Cognitive learning & development
Language learning and forced migration
This study of language issues in the context of migration provides interdisciplinary insights into language as learned, used and lived by refugees in Norway. It offers an innovative contribution to the field of SLA by bringing together structural, cognitive, social and critical approaches to data collected among the same individuals.
2022
Conceptual metaphors, plurilingualism and second language acquisition: a refugee education case study
The purpose of this study is to explore the use of equivalent conceptual metaphors and the correspondent linguistic expressions in refugee students’ L1s and L2s and examine the possible positive effects conceptual metaphors can induce for vocabulary learning and retention in second language learning. Moreover, another aim of the research is to investigate the use of conceptual metaphors as a…
2022
Summer Preschools for Syrian Refugee and Host Community Children in Turkey: A Model of Contextually Sensitive Early Intervention
Research Findings: This study evaluated the impacts of the Summer Preschools Program on 5-to-6-year-old Syrian refugee and local children from vulnerable communities of Turkey. Developed as a community-based contextually sensitive early intervention model, the program aimed to promote developmental well-being and school readiness of children from forced displacement and abject poverty backgrounds by supporting cognitive, language, and socioemotional development prior…
2022
Understanding Syrian parents’ educational involvement in their children’s primary education in Turkey
Parental involvement in education is significant for children's schooling experience and their cognitive and academic development. It also plays a role in refugee children's success and integration in the host country. However, understanding refugee parents’ educational involvement can be a complex issue because of their different cultural beliefs and unique challenges as refugees. Drawing on 20 in-depth interviews with Syrian…
2022
Justice, What a Dream!—Mapping Intersections of Sustainability and Inclusion
This paper takes on the important concepts of inclusion and sustainability, in both their broad and discursive understandings, to map out the interrelations that teachers, who work within different areas of the Austrian school system, make between different, key aspects of their work and organization. The complex intersections of school organization, sustainability, and inclusion were analyzed following a situational analysis…
2022
Feasibility of a randomised trial of Teaching Recovery Techniques (TRT) with refugee youth: results from a pilot of the Swedish UnaccomPanied yOuth Refugee Trial (SUPpORT)
Background: Although post-traumatic stress is prevalent among unaccompanied refugee minors (URM), there are few evidence-based psychological interventions for this group. Teaching Recovery Techniques (TRT) is a brief, manualised intervention for trauma-exposed youth, which has shown promising results in exploratory studies. The aim of the present study was to assess the feasibility of conducting a randomised controlled trial (RCT) evaluating the…
2022
Socio-Emotional Problems and Learning Skills of Roma and Recently Arrived Refugee Children in German Elementary Schools
Background: In Germany, many recently arrived and minority families live in multi-ethnic, high-poverty districts. Multiple risk factors threaten their children s development. Aims: We examined the socio-emotional problems of these children in relation to their academic learning skills and executive functioning. Method: We compared teacher-rated socio-emotional problems of n = 112 Roma children (90% foreign-born), n = 101 refugee children…
2022
Classroom culture and cultures in the classroom: engagement with Holocaust education in diverse schools
This paper explores the engagement and attitudes of students in a UK school learning about the Holocaust, with a focus on refugee students. This paper explores students’ behavioral, cognitive and emotional engagement with the subject, with a focus on the students’ experiences. Findings revealed an enthusiasm and understanding from most students, but particularly refugee students. The culture in the classroom…
2022
Non-verbal cognitive development, learning, and symptoms of PTSD in 3- to 6-year-old refugee children
As IQ tests are commonly used as key assessment method, we address the question whether our commonly used standardized IQ tests are appropriate for children from families of diverse cultures and different educational levels in a refugee population. We examined 109 refugee children aged 3–7 years (M = 5.10 years, SD = 1.25) with the “Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children “ (KABC-II;…
2022
Hahnefeld A.
Sukale T.
Weigand E.
Dudek V.
Münch K.
Aberl S.
Eckler L.V.
Nehring I.
Friedmann A.
Plener P.L.
Fegert J.M.
Mall V.
Cognitive learning & development
Randomised control trial
Correlational analysis
Caregivers
Gender
English
Mental health & psychosocial well-being
Assessment
Camp setting
Formal education
Language education
Germany
Primary education
Experimental & quasi-experimental study
Early childhood education
Special education
Effectiveness of psychosocial school interventions in Finnish schools for refugee and immigrant children, “Refugees Well School” in Finland (RWS-FI): a protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial
Background: Schools are natural environments in which to enhance young people’s social and emotional skills, mental health, and contact between diverse groups, including students from refugee and immigrant backgrounds. A layered or tiered provision of services is recommended as it can be effective to meet the needs of war-affected adolescents who variably show mental health problems (such as posttraumatic stress…
2022
Punamäki R.-L.
Kankaanpää R.
Andersen A.
Hilden P.K.
Verelst A.
Derluyn I.
Aalto S.
Vänskä M.
Lepistö R.
Soye E.
Watters C.
Peltonen K.
Integration & assimilation
Caregivers
Teachers & educational staff
English
Access & participation
Resilience & adaptation
Mental health & psychosocial well-being
Intervention
Experimental & quasi-experimental study
Cognitive learning & development
Finland
Randomised control trial
Socio-emotional learning & development
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
Academic self-efficacy and future work skills in unaccompanied foreign minors: structural equation analysis according to residence time [Autoeficacia académica y habilidades para el futuro laboral en menores extranjeros no acompañados: Análisis mediante ecuaciones estructurales según tiempo de residencia]
The present study seeks to develop an explanatory model of existing relationships between future work skills and academic self-efficacy of a sample of Unaccompanied foreign minors (UFM) (n = 340) in Spain. The structural model demonstrated that management of cognitive load represents the main future work skill amongst UFM. Nonetheless, adaptive thinking acquires more relevance amongst those who have spent…
2021
Evaluation of a school-based intervention to promote mental health of refugee youth in Sweden (The RefugeesWellSchool Trial): study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial
Background: Sweden is home to a large and growing population of refugee youths who may be at risk of mental health problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Thus, there is a need for interventions that address mental health problems in these populations. Schools have been identified as an ideal setting for delivering such interventions as they offer a non-stigmatizing…
2021
Integration of Recently Arrived Underage Refugees: Research Potential of the Study ReGES – Refugees in the German Educational System
With the strong immigration of refugees at the end of the last decade, many minors came to Germany. Their integration into the German educational system will be one of the central tasks of German society and is important for the medium- and long-term integration of incoming young refugees in various areas of society. Data from the ReGES panel study enable…
2021
Critical perspectives on social inclusion in integration education programs for adult migrants
This thesis explores the process of social inclusion of adult migrant learners enrolled in integration education programs. It reveals the Inclusectionalities denoting the intersections of inclusion and exclusion through which liminal spaces are revealed that position migrant students as between and betwixt belonging and othering. The study is based on research findings obtained during multiple case study fieldwork in Finland…
2020
Curriculum
Cognitive learning & development
Finland
Interview
Adult education & training
Integration & assimilation
Teachers & educational staff
Inclusion
English
Racism & discrimination
Equity & equality
Formal education
Tertiary education
Narrative analysis
Language education
Case study
Observation
Parental PTSD and school performance in 16-year-olds–a Swedish national cohort study
Aim: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in parents can have severe consequences also for their children. Prevalence of PTSD is high among refugees. Refugee children have been reported to perform poorly in school. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of PTSD in refugee and native Swedish parents on children’s school performance and to compare the impact of…
2019
Evaluation of a school-based, teacher-delivered psychological intervention group program for trauma-affected Syrian refugee children in Istanbul, Turkey
Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate an innovative, protocol-based, group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) program delivered by trained teachers to reduce emotional distress and improve psychological functioning among the war-traumatized Syrian refugee students living in Istanbul. Methods: A total of 32 participants, aged between 10 and 15 years (mean = 12.41, SD = 1.68) and mostly females…
2017
Second language acquisition effects of a primary physical education intervention: A pilot study with young refugees
Background: A physical education (PE) intervention for young refugees was designed combining physical activity within the context of primary PE games with second language learning activities in German. The intervention was based on theoretical implications from the field of second language acquisition and evidence for positive effects of physical activity on cognitive outcomes (e.g. language acquisition). The aim of this…
2018
Adult refugee learners in the Norwegian school system. An exercise in mental contortionism?
Are the aims of competence in Social Studies, LK06 applicable to adult refugee learners? This thesis aims to answer this research problem by investigating how different discourse perspectives interfere in the production of text in the classroom, and how connotations to topic relevant words affect academic achievement. Basil Bernstein’s theory on agent and structure offers the main theoretical framework of…
2017
A case study of English-speaking native-born German public school educators’ experiences with refugee and immigrant students
Teachers worldwide are adapting to meet educational needs caused by increased immigration. Germany has many immigrant students and ranks high in international education. This case study investigated experiences of English-speaking native-born German educators in Germany’s public primary schools when responding to refugee and immigrant students. Experiences when responding means how educators interact with immigrant students in school settings and perceive…
2017