Chapter
Guiding, shaping and resisting: Refugee mothers’ educational strategies as they navigate ‘unsettlement’
Contrary to popular media tropes of the ‘young, lone, male refugee’ arriving at Europe’s borders, Greece has in fact seen a steady flow of female refugees arriving since 2015. Most newcomers come in family groups, and many, including teenage girls, are mothers - many of whom aspire to continue (or begin) their schooling. While access to formal education has increased…
2022
Extending the Welcome: The role of university–community partnerships in supporting refugees in England
As issues around refugee rights have come to public attention following the surge in asylum application in Europe in 2015, several responses have been developed by universities in England to extend the welcome to refugees in both local communities and on their campuses. While some institutions act on their own, others have created social relationships and collaborations with local and…
2020
Sustaining Non-formal Refugee Education Programs in a Covid-future World
In this discussion essay, characteristics of the provision of formal and non-formal education for refugee children in Greece will be explored through a comparative approach. The comparison reveals aspects of the social environments in the lives of refugee children. These will be examined through the lens of Uri Bronfenbrenner’s (1979, 1986) ecological systems theory as a means to understand the…
2022
Social Engagement and Cultural Adaptation of Young Refugees Through Gaming and Playful Design
The document addresses one of the main themes of the present day, i.e., the problem of forced migration—commonly referred to as seeking refuge. The target user of this study is exiled children who, in most cases, arrive at their destination alone and with few or no primary survival conditions. UNHCR (2015) points out that more than 65 million people worldwide…
2022
HIGHER EDUCATION POLICIES FOR SYRIAN REFUGEES IN TURKEY: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR SYRIAN AND TURKISH STUDENTS
Turkey has been hosting the largest Syrian refugee migration in the world since 2011, which has necessitated a continuous change in state-level measures to cater for the deficiencies of a forced displacement ranging from economic to social and educational instruments. Despite constructive national policies and legislation of the Turkish government and financial support, refugee access and enrollment in higher education…
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
Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education in Primary and Secondary Classrooms in the U.S., Australia, Canada, and the UK
This chapter shares an overview of students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE) in the United States and three other prominent English-speaking countries with a growing number of SLIFE: Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Thus, this chapter has been organized into four main sections: (1) introduction to SLIFE, (2) in-depth overview of SLIFE in primary and secondary U.S.…
2022
Adult English Learners with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education in Diverse Learning Settings
This chapter provides an overview of adult students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE) who have immigrated to English-speaking countries and participate in literacy education and second language learning for adults (LESLLA) programs. In order to provide an accurate perspective of LESLLA students, this chapter will (1) examine characteristics of the adult learner population, (2) provide an overview of…
2022
Syrian Refugees in Turkey: (Un)Equal Opportunities in Education
The number of Syrian refugees seeking shelter in Turkey continues to rise as Syria enters its tenth year of violence. The ongoing crisis has resulted in more than 3.5 million registered Syrian refugees (UNHCR 2019). Although multiple social, economic, and security related debates have been studied by researchers in this field, the scope of this chapter focuses on the education…
2021
Educational and Career Opportunities for Refugee-Background Adults in Norway: A DLC Perspective
Similar to other European countries, Norway has opened its borders to large numbers of refugees in the recent years. Norwegian language training is seen as serving an important role in the process of resettlement and integration into the Norwegian society and constitutes a central component of the obligatory, two-year Introduction Program for adult refugees. On the other hand, English, Norway’s…
2021
“Wie soll ich das Kind bewerten?” Between Standardization and Differentiation in the Assessment of Plurilingual Refugee Students in Foreign-Language Classes in Germany: A Qualitative Study of Teachers’ Practices and Perceptions
In this chapter, we analyse the practices and attitudes of German teachers regarding assessment of refugee students learning Spanish or English as foreign languages. The data were collected through interviews with ten Spanish or English teachers dealing with refugee students in their classrooms in secondary schools in Hamburg in 2017 (Thölkes, “Schaffen die das?”. Die Leistungsbeurteilung geflüchteter Kinder und Jugendlicher…
2021
Introduction: Language Learning of Adult Migrants in Europe
In this introductory chapter, we first delineate issues and factors relevant in the study of migrants, and in particular refugees, learning new languages in those regions that distinguish this group from other groups of language learners. We highlight the tension between language and integration, and the often-disparate aims between national systems of adult migrant language education, language teachers in classrooms,…
2021
The Accelerated Learning Programme (ALP) of UNICEF for teaching history in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms in Greece
Our study pertains to the development of new teaching material for the subject of History, to be used in the low Greek secondary education (Gymnasium), either in reception or in mixed classes attended mostly by refugee and immigrant children, approximately 13-15 years old, who are taught and learn Greek as their second language (L2). Our design aimed at the development…
2021
Expectations, experiences and anticipated outcomes of supporting refugee students in Germany: Systems theoretical analysis of organizational semantics
This chapter looks into semantic associations and potential discourses on refugee students within German higher education organizations (HEOs). The main task of organizational systems is to reduce complexity: they set limits to what is possible and thereby create communicative expectations. The chapter first provides an overview of higher education for refugees in Germany and international research on refugees in higher…
2021
The German case: an analysis of refugee student supports in higher education
Germany has frequently been cited as a case study in the contemporary dialogue around refugee higher education. Much of the emerging literature that focuses on refugee education in Germany has dealt with access to higher education institutions (HEIs), profiling ‘pathway’ or ‘bridging’ programmes that prepare students for higher education and are familiar in other national settings. This chapter seeks to…
2020
Dead end schools? Refugee teenagers and school segregation in Germany
The German school system is facing an extraordinary challenge in integrating well over 200,000 children and teenagers who have sought asylum since the summer of 2015. Despite the remarkable efforts of teachers, school administrators, and policy-makers, in recent years many young refugees have been unable to access a nearby school within the three months set forth by European Union legislation.…
2020
Towards a socially just system of newcomer school integration: Syrians in Canada and Germany
The Syrian diaspora of newcomers to Canada or Germany represent the more fortunate refugees escaping from civil war, that is, more fortunate in terms of their arrival into two democratic, socialist-oriented societies as opposed to being housed in refugee camps in neighboring Middle Eastern nations bordering Syria. They are also more fortunate in attending schools where Canadian and German educators…
2020
Refugees in neoliberal universities
Open Learning Initiative (OLIve) at the University of East London has been preparing forced migrant students for university in the UK since 2019. One of the main barriers for creating meaningful support for forced migrants is the hostile environment which shifts border control to educational institutions; ever increasing bureaucratic pressures to follow and document procedures; and the neo-liberalisation of universities…
2020
Integration of syrian refugees through education policies in Turkey
Opening its door to 3.6 million Syrians, Turkey is host to the largest refugee population today (UNHCR 2020). In addition to providing them with humanitarian aid, Turkey has made academic and financial reforms to enhance Syrian refugees‘ access to higher education (Ergin and de Wit 2019). Thanks to these reforms, over 27,034 Syrian refugees accessed Turkish universities as of the…
2020
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
“Start ins Deutsche” – Students Teach German to Refugees at Goethe University Frankfurt
In September 2015, Germany witnessed an unanticipated migration of refugees toward the European Union. The government established an open-border policy that meant Germany would harbor all refugee arrivals. In large, the civil society joined efforts to create a so-called Willkommenskultur (welcome culture) during the “summer of welcome.” This chapter will introduce the project “Start ins Deutsche” (German language kick-off) of…
2019
Asylum-Seeking Students’ Experience of Higher Education in the UK
This chapter is dedicated to presenting and analyzing the accounts of young men in the UK from an asylum-seeking background about how they experience a university. The chapter has been written with the goal of contributing to existing literature about how to promote an understanding about the active engagement of refugee students in higher education in the UK. It focuses…
2019
Education as a panacea for refugee integration? Evidence from Germany and the United States
As a result of conflict and instability worldwide, Europe and North America have experienced a higher influx of refugees recently. While the United States (US) has been the leading country for refugee resettlement historically, Germany has recently become host to a large number of these individuals. To aid in coping with their arrival, international organizations advocate using education, which provides…
2019
Female refugees' transitions into higher education: Comparative perspectives from Germany, Egypt, And Kyrgyzstan
This paper explores the experience of female refugees as they transition into higher education. Through a cross-national comparative analysis based on qualitative research and personal interviews conducted in three countries, researchers examined the different ways institutions in Kyrgyzstan, Egypt and Germany facilitate the integration of female refugees.
2019
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
The processes of integration and education: The case of Syrian refugees and Syrian refugee children in Turkey
The Syrian migration is the second-largest mass movement of people in the world’s history that causes almost half of the Syrian population to be displaced since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in March 2011; half of the population affected by the Syrian conflict are children. Syrian children still face many barriers to attending schools in Turkey. Among 2.7…
2018
The education of refugee children: Human rights enactment and educational policy discourses in Italy and the UK
Europe is currently experiencing what the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)1 defines as the largest refugee crisis since the end of World War II. An estimated 700,000 refugees and migrants have arrived in Europe in the last year along dangerous land and sea routes, from Syria, Eritrea, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (UNHCR,…
2018
The problems that school administrators and Syrian teachers encounter during the educational process of Syrian Refugee children: Ankara-Altindağ example
The aim of the study is to determine the problems that school administrators and Syrian Teachers encounter during the educational process of Syrian Refugee Children continuing their education in basic education institutions Ankara-Altındağ province. So as to identify and diagnose in detail the views of the school administrators and Syrian teachers in basic education institutions regarding the problems they face…
2018
Rethinking education policies within the axis of being a refugee: Refugees and multiculturalism - proposals for Turkey
In this chapter, concept of refugees, legal status of refugees, educational rights of refugees, concept of multicultural education are discussed. This section on refugees and immigrants in Turkey, multiculturalism, multicultural education concept aims to investigate basic human right of the refugees, immigrants and asylum seekers, right of education. Principles and recommendations should be produced on structuring and management of multicultural…
2018
Turkey’s basic education policies for Syrian refugees under temporary protection
Migration and asylum are common historical facts in our geography. Therefore, Turkey faces one of the greatest migration movements of its history. The number of asylum seekers exceeding the estimates, uncertainty of the asylum period and a greatly uncertain process necessitate attaching great importance to education dimension of the problem. The problem of Syrian asylum seekers whose official number is…
2018
War-induced immigration and education: Syrian refugees’ education in Turkey
This study aims to make clear the matter at hand that of the educational status of the Syrian refugees in Turkey. Turkey has become one of the countries that felt the impact of the war in Syria the most. In a very short period of time 1.5 million students have been added to the current 20 million students. The interviews…
2018
English language as an inclusion tool: The case of Syrian refugees in UK primary schools
This chapter discusses the concept of linguistic capabilities as an analytical tool to examine the inclusion processes for participants. The linguistic capabilities concept has been used to address barriers to the wellbeing of marginalised communities. Using the lived experiences of Syrian refugee primary school children, their families, school teachers and other key informants, the chapter explores the critical role of…
2018
'Living with and Learning from Refugees': Schools in vienna dealing with global challenges
Public schools represent places in which overall societal exchange occurs and plays out. Austria looks back on more than 30 years' experience of including different religions beyond Christianity in the public educational system. Democratic countries are well advised to embed religious education into the educational system at large. Doing so, it is easier to implement a rational and deliberating agenda…
2018
‘The other brick in the wall’: Integrating and empowering refugee students through intercultural education; a case study from greece
The refugee crisis, the largest migratory wave since the Second World War, has constituted a challenge for European societies, at an economic, social, but also moral level. In times of frustration, when European values appear more fragile than ever, education can play a key role in the management of the crisis and the prevention of discrimination. Greece has been one…
2017
International Perspectives on the Pedagogies of Educational Transitions
There has been a great deal written recently about children starting school, particularly primary school. All of the stakeholders in these transitions to school have been considered, along with matters of readiness – for the child, family, educators, schools and communities; adjustment and adaptation; continuity and change in curricula and learning; and the opportunities, aspirations, expectations and entitlements encompassed in…
2017