Netherlands
Combining Language Training and Work Experience for Refugees with Low-Literacy Levels: a Mixed-Methods Case Study
Learning the host society's language and finding a job are important steps for the societal integration of refugees. Especially language proficiency is a key barrier for the integration of low literates. Often language training and gaining work skills are separated during the integration procedure. We investigated a 1-year pilot program for refugees with low-literacy levels in the Netherlands, which combined…
2023
Supporting and measuring current and future educators’ preparedness to facilitate wellbeing of displaced children in schools
IntroductionImmigrant and refugee children face multiple challenges in accessing education. To help facilitate the educational success and wellbeing of these children, teachers need to have self-efficacy in creating a supportive learning environment for them. MethodsBased on a set of highly interconnected competences identified through a literature review and empirical research, the study developed a measurement instrument to assess teachers' generalized…
2023
Socio-cultural starting positions among recently arrived Syrian refugees in the Netherlands: A latent class analysis
Although changes in socio-cultural positions appear to take place shortly after arrival, there is a growing concern on socio-cultural differences in receiving societies and it is widely recognized that socio-cultural positions are important for further participation and well-being, few scholars examined socio-cultural positions among recently arrived refugees in Europe. At the same time, not much is known about how these…
2022
A Music Therapy Intervention for Refugee Children and Adolescents in Schools: A Process Evaluation Using a Mixed Method Design
Refugee children and adolescents have often experienced negative or traumatic events, which are associated with stress and mental health problems. A specific music therapy intervention is developed for this group in school settings. The aim of the present study was to set the first steps in the implementation of this intervention. A process evaluation was performed using a mixed method…
2022
The labour market position of refugees and the role of effective policies [Statushouders aan het werk: De moeizame positieverwerving op de arbeidsmarkt en de betekenis van beleidsfactoren]
This article addresses the problematic labour market position of refugees in the Netherlands on the basis of different relevant explaining factors. The overall picture is that benefciaries of international protection are facing a great number of difculties in their attempts to get access to the Dutch labour market. These are both related to individual background characteristics and the extent to…
2017
How liminality enhances conviviality through multilingual co-creations: Young refugees in the Netherlands
This article explores the multilingual creativity of young refugees in the Netherlands and the social contexts and situations in which it develops. Because these young refugees form an under-researched group, the authors build on different discipline-based studies on (young migrants’) multilingualism, super-diversity, conviviality, liminality and networks. The authors start with the collection of personal network data including languages used with…
2022
World-mindedness of young people during the rise in migration in Europe: a case study of Czechia, Finland, Germany and The Netherlands.
During the 2015 sudden rise in migration movements in Europe, approximately 2.4 million refugees arrived in Europe and 1.2 million asylum applications were received in the European Union countries. We were interested in finding out whether these rapid changes and the polarised attitudes represented in the media affected young people's attitudes towards people with different cultural backgrounds. This study, therefore,…
2022
Refugee Reception Re-examined: a Quantitative Study on the Impact of the Reception Period for Mental Health and Host Country Language Proficiency Among Syrian Refugees in the Netherlands
In many European countries, refugees spend their first period after arrival in the receiving country in reception centers. Though this reception period has been heavily criticized, especially in relation to mental health, few scholars examined its impact on refugee integration. Since host country language learning is the main focus for most recent arrivals, this study re-examines the impact of the…
2022
Professional intercultural communicative competence and labour market integration among highly-educated refugees in the Netherlands [Professionelle interkulturelle Kommunikationskompetenz und die Integration von hochqualifizierten Geflüchteten in den niederländischen Arbeitsmarkt]
In the last decade, thousands of forcibly-displaced people have sought refuge in the Netherlands. Many of them are highly educated, and their integration into the host society's labour market could improve their own quality of life as well as making a significant contribution to the country's economy. However, refugees face many challenges in their search for employment. This is the…
2022
Moving on from Dutch to English: Young Refugees Feeling Betrayed by the Dutch Language Integration Policy and Seeking for More Inclusive Environments
This article explores the linguistic strategies of young refugees (ages 12-23) in the Netherlands. The study takes place within a societal context in which new migrants and refugees are increasingly pressured to learn Dutch as key to their integration, but English is becoming more and more dominant, and in which learning Dutch is not considered necessary for other newcomer groups…
2022
Holistic refugee and newcomer education in Europe: Mapping, upscaling and institutionalising promising practices from Germany, Greece and the Netherlands
Education is one of the most important fields to promote the integration of refugee and newcomer children and youths in host countries. However, holistic education for refugee and newcomers has so far not been established into mainstream education systems in European countries. Projects and pilot programmes have developed across Europe to test holistic approaches. Some of them have started very…
2022
Towards more multilingual practices in the mathematics assessment of young refugee students: effects of testing language and validity of parental assessment
The study focuses on the assessment of young refugee students, and the role of language and parents therein. Low achievement at tests can stem from lack of knowledge of the content being tested. However, it can also be due to low proficiency in the language of testing. Additionally, poor communication between refugee parents and schools caused by language or cultural…
2022
Post-Migration Education Among Refugees in the Netherlands
Refugees face significant barriers in the labor markets of western countries due to limited transferability of educational credentials. Post-migration education can increase refugees’ chances in the labor market, but little is known about the prevalence and underlying patterns of such post-secondary educational investments. I contribute to the literature by analyzing survey data from the Netherlands on post-migration education among more…
2022
Education of unaccompanied refugee minors in high-income countries: Risk and resilience factors
Record numbers of unaccompanied refugee minors continue to arrive in high-income countries seeking asylum and protection. Despite receiving educational support, unaccompanied refugee minors continue to be vulnerable to negative educational experiences and outcomes. The review investigates what resilience factors enable unaccompanied refugee minors in high-income countries to have positive educational experiences and outcomes. It aims to inform the literature on…
2022
Working toward aspirations: how higher education learning-working trajectories for refugees in the Netherlands support work-related capabilities
Purpose: Refugees face multiple barriers to employment, such as previous work experience and qualifications not recognized. The Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences offers a higher vocational education and training (VET) dual program for highly-skilled refugees, in which education and work is combined. After completion of the two-year program, participants have gained new skills, learned (vocational) language, have work experience in…
2022
SIRIUS Watch 2021: Towards inclusive digital education for migrant children
SIRIUS Watch 2021 presents trends and developments on the effects of digitalisation in education on migrant children both pre- COVID-19 and during COVID-19. It will build on national and EU-level research, as well as the results of the SIRIUS Online Digital Workshop. The results include a clear framework of challenges and recommendations to support the development of an inclusive digital…
2021
Teach us for what is coming: The transition into adulthood of foreign unaccompanied minors in Europe: case studies from France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, and the Netherlands
This report looks at what it is like to be a young person alone and seeking safety in Europe when turning 18. It paints a difficult situation with many shortcomings but also some promising practices. The main finding is there is no legal framework or specific support schemes for unaccompanied minors (UAMs) entering adulthood. This leaves many young people to…
2021
Barriers to inclusion of minority language minors in Norwegian and Dutch education: A comparative analyses of various reported voices connected to education
With the increase of immigrants in Norway and the Netherlands, it is increasingly important to have an inclusive education system that sets every minor up to succeed. This comparative research considers the barriers of inclusion to quality education for minority language minors in Norway and the Netherlands. Using UNESCO’s (2008b) inclusion framework, the content of 70 media sources were analysed…
2021
Integration of newly arrived students in primary and secondary education in the Netherlands: The challenges that teachers face and their strategies to overcome them
The integration of newly arrived migrant students (NAMS) in a new educational system has become commonplace in the education literature. Teachers are the agents of inclusive practices to the changing demographic of schooling. Yet, little is known about their struggles when teaching NAMS. This study investigates the challenges that teachers face when it comes to the integration of refugee and…
2021
Translanguaging pathways to higher education: A transition program for highly educated refugees
The paper focuses on translanguaging practices of highly skilled refugees in a transition program in Dutch higher education. The pathways for refugees to enter higher education are full of obstacles. Acquiring the new language at a university level is one of the biggest challenges. Many institutions offer 'transition programs' to prepare refugees for their studies. These are mostly focused on…
2021
Practicing critical media literacy education with/for young migrants: Lessons learned from a participatory action research project
During settlement, migrant youth negotiate between various transitional spaces, which include educational, mediated and transnational spaces. To what extent can critical media literacy education acknowledge and strengthen young migrants’ resilience? In this article, we evaluate the Netherlands-based participatory action research project Critical media literacy through making media. Gathered empirical data include participant observation in two classes, in-depth interviews with 3…
2021
Refugees starting a business: experiences of barriers and needs in the Netherlands
Purpose: Recent refugees in the Netherlands face barriers on the road to starting their own business. Few studies have looked at barriers specific to recent refugees. In this article, these barriers are analysed through the eyes of support programmes that aim to help recent refugees to become an entrepreneur. Design/methodology/approach: The experiences of seven support programmes were explored using in-depth…
2021
An overview of refugee education in Europe
The overview of refugee children education in Europe we provide in this book is part of the Erasmus + project “ITIRE: Improving teaching to improve refugee children education”. Following the unprecedented flow of forced migrants to Europe in 2015, several countries have adopted measures to facilitate the enrolment of refugee children in the educational system. These actions have produced a…
2020
Türkiye
Denmark
Cyprus
Malta
Iceland
Albania
Norway
Belgium
Luxembourg
Intervention
Romania
Monaco
Switzerland
Bosnia
Czechia
Human rights
Croatia
Germany
Estonia
Sweden
Finland
Italy
Macedonia
Austria
Poland
Slovenia
Portugal
United Kingdom
Serbia
Slovakia
Caregivers
Netherlands
Lithuania
English
Ireland
Hungary
France
Greece
Bulgaria
Access & participation
Spain
Latvia
How can migrant entrepreneurship education contribute to the achievement of the sustainable development goals? The experience of the fresh start programme
This article considers the implications of migrant entrepreneurship education (MEEd) for sustainability and for the work of global adult educators. It will present some insights into the opportunities and challenges created by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the experience of running the Fresh Start (FS) MEEd programme. This programme, funded by the European Union (EU) in 2017-2019, brought together…
2020
New immigrants. An incentive for intercultural education?
This study was inspired by an inclusive intercultural perspective on education, and developed empirical knowledge concerning the intercultural professional development of in-service teachers. The study was conducted during the first year of a newly-designed master’s programme that focused on “education for refugees”. In the Netherlands master’s programmes in education qualify in-service teachers to contribute to school development, together with giving…
2019
Responding to the ECEC needs of children of refugees and asylum seekers in Europe and North America
In Europe and North America, the arrival of heightened numbers of refugees and asylum seekers in recent years has challenged the ability of governments and service providers to both meet initial reception needs and provide effective long-term integration services. Young children make up a significant share of these newcomers. As a result, there is a pressing need for early childhood…
2018
Adult education in Europe 2017: a civil society view
The following report is based on a survey sent to EAEA’s members, asking them about the state of adult education in their country. The views expressed come from a variety of contexts. EAEA members are often umbrella organisations representing their country’s adult education providers, and can have the status of a non-governmental organisation representing providers to the national or regional…
2017
Türkiye
Romania
Equity & equality
Belarus
Non-formal education
Bosnia
Lifelong learning
Croatia
Germany
Estonia
Case study
Finland
Sweden
Liechtenstein
Austria
Macedonia
Serbia
Poland
Surveys & questionnaire
Portugal
Netherlands
Russia
United Kingdom
Ireland
Slovakia
Teachers & educational staff
Greece
Vocational & technical education
English
Spain
Adult education & training
Policy & law
Denmark
Access & participation
Iceland
Similarity attracts: The role of personality in similarity perceptions and children’s attitudes towards refugees
Previous research has shown that children's intergroup similarity judgements are based not only on ethnicity but also on other dimensions such as sports interest. The present research investigates the role of personality in perceived similarity between ingroup children and refugee outgroup children. A study was conducted among 9- to 12-year-old children (N = 124) at two elementary schools in the Netherlands. It…
2019
Multi‐country Partnership to Enhance the Education of Refugee and Asylum‐seeking Youth in Europe – PERAE
The ‘Multi‐country Partnership to Enhance the Education of Refugee and Asylum‐seeking Youth in Europe ‐ PERAE’ was initiated by the SIRIUS Network – Policy Network on Migrant Education in 2016 with the support of the Mercator Foundation. The initiative builds up on the SIRIUS ‘Agenda on Migrant Education’ (SIRIUS, 2014) and the Statement on Urgent Response for the Education of…
2018
#Back to School – A Comparative Overview of the Current Situation of Asylum Seeker and Refugee Children having Reached Compulsory School Age in Seven EU Member States
Education could pave the way towards a more stable and brighter future for children seeking and benefiting from international protection, after often several years of flight and insecurity. Many of them see education as an opportunity to re-build their lives in a new environment and they typically arrive highly motivated to continue school after long periods of absence. Still, law,…
2018
Preparing adolescent refugees for study and work in the Netherlands: Start-up of an academic pre-Bachelor’s programme
Since the academic year 2017-2018, the Tilburg University Language Center has been offering an academic pre-Bachelor's programme for refugee students. This year-long educational programme prepares high-potential refugees for a Dutch- or English-taught Bachelor's programme at a university. In addition, students prepare for the Dutch Civic Integration Exams. A special part of the pre-Bachelor's programme is an internship at a company…
2018
Continuity of learning for newly arrived refugee children in Europe
Notwithstanding the efforts made by EU Member States in recent years, third-country nationals continue to be placed at a disadvantage regarding employment, education and social inclusion compared to EU citizens (OECD/European Union, 2015). For refugees, and people with a migration background at large, education is key for socio-economic success and for overcoming disadvantages in European societies. Education fosters social inclusion,…
2017
Big dreams, did they come true? Opportunities and obstacles in the school trajectories of unaccompanied refugee minors [Grootse dromen, uitgekomen? Kansen en obstakels in de schoolloopbaan van alleenstaande minderjarige asielzoekers]
While many unaccompanied minors deal with their precarious situation by focusing on school success, there is a lack of knowledge about the diversity of factors that hinder and stimulate their life trajectories, including their school career. This article focuses on the long term school trajectories of unaccompanied minors who were highly motivated to have a successful school career when they…
2017
Inclusive education for refugees and asylum seeking children: A systematic literature review
BACKGROUND In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of children with a refugee background in the Netherlands. All of these children who are under18 years of age mustgo to school, buttheyface many barriers towards inclusion. Appropriately educating this diverse group of children presentsschools with challenges.Supportive programsare needed to overcome these barriers and challenges.AIMThe aim of this…
2016