescents registered in German schools. Since refugee minors are typically affected by high rates of mental health issues, the…
2023
The Requirement of a Situated Approach in the Treatment of Preschool Children with a Refugee Background: Discussion of a Case Study [Die Notwendigkeit eines situierten Ansatzes bei der Behandlung von Vorschulkindern mit Fluchthintergrund: Diskussion eines Fallbeispiels]
In recent years, increasingly more German-born preschool children of refugee parents have been referred to the 'specialized consultation service for refugee minors' of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University Hospital Munster. This 'change' in the use of the above-mentioned consultation service could be understood as a 'natural' consequence of the family life cycle of forced migrants…
2023
Vocabulary recommendation approach for forced migrants using informal language learning tools
Learning a new language is a major challenge faced by many forced migrants. Current vocabulary learning curricula are not adapted to the migrants’ needs, which makes the learning process even more challenging. Today, the widespread use of smartphones among forced migrants provides us with new opportunities to collect and recommend the vocabulary they need. In this work, we propose a…
2022