While existing research has shown the importance of the three interrelated domains of the wider policy, the school and home/community environments in the development of quality education for learners, this literature does not fully capture the experiences of the refugee population. In this article we focus on a group of Syrian refugees who came as part of the first large…

In this practical contribution two projects are presented that the authors conducted independently from one another and which are located chronologically before and after the noticeably major immigration wave in Germany in 2015: Christina Witz worked on the short film Good to know - an appointment with the gynaecologist with young farsi-speaking women in a long-term project at the media…

In this article, we adopt a collaborative auto-ethnographic approach to explore the experiences of one refugee university student. Our method involved all three authors systematically analysing narratives written by one of us: R Student. These accounts provide deep descriptions of his life while studying at three different United Kingdom universities and our analysis of them demonstrates that higher education was…

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…

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Refugees are people, like you and me. They have been forced to flee their homes by war or persecution, often leaving behind virtually all their worldly possessions. Once they have been recognised as refugees here in the UK, they have a chance to rebuild their lives in safety. But new challenges very rapidly arise. This report is concerned with one…

While many public figures and civil society members perceive irregular migration as the source of various problems that modern societies encounter nowadays, this paper argues that this form of migration is rather the output of an outdated international system. The latter tends to protect the modern societies by enforcing the borders of nation states and leaving the most disadvantaged individuals…

This study investigates critical pedagogical approaches within local contexts of refugee and asylum seeker English language classes within Ireland. Intrinsic to this study is cognisance of the landscape of the setting both in Ireland and worldwide. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says that the current time is unprecedented in terms of the scale of displaced peoples, asylum…

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…

The research focus of this study is adult refugee learners sitting the Lower Secondary Exam in written English, in Norway. Since 2014, the exam has been the same for all candidates, regardless of their background. In spring 2015, the majority group of exam candidates, ethnic Norwegian 10th grade learners, received the average grade 3.9, while the average exam grade for…

In the face of unprecedented numbers of asylum seekers, German universities are inviting newcomers to enroll in their tuition-free study programs. However, so far only a handful of asylum seekers can be found in lecture halls across the country as legal and financial barriers condemn thousands of young and eager men and women to months and even years of idleness.

The significant increase in refugees in Europe and worldwide during 2015 challenges the paradigm of refugee education. For many decades, 'refugee education' has been primarily associated with the education of refugees in countries far-away as the majority of the world's displaced persons and refugees are hosted by countries in the Global South. However, the recent European 'refugee crisis', that is,…

For this study, we listened to children who had fled with their families. We made a very conscious decision to focus on accompanied minors who have been displaced, because they go through the standard asylum system with their parent/guardian, which is why they often remain "invisible" as regards their own needs and their specific situation. We gave accompanied children who…

Problem Statement: Historically, Turkey is an immigrant country. It has experienced various migration waves from Asia, Awrupa and Africa. Recently, Turkey has confronted a huge wave of migration. Turkey tries to meet many needs besides the educational needs of refugees, but there is not enough study on refugess in the field of educational sciences in Turkey. Purpose of the Study:…

In previous historical periods, people migrated because their lives were in danger; even though we have entered the second decade of the 21st century, such things are unfortunately still taking place, because armed conflicts are still occurring, for instance in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, etc. In 2015, more people emigrated to other countries than in previous decades, especially to Europe;…

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…

Enabling access of refugees to education institutions causes challenges for those countries in Europe, which have accepted large numbers of refugees in 2015. Services are being saturated because of high numbers of refugees, questions regarding living and service provision (as such) become more and more pressuring. Financial means are limited. The Austrian school system has succeeded in providing for those…

The issue of migrants and refugees has occupied Europe for the last few months. Much of the discourse surrounding this issue has been overwhelmingly negative, lapsing at times into stereotype, prejudice and even hate speech. As language teachers at a humanities faculty, we have a responsibility to address this issue in the classroom, especially as classroom experience tells us that…

German authorities are expecting more than 1 million refugees by the end of 2015. These people come to Germany to seek protection and assistance and to build a new life, therefore it is important to welcome them and to assist them in their integration as soon as possible. This situation creates a versatile and perfectly fitting opportunity for cultural and…

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’ –…

German for Foreigners (Deutsch als Fremdsprache) is an established field of German Studies which focuses on the methodology and didactics of teaching a language and a culture of communication. Should we want to refer to German used as the language of communication among immigrants living within a German-speaking environment, we need to talk about German as a Second Language (Deutsch…

The number of refugees who have fled across international borders due to conflict and persecution is at the highest level in recorded history. The vast majority of these refugees find exile in low-income countries neighboring their countries of origin. The refugee children who are resettled to North America, Europe, and Australia arrive with previous educational experiences in these countries of…

Access to needed mental health services can be particularly difficult for newly arrived refugee and asylum-seeking adolescents, although many attend school. This study examined young refugees' impressions and experience of mental health services integrated within the school system. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 40 adolescent refugees discharged by three school-based mental health services across the United Kingdom. Two-thirds preferred to…

Education systems around the world have experienced a rise in the number of newly arrived students. This article explores the manner in which the Swedish education system responds to the diverse needs of these students. Using the concept of post-migration ecology, the authors outline and critically discuss the legal, organisational, and pedagogical responses that make up the educational landscape and…

During the last year the amount of refugees and asylum seekers has increased tremendously all over the world. Many refugees arrived in Germany asking for help and integration. Politicians were challenged to offer educational programs in particular for the young, (un-) accompanied minors. In Bavaria an extensive vocational education program has been developed and started to be established under tremendous…

As the result of armed conflict, poverty or natural disasters, many children move away from their families and culture of origin. In 2014, in Italy, the number of unaccompanied foreign minors was approximately 11,000. They represent the most vulnerable of the migration phenomenon and for this reason, in December 2013, the Directorate General of Immigration and Integration Policy of the…

This review was commissioned by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and Save the Children to better understand the landscape of donors’ humanitarian policies on education and the role such policies play in influencing education in emergencies practice. Assistance for this review was provided by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA).

This is an empirical study that aims to contribute to knowledge about the opportunities the career counselling conversation offers young migrants in shaping their future. Conversations play a central role in career counselling activities in Swedish schools; furthermore, the question of how the Swedish society promotes the inclusion of its immigrants has become an increasingly urgent issue. The study draws…

The globalized world is facing increasing refugee flows over the past years, which brings challenges for the receiving countries. One important part of this challenge is the education of refugee children. Particularly unaccompanied minor refugees are often not noticed by the society and policies. Therefore they are even more vulnerable than other refugee children. Providing a quality education as stated…

This study begins by identifying a new genre in writing for young people which has developed rapidly since the millennium, namely that of children’s literature about refugees. It questions whether these books have a role to play in understanding and validating the circumstances of refugees in the primary classroom. Taking as my starting point the UNHCR definition of a refugee…

Due to an increased number of newly arrived immigrant students the federal state Berlin established German language classes, that mainly focus on German language learning in order to prepare the students for their transfer to a mainstream classroom. The organization of these classes differs between the districts. In a comparative case study the educational situation of newly arrived immigrant students…

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…

How school systems respond to immigration has an enormous impact on the economic and social well-being of all members of the communities they serve, whether they have an immigrant background or not. Immigrant Students at School: Easing the Journey towards Integration reveals some of the difficulties immigrant students encounter – and some of the contributions they offer – as they…

The UK government’s austerity cuts have negatively impacted many voluntary-sector interventions that provided support to refugees. One such intervention, the Refugee Integration and Employment Service (RIES), is discussed in this paper. The RIES was a UK Border Agency-funded integration programme for recognised refugees and operated through voluntary-sector organisations nationwide. Findings of this small, qualitative study tentatively suggest that without bespoke…

With the increasing numbers of immigrants seeking to obtain political asylum, the receiving conditions and the deportability of refused asylum seekers have emerged as major issues. Concern with these questions has been addressed through renewed asylum policies involving expeditious processing of applications, tight restrictions upon the right to work, removal of support or detention for failed asylum seekers. These asylum…

In this study, we focus on the challenges faced by refugee children at schools in Van, an eastern province at the Iranian border. Focusing on the teachers’ assessment of problems encountered by refugee children at school, this paper is based on qualitative interviews conducted at three schools in the city centre of Van province. The qualitative interviews were conducted with…

The early life narratives of 34 unaccompanied refugee minors, especially their reports of interpersonal violence, were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The youth originated from eight countries, with Afghanistan, Eritrea, and Sri Lanka being the most frequent origins, and they arrived to Norway before the age of 15. Four of these youth were girls. The physical violence took place…

This article explores the role of schools in supporting unaccompanied young refugees in critical psychosocial transitions concerning processes of socialisation, integration and rehabilitation upon resettlement. Drawing from a qualitative research project based on interviews with students and staff conducted during fieldwork in five secondary schools in Norway, the findings suggest that the psychosocial support provided by schools is random and…

This paper describes the role of schools in supporting the overall development of refugee children and the importance of peer interactions. It argues that the UK school into which a refugee child arrives can be considered an extreme setting. Refugee and asylum-seeking adolescents were interviewed following their contact with a school-based mental health service. The social recognition granted to them…

This study appraises the particular challenges that minor asylum-seeking migrants who are in the 16–18 age category confront when pursuing their studies in a vocational college in Malta, a central Mediterranean island which is the smallest EU member state. The study explores how they exercise resilience in their desire to forge a future for themselves and traces their passage from…

This small-scale, highly original study connects themes which are rarely explored in relation to each other, particularly in a European context: vocational education and training (VET), refugees and race equality in order to explore how VET policies impact on racial equality, and the ways racial structures in Europe impact on VET. It begins to fill important gaps in cross-European research,…

In political, social and economic terms, Turkey is the most affected country of the Syrian crisis. More importantly, Turkey as a host country of Syrian refugees has been living a dramatic demographic change. The most marginalized group living in Turkey is children. Refugee education has hence become of top priority. The global report in refugee education is below the critical…

Unaccompanied foreign minors match an administrative definition, that of foreign minor without legal representative in France. Often they are fleeing war and misery, trying to get to places to rebuild themselves and live. For those who manage to get to their destination the obstacles remain numerous, and the confrontation with the reality of migration brutal. We will present here the…

This article will report on research that considers refugees in the UK who were teachers or doctors by profession in their country of origin, have lost this status after arrival in the UK and are seeking to regain their professions. This article draws on 39 in-depth interviews with refugee doctors and teachers to explore their strategies of re-entering their professions…