Non-formal education
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
Safety, belonging and success in education for refugees in Europe: A systematic review
This systematic review aims to explore refugees' educational access, experiences and outcomes in Europe since 2015. The review follows a systematic process of reviewing and synthesising texts compiled in the Hub for Education for Refugees in Europe (HERE) Knowledge Base to fill gaps in knowledge about the educational trajectories of learners of refugee and forced migrant backgrounds who have arrived…
2024
Performing the good (im)migrant: Inclusion and expectations of linguistic assimilation
This paper analyzes how language is framed as a route to full inclusion, particularly for unaccompanied asylum-seeking students labelled as disabled. It is based on a qualitative study carried out in the Italian city of Rome, which, although cosmopolitan, is often characterised by nationalistic political landscapes. The manuscript reveals how institutional biases (re: race, ability, and migration) about unaccompanied forced…
2024
The social and linguistic integration experiences of Ukrainian refugees through community and urban education courses in Iceland
This study explores Ukrainian refugees’ perspectives on and experiences with courses aimed at developing L2 skills and facilitating social integration in Iceland. The theoretical framework draws on tenets of experiential education which emphasise learning through direct experience, active engagement, and reflection. The data originates from group interviews with seven Ukrainian refugees and individual interviews with two teachers of the courses.…
2024
Lives in limbo: Syrian youth in Turkey
More than a decade since the start of the war in Syria, Turkey is home to almost four million of that country’s displaced citizens. Youth is one of the most vulnerable groups within the refugee population, as they struggle with language and education barriers and demands on them to assimilate while retaining their own culture. Lives in Limbo gives voice…
2024
Language education for migrant/refugee inmates inside two prisons in Greece: A nexus analysis research
The article discusses the challenges and methodological choices undertaken within a research project on language education in two prison schools in Greece with migrant multilingual student inmates, aged 18–22 years old. The 2.5 years of research adopted Nexus Analysis as a methodology and an interpretive framework. Throughout prolonged engagement of the research with the field, data were generated via inclusive,…
2024
Teacher voices on teaching students with a refugee background in Greece
Global developments on migration have created new challenges in many education systems with regard to the inclusion and education of students with a refugee background during the last decade. This study aims to investigate teachers’ experiences and views on teaching students with a refugee background in Greek public schools. Following a qualitative design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine teachers.…
2024
The Toisto-method: Language learning experiences of newly arrived Ukrainians in Finland
This study focuses on how newly arrived Ukrainian refugees to Finland have experienced learning Finnish language with a method called Toisto (’Repetition’). Toisto is a modeling-based method that was developed to enable volunteers to teach the basics of Finnish to newcomers, as linguistic first aid. The Toisto-method is built on the ideas of direct method, communicative teaching, suggestopedic atmosphere, and…
2024
Locked-down learning amid COVID-19: Young refugees in Greece and their supporters co-navigating a new crisis
Greece, and the hundreds of thousands of refugees currently trapped in the country, are no strangers to ‘crisis’. Financial collapse and migration mismanagement were already severely impacting newcomers’ ability to participate in education before COVID-19 lockdowns made the situation even more dire. Based on interviews from a study on young refugees’ (aged 15–25) engagement with education in Greece, this paper…
2024
Visual communication bridging intercultural barriers: Collaborative methods supporting the social inclusion of young refugees
This paper explores the possibilities of graphic languages in an intercultural context while analysing the potential of creative methods when working with refugee youth. The practice-based aspect of this research is undertaken with Open Doors Hungary, a community-based design project that creates a programme for unaccompanied refugee minors. The aim of Open Doors is to help young refugees integrate into…
2024
Non-formal education for the inclusion of unaccompanied migrant children in Italy
The number of unaccompanied migrant children (UMC) that landed in Italy on a daily basis was 14,044 in 2022 and 18,820 in 2023 (as stated by the Italian Ministry of Interior). This research study examines Law 47/2017, which implements the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). It ponders inclusive educational models other than formal learning by…
2024
Exploring refugee school teachers’ roles in culturally diverse adult classrooms in Greece
This study examined the experiences of 15 refugee school teachers in Athens, focusing on their strategies for working with culturally diverse adult students. Through semi-structured interviews, the research investigated the evaluation of intercultural education that is imparted to adult refugees, the challenges in the program’s implementation for adult refugees, the importance and the necessity of intercultural competence for instructors when…
2024
Exploring socio-ecological factors that support the navigation and negotiation of education by unaccompanied and separated children in Greece
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…
2024
Language education
Non-formal education
Social workers
Surveys & questionnaire
Digital education
Greece
Thematic content analysis
Correlational analysis
Interview
Adult education & training
Teachers & educational staff
Informal education
English
Resilience & adaptation
Unaccompanied & separated children
Formal education
Tertiary education
Secondary education
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
Back to school 2023-2024: Report on Education for children displaced by the conflict in Ukraine at the start of the second school year. September 2023
Humanitarian organizations are actively engaged in delivering educational support to children displaced in Ukraine and host countries by the conflict. As Ukraine and host country governments strive to deliver education to all children, it must be recognized that: • humanitarian organizations play a critical role in ensuring that displaced, vulnerable children receive education and psycho-social support integral to their development.…
2023
Being a mathematics teacher in schools in temporary accommodation centres: Turkish teachers and Syrian students
In the study, the difficulties faced by mathematics teachers in schools in Temporary Accommodation Centers in Türkiye and ways of coping were investigated. In this sense, it is focused on the experiences of mathematics teachers working in the schools in the Temporary Accommodation Center, and it is aimed to contribute to the understanding of the teaching processes. The study data…
2023
Co-creating and co-producing learning environments in adult education through the World Café method
Introduction: This article analyzes teachers’ efforts in preventing negative social control among newly arrived refugees at a Norwegian Adult Education Center (AEC). As the teachers realized that micro aggressive behavior hindered learning, they aimed for improving the learning environment. The World Café method (WCM) was implemented to change the learning environment in a positive way. Methods: Data was collected by…
2024
Europe region quarterly update: Education (January – March 2024)
The report calls attention to challenges encountered by displaced children and youth across Europe and offers recommendations for government and non-government stakeholders to undertake in ensuring sustainable access for young learners who remain out-of-school. Additionally, UNHCR highlights key publications and showcases initiatives undertaken with partners to enhance access to learning.
2024
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
Learning to navigate ‘unsettlement’: Young refugees’ (re-)engagement with post-15 education in Greece
This qualitative study provides an ethnographic exploration of the experiences of young refugees (aged 15-25) in Greece as they engage with education, amid and despite their uncertain and precarious conditions – here theorised as (manufactured) conditions of ‘unsettlement’. Instead of focusing only on their deficits – as in much refugee education research – it asks: How do young refugees in…
2023
Conceptualising the art of belonging for young refugees and asylum-seekers: Reflections from England and Sweden
The concept of belonging has grown in prominence in research and policy relating to new arrivals from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds. Arguably, belonging is replacing integration and inclusion as the panacea to perceived problems associated with places and societies where new arrivals settle. Belonging is also prominent in the literature about formal and informal educational contexts. This paper problematises the…
2024
Moving in musicking: The evolving pedagogical practice of the artist-facilitator within asylum seeker centers
The field of community music has been continuously expanding during the last years alongside the need for experienced musicians who can carry out music activities for culturally diverse groups. Based on previous studies, we identified a need for research-based practices for training musicians and music teachers who wish to facilitate community music projects. We believe that it is important to…
2023
Integration
Strategic temporality permeates the integration experience of Turkey’s Syrians in a number of ways. First, given their temporary legal status, there is a grey area between reception and integration, which is highly symbolic of ambiguous inclusion (Kaya & Nagel, 2021). Until recently, there has been no publicly announced national integration policy; instead, there was only a discourse about uyum (social…
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
Young refugees and asylum-seekers in Catalonia: An analysis of the implementation of policies and programmes for their social inclusion
Young refugees and asylum-seekers, over 18 years old, face many obstacles in accessing socio-educational services in Catalonia (Spain). This study aims to identify policies and programmes that facilitate or hamper their socio-educational pathways and transition to the labour market in the Catalan context. From a multilevel approach, we analyse the correlation between policies and institutional responses at the macro level…
2023
Social practices with young refugees and asylum seekers: Emergency policies and shortcomings of the Spanish reception system
Young refugees and asylum seekers face obstacles in their socio-educational pathways and employability in Catalonia (Spain). This study analyzes the social practice of professionals who provide reception services to young people in not-for-profit organizations. The results show the lack of transformative capacity of social practice, the precariousness of resources, and increasingly restrictive policies weakening the objective of social intervention to…
2023
Young refugees’ participation in post-compulsory education: Mapping policies, challenges and ways forward in mainland Greece
Little is known about young refugees’ post-compulsory educational trajectories in Greece, despite high numbers of teenagers continuing to arrive and integration policies being implemented. While access to education has been increasing since 2015, enrolment and attendance rates for 15- to 18-year-olds remain low and drop-out rates are high. Based on findings from a doctoral study, this chapter explores the macro-level…
2023
Creating effective mechanisms for refugee support in Lublin (Poland): Experience and prospects
This article explores the challenges and prospects of creating effective mechanisms for supporting refugees in Lublin. The article is devoted to exploring the challenges and opportunities in assisting refugees, with a particular focus on the experience of Poland in supporting Ukrainian refugees who arrived after February 24, 2022. The article begins by providing an overview of the current global refugee…
2023
Making the most of language acquisition of Syrian asylum permit holders in the Netherlands: The role of policy factors examined
In this article, we examine the relationship between important types of policies for asylum permit holders in the Netherlands and the improvement in their command of Dutch. As far as asylum policy is concerned, we find that participation in activities in the asylum seekers reception centre - and in particular, following Dutch language classes - contribute to an improvement in…
2023
Static or mobile positions for the male asylum seeker? Teaching ‘Danish sexual morals’ at asylum centres
This article examines how concepts of gender and sexuality are increasingly being mobilised as symbolic values in Danish immigration politics. The Danish national self-perception rests on an idea of widespread tolerance, especially regarding gender and sexuality. However, understandings of gender and sexuality as represented in Danish immigration discourse draw clear boundaries between insiders and outsiders. As of 2017, Danish asylum…
2023
Participatory architecture workshops with asylum seekers and local people: Experiences from the Crossing Cultures project in Southern Italy
Background: Participatory architecture can promote dialogue across cultures while working together to create physical outputs. A team of academics with a background in architecture, psychology and health sciences evaluated a participatory architecture workshop in Southern Italy as part of the Crossing Cultures project. The goal was to explore participants’ experiences and perceived benefits. In the context of situated learning, the…
2023
Study design: Pathways to Independence – A study of unaccompanied minor refugees settled in a Norwegian city municipality
Aims: The aim of the ‘Pathways to Independence’ study was to gain knowledge of how to facilitate a healthy development for unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs) after settling in Norwegian municipalities. Methods: The project is located in the URM child welfare services (URM CWS) of the Bergen municipality. We invited 101 URMs older than 15 years connected to the URM CWS…
2023
Geographies of care: The Catholic Church in Poland’s assistance to refugees from Ukraine during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
The purpose of the article was to analyze the collected empirical material in the form of in-depth interviews, observations, statistical data, and numerous accounts of the assistance of the Catholic Church in Poland in the first 8 months of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The results of the survey revealed that the Catholic Church’s activities and support to Ukrainians were carried…
2023
Ukrainian refugees in Bucharest: Integration, obstacles, and future plans
The war in Ukraine has multiple consequences, including a considerable number of people fleeing from conflict zones, becoming refugees. For the countries in proximity to Ukraine, including Romania, the main consequence is the transformation into host countries for refugees and, as such, the need to formulate social policies that consider the specific situation of those seeking refuge.. In this context,…
2023
“At first it was like a bridge closed from both sides”: Pre-service teachers participate in a drama-based project with refugee children
The recent world refugee crisis has mobilized societies all around the globe and has led to the multiplication of initiatives calling for support to refugees. Given the fact that one-third of the displaced population were children, measures for their immediate integration into schools were taken in most European countries. Although in Greece children with refugee experience first attended schools in…
2023
A multi-method profiling of adult refugees and migrants in an L2 non-formal educational setting: Language needs analysis, linguistic portraits, and identity texts
This paper will attempt to visualize adult refugees and migrants, as well as a specific multilingual and multicultural educational setting in Greece. This study aspires to depict/present the plurilingual profiles, language needs, and challenges of L2 Greek students through a variety of tools/methods, e.g., questionnaires, portraits, narratives, needs analysis, and assessment tools. In a complementary way, this research focuses on…
2023
Territorial variance in the UK’s refugee politics and its consequences: Young Syrian refugees in England and Scotland
Access to social rights is crucial to refugee settlement and integration, and a whole range of social policy measures determine the limits on those rights. In the United Kingdom (UK) various relevant social policies are divided into devolved and reserved categories. This has resulted in a distinct territorial variance in social rights and welfare provisions within the country. The aim…
2023
The lives of unaccompanied refugee minors during their transit stay in Greece
This article explores daily threats in the lives of unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs) in Greece. The aim is to stimulate debate and understanding in the context of growing forced migration. Our observations, arguments, and conclusions are primarily informed by critical discussion of politics, policies, and legislation of the European Union, Greece, and international treaties on human rights. Our analysis also…
2023
Teachers’ views on the challenges faced in the non-formal context of teaching Greek as a second language to refugees/migrants
The worldwide migration waves of the recent decade have led to social changes and population heterogeneity inevitably affecting the field of education, as an increasingly vast number of people seek instruction in the host language challenging teachers and making their work even more demanding. In Greece, besides the governmental initiatives, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have orchestrated Greek language courses to facilitate…
2023
Beyond language: The complex positioning work by language teachers in an integration classroom
This article investigates the roles of language teachers in a language and integration programme in Denmark. The results show that the teachers' work goes beyond the role of language teacher per se. The teachers are shown to take on the role of integration workers, who, as part of the integration system, contri-bute to socializing the students into a marginalized position.…
2023
Refugees’ language learning and career aspirations: An agentic lens
This paper extends language-sensitive research in international management by shedding light on the role of language skills in the integration and employment of refugees. We approach refugees as agents whose actions are shaped by their own habits, imagination, judgment and motivations, even while severely constrained by external forces. We explore how refugees perceive the role of language skills as a…
2023
A positive psychology intervention to foster economic integration of Syrian refugees in the Netherlands
Research shows that the labour market integration of refugees is often problematic. Little is known about what kind of measures are effective to help them integrate into the labour market. In the Netherlands, a positive psychology intervention “Mosaic” for Syrian refugees was developed to support their economic participation. This study aims to assess the effect of “Mosaic” on the economic…
2023
Community garden developed by refugees from Syria — A sanctuary and a space for learning and empowerment
Many refugees from Syria resettled in Denmark experience poor health, lack of social support, and loneliness. The refugee families’ complex social situation led to the development of a social and health-promoting project comprising a series of interventions. Purpose: The present intervention aimed to improve the families’ collaboration and empowerment through jointly developing a community garden using participatory action research. Findings…
2023
We want school!’ Teaching and learning contemporary archaeology with displaced people in anarchist-adjacent spaces in Athens, Greece
In this chapter, I reflect upon teaching and learning contemporary archaeology in two anarchist-adjacent spaces in Athens, Greece in 2018–2019. I explore ways in which contemporary archaeology has tended to focus on the ‘everyday’ of living communities, often seeking to function as a form of advocacy. I contextualise the development of The Made in Migration Collective (a coalition of displaced…
2023
Community integration, quality of life, thriving, and mental health among refugees and asylum seekers. A London service provider perspective
Introduction: This article explores how systemic injustices and social inequalities affect refugee and asylum seeker integration, thriving, and mental health in London. This is pertinent as the United Kingdom currently operates a ‘broken’ asylum system with unfair policies and a ‘tough’ immigration rhetoric which makes it extraordinarily difficult for asylum seekers and refugees to achieve community integration, have a good…
2024
Body-voice and improvisation to explore trauma-informed performative pedagogy: Open the door
This chapter explores how the author, using the same training as that of actors and performing artists, explored techniques to promote embodied language learning in her facilitator practice for the Sorgente project. The aim was to create a sense of belonging among a young refugee and migrant group in Dublin, Ireland; the practice was framed with the concept of ‘duty…
2024
Performative language practice and ethical principles in the Sorgente project
This introductory chapter provides some key definitions of the concepts informing the Sorgente study. First, the chapter defines performative language teaching as an embodied pedagogy. Performative language pedagogy is illustrated in terms of its roots, main influences and orientation towards using the arts in language education. Second, it grounds the discussion in contemporary research, exploring the impact of the arts,…
2024
Young refugees’ feelings of belonging? Encounters with rural Denmark and northern Norway
This paper investigates how young refugees settled in rural Norway and Denmark experience their new places of residence. We find inspiration in the idea of ‘contradictions of space’ (Kinkaid [2020]. “Re-encountering Lefebvre: Toward a Critical Phenomenology of Social Space.” Society and Space 38 (1): 167–186.) in exploring how young refugees navigate issues in rural life from housing, education, work and…
2024
Early years curriculum in practice: iACT’s Little Ripples curriculum for emergency contexts
This chapter presents an overview of an innovative early childhood education curriculum that is designed to address the unique needs of children and communities affected by trauma, violence, and displacement. Little Ripples Early Childhood Education program operates in several refugee camps in Chad, Greece, and Tanzania, and in villages located in eastern Cameroon. Little Ripples provides quality, play-based education for…
2024
Zine-making and critical reflection: Portals of shared discovery
This chapter describes the delivery and impacts of a zine workshop delivered to members of the Sorgente project. The Sorgente project utilised multiple arts-based practices in order to investigate the teaching and learning of additional languages with migrants and refugees in Ireland and Italy. The zines emerged as a theme in response to the first research question of the project…
2024