Informal education
Models for Organising the Education of Ukrainian Children Who Have Fled the War in Lithuanian Municipalities: Psychological, Material, and Linguistic Support
This article presents the situation of the education of Ukrainian refugee children in Lithuania. It analyses the political and practical actions taken by the Lithuanian state when, after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, schools unexpectedly received a large number of children from Ukraine who had not come of their own free will, having fled the war. This article…
2023
Refugee Students’ Psychosocial Well-Being: The Case of a Refugee Hospitality Centre in Greece
Education can be important for assisting the psychosocial well-being of marginalized communities such as refugees and contributes to the effective processing of feelings and isolation prevention by mitigating the long-term effects of trauma and developing strategies to manage life changes. A small-scale study was conducted on 21 students from a Refugee Hospitality Center in Greece to investigate their psychosocial well-being…
2023
Exploring the place of adult learning for refugees and asylum seekers in migration policy for integration in England and Scotland
Learning, particularly learning English is presented as a key part of integration for adult migrants in the UK. England and Scotland differ in how their policy approaches to integration include adult learning. This article aims to explore and uncover the ways in which adult education, particularly for refugees and asylum seekers is embedded and included in policy for integration of…
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
PARTICIPATION OF REFUGEE YOUTH IN GERMANY’S VET SYSTEM: REAL-WORLD LABS AS OPPORTUNITIES FOR CO-CONSTRUCTIVE KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION AND INNOVATIVE PRACTICE TRANSFORMATION
Germany has become the most important destination country for young refugees in Europe (Destatis, 2021). Vocational education and training can make an important contribution to overcome educational barriers and gain participation in society (Will & Hohmut, 2020). Since 2015, rural regions have faced new challenges in establishing effective support systems for young apprentices with forced migration experience (Ohliger et al.,…
2022
Understanding the learning experiences of highly educated refugees from Iraq and Syria en route to economic integration in Luxembourg
This qualitative exploratory study sought to understand highly educated Iraqi and Syrian refugees’ perceptions of their learning experiences during economic integration in Luxembourg. This research sought to elucidate how these new migrants learned to integrate in a country with a long tradition of migration but little exposure to Arabic-speaking groups. Further, it sought to explore participants’ experiences of what knowledge,…
2022
The Rights Hero – Serious Games for Human Rights Education and Integration of Migrant and Refugee Children in Europe
Following the rise of migrant inflows in Europe since 2015, more than 210,000 unaccompanied children have arrived in Europe. This article argues that serious games can in principle fill the gap of human rights education that these children face and ultimately help them develop, but important issues and challenges need to be considered. The article follows the design and development…
2022
Education and Employment of Refugees and Migrants in the Formal Elderly Healthcare Sector: Results from an Online Survey in Italy
The increase in older people with long-term care needs and the shortfall in the formal elderly healthcare workforce are questioning the healthcare system sustainability in Italy. Migrants have been employed for many years in the informal care sector as live-in carers often experience unfair working conditions. Appropriate training can help migrants and refugees enter the formal care sector, improve their…
2022
An Informal Education Intervention in Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic: Homework Mentorships in a Berlin Refugee Shelter
The Covid-19 pandemic and resulting damage is often portrayed in staggering numbers and statistics. This article offers, by contrast, a personal and qualitative account of employees, volunteers, and young residents at a refugee home in Berlin, Germany. Through the story of a boy who has spent the past 4 years in several of Berlin’s 84 remaining refugee accommodations, we examine the…
2021
Recognising refugees’ non-formally and informally acquired vocational skills for use in Germany’s labour market
The influx of asylum seekers into the European Union (EU) in 2015-2016 has turned the recognition of non-formal and informal learning (NFIL) into an integration priority and challenge. In EU terminology this process is called ‘validation’. Already in 2012, the Council of the EU had urged member states to create mechanisms for the validation of NFIL by no later than…
2020
Barriers to accessing education
The right to an education is a universally recognized right, protected in multiple international and national conventions including the Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. For displaced children growing up in informal camps in Northern France, there are numerous barriers in place which prevent them from accessing education. This short briefing, published by…
2020
Refugee women, possible selves and higher education
Possible selves, both feared and desired, are greatly affected by transitional life periods. There is, however, an absence of research on the impact of migration on possible selves where previous selves have been rendered impossible through the processes of forced displacement. This chapter draws on detailed biographical interviews and informal conversations with eighteen refugee women who, through participation in three…
2018
Online digital mentorship: How might a digital communication tool facilitate informal learning and integration of newly arrived in Sweden
The arrival of large groups of refugees is one of the great challenges in Europe today. In Sweden around 100 000 new immigrants is expected to arrive from Syria only during 2017 and there are large groups from various countries already staying in Sweden that are not properly integrated. There are no quick and smart solution to solve the inclusion…
2017
How Social Media Can Play a Role in an Educational Context, in an Informal Refugee Camp in Europe
European policy on migration does not safeguard the rights of refugees as they travel into and across European State borders (Rygiel, Ataç, Köster-Eiserfunke, & Schwiertz, 2015). Furthermore, refugees currently in transit through Europe have little or no access to media platforms. Mainstream media frames the current migration flow into Europe with narratives of charity, sympathy, and criminality (Rettberg & Gajjala,…
2019
Enhancing the awareness of emotions through art and drama among crisis-affected Syrian refugee children in southeast Turkey
By learning to identify feelings and express emotions, children can better cope with the difficulties they face, as well as increase their personal resilience. As the Syrian crisis has entered its seventh year, it has had a negative effect on vulnerable populations, especially children. It should be noted that while not all children have been traumatised, many have experienced conflict…
2018
Syria’s lost generation: Refugee education provision and societal security in an ongoing conflict emergency
Education policy is uniquely placed to address the soft security concerns of refugee resettlement, with educators equipped to recognise, react and respond to the unique education needs and welfare of the Syria’s next generation. An appropriate education policy response to the refugee crisis can reduce the risk of stigma, isolation, intra-community tensions, marginalisation and even radicalisation. The protracted nature of…
2016
Towards a well-being focussed language pedagogy: enabling arts-based, multilingual learning spaces for young people with refugee backgrounds
Abstract: The following article explores the conceptual background and pedagogical realities of establishing a well-being focussed language pedagogy in the context of an informal educational event called ‘Language Fest’. The event was organised as part of the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded large grant project ‘Researching Multilingually at the Borders of Language, the Body, Law and the State’ –…
2016
Migration and validation of non-formal and informal learning in Europe: Inclusion, exclusion or polarisation in the recognition of skills?
This article explores (1) the degree to which immigrants can be considered dominant groups in the area of validation of non-formal and informal learning and are subject to specific validation measures in 33 European countries; (2) whether country clusters can be identified within Europe with regard to the dominance of immigrants in the area of validation; and (3) whether validation…
2015