Report
The right to higher education for refugees and forcibly displaced people: Briefing note compendium
The following briefing note compendium reflects wide-ranging analysis and insights of the various barriers that refugees and forcibly displaced people experience in accessing, progressing, and completing higher education. At the same time, the briefing notes present considerations that States and other higher education stakeholders should take into account to defend and promote the right to higher education for this equity…
2023
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
Enhancing education opportunities: A short assessment on education pathways to the UK for refugees and individuals from forced displacement backgrounds
This report presents the findings of a short study on the opportunities and challenges encountered by refugees and individuals from a forced displacement background in accessing education pathways to the UK and seeks to provide recommendations on improving these complementary pathways. The research for this report was carried out by UNHCR UK between March and August 2023. UNHCR UK interviewed…
2023
Considerations for preparatory education for asylum-seekers and refugees in Iceland
UNHCR’s Representation for the Nordic and Baltic Countries has submitted considerations for setting up preparatory education for asylum-seekers and refugees in Iceland. The UNHCR Global Education Strategy 2030 highlights the educational challenges faced by refugee children, with many not attending primary or secondary school, leading to negative impacts on their future careers and livelihoods. In Iceland, a surge in arrivals…
2023
Out of school: Assessment on barriers to school enrolment for Ukrainian refugee adolescents in Poland
The „Out of School” report, commissioned by CARE International in Poland, International Rescue Committee, and Save the Children Poland, delves into one of the significant challenges confronting the education system in Poland. Thousands of Ukrainian children and youth are not attending schools, potentially compromising their social and academic development, and hindering their integration into Polish society. One of the key…
2024
Hometown conflict and refugees’ integration efforts
How does violence in origin areas affect the educational outcomes of refugees in their destinations? Using administrative panel data, we find that heightened violence in the hometowns of Syrian students leads to improvements in their school outcomes in Türkiye. Turkish language and Math scores of refugee students improve, with larger impacts on Turkish scores. There is no impact on naturalized…
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
Building bright futures: What is needed to expand early childhood education and care for Ukraine’s refugee children
Nine out of every 10 refugees arriving in host countries from Ukraine are women and children. Only 1 in 3 of Ukrainian refugee children are enrolled in early childhood education and care services. This emphasizes the need for expanding and strengthening early childhood education systems to ensure sufficient access for all children, and the integration of Ukranian refugee children in…
2023
Unlocking learning: The use of education technology to support disadvantaged children’s language learning and social inclusion in Italy
In Italy, more than 700,000 asylum seekers and migrants arrived in the country between 2014-2020. Newly arrived children including refugees and migrants need to quickly acquire Italian skills to succeed in school and society. To help address this urgent need, the Akelius digital learning application was introduced in Bologna and Rome for Italian and English language learning in the 2021/22…
2023
Building bright futures: How to integrate Ukraine’s refugee children through early childhood education and care
Nine out of every 10 refugees arriving in host countries from Ukraine are women and children. Only 1 in 3 of Ukrainian refugee children are enrolled in early childhood education and care services. This emphasizes the need for expanding and strengthening early childhood education systems to ensure sufficient access for all children, and the integration of Ukranian refugee children in…
2023
Unlocking learning: The use of digital learning to support the education and inclusion of refugees and migrant children in Bosnia and Herzegovina
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the number of refugees and migrants arriving in the country has increased from just a few dozen arrivals annually prior to 2017 to 95,000 between 2018 and 2022. This increase has put incredible strain on the country's education systems. This research presents critical findings on the implementation and effectiveness of the Akelius digital learning application in…
2023
Refugee integration in Europe since the ‘crisis’
In this working paper we map the literature on refugee integration in Europe as part of our work for the GLIMER project which seeks to understand how localities are responding to the so-called 'refugee crisis'. We present an account of trends in the literature by focusing on some of the outcomes and conclusions of notable recent studies in an attempt…
2019
Refugee education: Integration models and practices in OECD countries
The recent refugee crisis has put many OECD countries under considerable pressure to accommodate and integrate large numbers of refugees. Refugee students are a particularly vulnerable group due to their forced displacement, but their needs are not always met by education systems, which can hinder the integration potential of these students. This poses considerable challenges as the integration of refugee…
2019
Time for Europe to get migrant integration right
The arrival of over one million people seeking protection in our continent in recent months has profoundly shaken Europe and found European governments unprepared to face up to the challenge of providing adequate reception. Preoccupied with short-term imperatives, European governments have lost sight of more long-term challenges posed by these arrivals. Little, if any, significant debate about how to promote…
2016
Finding Their Way The Journey to University for Refugee and Asylum-Seeking Young people in Coventry
This research report explores the journey to higher education for refugee and asylum-seeking young people living in Coventry. It is the product of a partnership between Refugee Education UK and the University of Warwick's English and Comparative Literary Studies Department. The qualitative research study explores the barriers to university facing refugee and asylum-seeking young people in Coventry, and reveals the…
2022
Refugee education in Europe: Learning after lockdown
Schools and higher education systems worldwide are finishing their third academic year under disruptions caused by COVID-19. The pandemic has had unprecedented effects on education. During peak infection periods, many countries mandated school and university closures for weeks or months, forcing hundreds of millions of teachers, parents, children and students around the globe to stay at home and switch to…
2022
The social and economic rationale of inclusive education: An overview of the outcomes in education for diverse groups of students
Since UNESCO’s Salamanca Declaration in 1994, inclusive education has progressively attracted attention in international debates around education policy. While some evidence exists on the positive impact that inclusive education reforms can have on the academic and personal outcomes of diverse students – and in particular of students with special education needs – limited information is available on the economic sustainability…
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
Social and emotional learning (SEL) of newcomer and refugee students: Beliefs, practices and implications for policies across OECD countries
Social and emotional learning (SEL) strengthens students’ abilities to regulate their emotions, thoughts, and behaviours and to interact successfully with others. There are an array of important social and emotional skills (SES): goal-setting, working to one’s potential, resilience, creativity, perseverance, problem solving, and caring about the welfare of others, among them. All students need SEL, but newcomer and refugee students…
2022
Multi-stakeholder approach for better integration of refugee students: Stakeholder engagement in the practice-research-policy transfer in refugee education policy
Ample research has shown the importance of collaboration between practitioners, researchers, and policy makers to ensure holistic, inclusive, and effective policy making, particularly in the field of refugee education. Many countries, however, still face challenges in engaging with stakeholders during all the stages of the practice – research – policy transfer in the context of refugee education in a meaningful…
2022
How vocational education and training (VET) systems can support Ukraine: Lessons from past crises
Russia’s large-scale aggression against Ukraine has led to the most important humanitarian crisis in the OECD area since World War II, affecting millions of people and a severe economic, social and educational shock of uncertain duration and magnitude. This policy brief discusses how VET systems in host countries can become more inclusive and supportive of Ukrainians displaced by Russia’s large-scale…
2022
Relocation 2.0: tying adult refugee skills to labour market demand
This Cedefop policy brief is based on an empirical piece of work carried out in Greece and Portugal. The work tested if, and under what conditions, intra-EU relocation of refugees based on skills and labour market needs in countries of relocation may work. Experience gained indicates six ways in which progress can be made to expand relocation in Europe based…
2022
Supporting the inclusion of displaced children from Ukraine in education: considerations, key principles and practices for the school year 2022-2023
Millions of children and young people are fleeing the war in Ukraine and arriving in the European Union. The number of children and adolescents arriving from Ukraine is unprecedented in its scale in such a short time span. Children who have suffered the trauma of war and displacement are in need of support, including quick access to education and training.…
2022
Refugees from Ukraine: support to school children and teachers: April 2022
Since the start of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, more than 3 million people have fled the country, with UN estimates suggesting that more than half of them are children. To respond to this unprecedented situation, the EU agreed in record time to activate the Temporary Protection Directive to help people fleeing war in Ukraine. The…
2022
The effects of COVID-19 on young refugees’ education and wellbeing: Insights from practitioners
This report presents practitioner-based insights from REUK’s experience supporting over 550 refugee and asylum-seeking children and young people through the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualitative consultations took place with 10 frontline staff members, who shared their observations on the educational and wellbeing challenges facing refugee students, aged 14-25. The report aims to highlight the experiences of refugee students to ensure that their…
2021
Supporting young Afghans’ education and wellbeing: urgent policy priorities
REUK has 12 years’ experience working with Afghan refugee children and young people in the UK, as well as in Afghanistan, and has published leading research for the United Nations on education for young Afghan refugees in the UK. Drawing on this expertise, this document sets out key urgent policy priorities for supporting the education and psychosocial wellbeing of young…
2021
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
The educational outcomes of refugee and asylum-seeking children in England
New research from the Education Policy Institute, supported by Unbound Philanthropy, finds that asylum-seeking children who enter the UK separated from their parents are on average over three years behind non-migrant children at school by the time they take their GCSEs. The new EPI working paper, which is the first study to examine the educational outcomes of the majority of…
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
Back to School? Refugee children in Greece denied right to education
Refugee children in Greece also face dire prospects of receiving a quality education. Even before Covid-19, less than a third of refugee and migrant children were actually enrolled and attending school. The education crisis on the Greek islands is particularly acute. Less than 15% of children in refugee camps attended formal school in the previous year. In the notorious Reception…
2021
Higher education on hold: Access to higher education for young people with insecure or unresolved immigration status
Our new research report ‘Higher Education on Hold’, in collaboration with King’s College London, explores the barriers to higher education access faced by young people who have insecure immigration status. The report is the first to examine the barriers to accessing HE that that stand in the way of young people who: Have refugee status Are seeking asylum Have limited…
2021
School-based support for Syrian refugee pupils in Northern Ireland
Over the past 5 years Northern Ireland has welcomed approximately 1,900 Syrian refugees, including almost 700 school-aged children and young people, through the Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme (VPRS). Many of these have experienced war and persecution, and a range of additional adversities during and post-migration. Alongside language proficiency, ‘trauma’ has been the most common challenge reported by school staff to…
2021
The integration of asylum seekers and refugees in the field of education and the labour market: Comparative thematic report
This report is based on a meta-analysis of nine national reports on integration from countries along the so-called Eastern Mediterranean Route. It includes two countries beyond the EU, Turkey and Iraq, which have played an important role as source and transit countries of refugees, the transit countries of Greece, Italy and Poland, and the destination countries of Austria, Germany, Sweden,…
2021
Ensuring Quality Early Childhood Education for Refugee Children: A New Approach to Teacher Professional Development
The provision of early childhood education (ECE) for refugees is extremely limited in many settings. Where it does exist, programmes are often poorly resourced. While all refugee education is underfunded, ECE is particularly underfunded and under-supported. High-quality ECE can be a powerful avenue for helping young refugee children manage their trauma and for supporting their well-being in the short and…
2021
Improving access to the labour market for refugees in Sweden: Key findings and recommendations
Sweden is often singled out as having comparatively inclusive integration policy measures for migrants in general and refugees and their families in particular. Still, the employment gap between the native born and foreign born is among the largest among OECD countries, and the situation for refugees is especially difficult. Persistently high unemployment rates among refugees and their families have prompted…
2020
Integration into the Labour Market and Skills Training of Migrants in Sweden
Sweden ratified the UN convention of refugees in 1954; the right of asylum was fully implemented in the new Foreigner Act of 1954 (SFS 1954:193). The new act enabled permanent residency (bosättningstillstånd) and the equal status of foreigners on the labour market was emphasised in the preparatory work (see government bill, Prop. 1953:41). For a long time, refugee immigration was…
2020
Improving labour market access for refugees in Calabria: Key findings and recommendations
Access to employment is a key factor for migrant integration not only as a means of socio-economic incorporation, but also because it can help a person build relationships, support wellbeing and increase the sense of belonging to the local community. In the Italian context, the employment of migrants is constantly on the rise although only a small proportion are in…
2020
Integration into the Labour Market and Skills Training of Migrants in Italy
The right to work is one of the fundamental pillars of the Italian Constitution (Articles 1 and 4); it is granted to everyone as an instrument for the social, economic and material development of the Nation. However, the Italian Government is free to define certain areas of economic initiative (Article 41) that are considered strategic and of high interest. Italian…
2020
Improving access to the labour market for refugees in Cyprus: Key findings and recommendations
Employment is a core part of the refugee integration process: it not only provides an income, but also builds social networks, status and confidence, and enhances independence, as well as physical and mental health. Integration through employment can also contribute to host countries by boosting their working-age population and contributing to human capital, taxes and social income. Despite the demonstrable…
2020
Integration into the Labour Market and Skills Training of Migrants in Cyprus
Employment for displaced migrants is a core part of the integration process because it provides not only an income, but also a social network, as well as status, confidence, independence and health (UNHCR, 2018). Integration through employment can also contribute to the host country by boosting the working-age population and contributing to human capital, taxes and social income (OECD &…
2020
Improving labour market access for refugees in Scotland: Key findings and recommendations
Access to the labour market is a key element of displaced migrants’ ‘integration’ experiences. Labour market access provides displaced migrants with financial stability and sustainability, the development of community networks and positive health outcomes. It also provides benefits to local and national economies. Displaced migrants bring new skills-sets, perspectives and experiences to the labour market, and the medium to long-term…
2020
Displaced Migration and Labour Market Governance in Scotland: Challenges and Opportunities
Labour market conditions in the UK create significant barriers for refugees seeking employment. These include: ethnic and racialised penalties, barriers related to immigration controls, barriers related to employers’ perceptions of these controls and the effects of the ‘hostile environment’. As a result, refugees are more likely to be unemployed or under-employed than a British citizen. GLIMER Stakeholders reported the same…
2020
COVID-19 crisis: emerging impact on young refugees’ education and wellbeing in the UK
This document outlines the emerging impact of the COVID-19 crisis on young refugees’ education and wellbeing in the UK, based on RSN’s direct support work with young refugees in recent weeks. It also details recommendations to central government, local authorities and education stakeholders to help ensure that young refugees’ education and wellbeing is not forgotten during this crisis.
2020
Profiling of IDP situation in Luhansk Region, Ukraine
The report “Profiling of IDP situation in Luhansk Region, Ukraine - data-driven approach to durable solutions” was launched by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in December 2020. It was developed as a result of the Profiling exercises piloted in Luhansk region by NRC in collaboration with Luhansk Regional State Administration. The Joint IDP Profiling Service (JIPS) provided technical support in…
2020
Home Learning Inequalities among Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Migrant Communities
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic families are now responsible for directing their children’s home learning. This has exacerbated existing educational inequalities among disadvantaged pupils and those who do not have suitable home learning environments. Through our research we have identified additional barriers that are affecting students from refugee, asylum seeker and migrant backgrounds. We have suggested recommendations, which need to…
2020
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
France
Greece
Bulgaria
Access & participation
Spain
Latvia
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
Integration Policies, Practices and Experiences – Germany Country Report
This report is about Germany's integration system. Germany is a “reluctant” immigration country. Despite its post-World-War-II history of immigration, Germany has never adopted a coherent strategy or policy of integration. Immigration was considered a transitory phenomenon as the notorious term “guest workers” suggests. Considering the expected return of immigrants to their countries of origin, integration policy making has long remained…
2020