Policy & law
Transpathy and the relational affect of social justice in refugee education
Using the “levels of concern” lens, this position paper presents guiding principles that articulate the relationship between social justice and refugee education. The paper offers a commentary on the contemporary theory and practice of refugee education through the lens of emotioncy. The discussion begins by exploring the emotional responses such as sympathy and empathy, before moving on to unveil new…
2023
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
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
Assessing the criteria for equality of the right: Refugees’ higher education from the perspective of human rights [Hak Eşitliğine İlişkin Kriterlerin Değerlendirilmesi: İnsan Hakları Perspektifinden Mültecilerin Yükseköğrenimi]
With the Syrian refugee crisis, the subject of refugees’ access to HE, which was only partially funded owing to donor reluctance, was prominently covered in the news, with concepts such as preventing the lost generation, resilience, reconstructing countries, and education as a human right. With the Ukraine crisis, the issue of supporting the higher education of refugees came to the…
2023
Policy of managing the educational activities of the university in the context of the russian-Ukrainian war
The purpose of the study is to identify the peculiarities of the activities of a higher education institution during a full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the russian army. On the example of the Higher Educational Establishment of Ukoopspilka “Poltava University of Economics and Trade”, the paper considers ways to search for and identify internal capabilities of the educational institution that…
2023
Functioning of a higher educational institution under force majeure circumstances: A case study of Ivan Franko National University of Lviv
Over the last decade, Ukrainian higher educational institutions have faced extraordinary and even dire circumstances three times: russia’s attack on Ukraine in Donbas and occupation of Crimea (2014); a total lockdown caused by a pandemic due to the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) (2020); russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine (2022). Each time, Ukrainian higher educational institutions had to reformat…
2023
Welcoming refugee children with a moral, rather than merely legal, right to education: Ideas for a cosmopolitan design of education
In this paper, we argue for the moral and not merely the legal right to education for refugee children. National education in many countries is challenged by refugee flows and influx of displaced people. However, there is a tendency to think of refugee flows as isolated events rather than parts of the dynamics of a world society that national education…
2023
The migratory experience: Challenging inclusionary measures
This chapter explores how refugees wishing to attend tertiary education experience a language learning initiative in Norway. It shows how this ostensibly inclusionary measure, instead of supporting the refugees' ambitions, hampers their efforts and works to exclude. Through a collaboration involving five prior participants enrolled in language learning, all with refugee status, and three researchers positioned differently towards the topic,…
2023
Normative, rational, and relational motives in crosscoalition coordination for a VET refugee programme
Shared beliefs are seen as a basis for policy coordination in the literature. Actors sharing beliefs coordinate their activities in order to translate their beliefs into policies. However, the literature shows that actors also coordinate for policy change across such belief coalitions for diverse reasons. Drawing on the literature on incentives in collective action organisations, we systematise these motives. We…
2023
Intergenerational spillover effects of language training for refugees
Children of refugees are among the most economically disadvantaged youth in several European coun-tries. They are more likely to drop out of school and to commit crime. We find that a reform in Denmark in 1999 that expanded language training for adult refugees and was shown to improve their earnings and job market outcomes permanently, also increased lower secondary school…
2023
Child refugee’s social skills and resilience: Moderating effects of time in refugee camp, parental education, and preschool attendance
In this cross-sectional study, we examine the relationship between social skills and resilience and the moderating effects of time spent in a refugee camp, parental education, and schooling on Syrian children who have been forcibly displaced to Turkey. Five hundred and twenty-six preschool-aged children (56.3% female, M-age = 5.79) were recruited to participate in this research. The Turkish version of…
2023
Exploring the impact of teachers’ past migration experience on inclusive education for refugee children
Teachers play a key role in shaping students' experiences in the learning environment. Studies on inclusive education in forced migration contexts, however, rarely examine what determines teachers' positive behaviour and attitudes toward refugee students. This study examines how teachers' past migration and occupational experiences impact their attitudes towards students who arrived through forced migration and whether they rely on teaching…
2023
Vocabulary Teaching in Refugee Children within the Context of the Greek Formal Education
The aim of the present study is to investigate vocabulary teaching in children with refugee backgrounds. The effectiveness of three vocabulary interventions-flashcards, pantomime, and use of contextual cues-is examined within the context of formal primary education in Greece. The improvement of the children's vocabulary is also assessed in association with factors related to the students' background as well as factors…
2023
Models for Organising the Education of Ukrainian Children Who Have Fled the War in Lithuanian Municipalities: Psychological, Material, and Linguistic Support
This article presents the situation of the education of Ukrainian refugee children in Lithuania. It analyses the political and practical actions taken by the Lithuanian state when, after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, schools unexpectedly received a large number of children from Ukraine who had not come of their own free will, having fled the war. This article…
2023
Restoring Children’s Right to Education during and after War The Case of Ukraine
The need to protect children in armed conflicts has become urgent, especially since the 1990s , is now outstanding in the war in Ukraine. Among the violations against children in Ukraine that were identified by the UN Secretary General in 2005, were attacks on schools , hospitals. This article discusses the question of how the violation of the right to…
2023
Supporting and measuring current and future educators’ preparedness to facilitate wellbeing of displaced children in schools
IntroductionImmigrant and refugee children face multiple challenges in accessing education. To help facilitate the educational success and wellbeing of these children, teachers need to have self-efficacy in creating a supportive learning environment for them. MethodsBased on a set of highly interconnected competences identified through a literature review and empirical research, the study developed a measurement instrument to assess teachers' generalized…
2023
Implementation and quality of an early childhood education program for newly arrived refugee children in Germany: an observational study
Early childhood education [ECE] can foster the social-emotional adjustment and development of young refugee children. Still, the large numbers of newly arriving refugee families challenge the ECE capacities of host countries. In Germany, state authorities have subsidized flexible ECE programs for refugee children in response to this situation. The goal of this study was to examine the implementation and quality…
2023
Engaging in critical consciousness in social work education: reflections from a student-academic international refugee activist project
Engaging in critical consciousness has been central for anti-oppressive practice in social work education. This article presents reflections on migration and (anti-) oppressive social work practices based on a student-academic activist project beginning in the North-East (NE) of England. The project involved MA social work students and two academics from a NE university, organizing a series of events aimed at…
2023
Associations between social factors and school belonging among newcomer and non-newcomer youth in Sweden
Feeling a sense of belonging at school is associated with important positive outcomes for youth and requires youth to engage in positive social relationships. Yet there is a limited understanding of the social factors most associated with youths' school belonging and limited evidence about whether correlates of school belonging vary for marginalized groups like newcomers compared to majority groups. Sweden…
2023
A Qualitative Exploration of Experiences of Asylum Seekers and People with Refugee Backgrounds in Accessing the Education System in Romania
Refugees and asylum seekers often confront particular challenges when accessing essential services in host countries. The difficulties these vulnerable groups face in meeting educational needs are documented in numerous studies. Although Romania experienced mainly transit migration, it is recently becoming a destination for refugees and irregular migrants. Most people entering the country are young or minors, and access to education…
2023
Exploring the place of adult learning for refugees and asylum seekers in migration policy for integration in England and Scotland
Learning, particularly learning English is presented as a key part of integration for adult migrants in the UK. England and Scotland differ in how their policy approaches to integration include adult learning. This article aims to explore and uncover the ways in which adult education, particularly for refugees and asylum seekers is embedded and included in policy for integration of…
2023
Educational integration of forcibly displaced persons in the EU countries [Integración educativa de personas desplazadas forzadamente en los países de la UE]
The aim of this work was to study the policy of the EU member states on the educational integration of forcibly displaced persons from Ukraine and to identify its consequences. Interviews were conducted with forcibly displaced persons from Ukraine to six EU countries. The School Motivation Questionnaire, by Luskanova, and the Phillips' School Anxiety Scale were used. The hosting countries…
2023
Trajectories of Employment Gaps of Refugees and Other Migrants: Evidence from Austria
This paper analyzes the labor market integration of non-European refugees originating from middle- and low-income countries for the period of 2009–2018 in Austria. We assess their probability of being employed relative to Austrian natives and compare it with that of other non-European migrants and European refugees and other immigrants from low- and middle-income non-EU countries. We draw on a register-based…
2022
The role of institutional opportunity structures for refugee integration in Vienna. Learnings and modifications in the aftermath of the long summer of migration in 2015
Austria's exclusive model of citizenship, and restrictive policies on migration, refugee reception and asylum, dating back to the 1990s, create structural barriers to refugee integration in the country’s economic and socio-cultural life. In this article, we shed light on Vienna, a city renowned for its comprehensive social policies. However, the inclusive integration approach adopted by the city clashes with the…
2022
The marginalised few: reflections from the lived experiences of forced displaced academics in Turkish academia
During the last decade, there has been an unprecedented increase in the number of Syrian asylum seekers, including forced displaced academics (FDAs), in Turkey. Along with providing essentials, there is the issue of social integration for these people. To efficiently deal with this problem, Turkish authorities have developed both educational policies and some legal arrangements to accommodate the employment process…
2022
Stateless in School: The ‘discomfort’ of Kurdish asylum seekers
The lives of children seeking asylum and refuge are complex; invariably both transnational and intersectional. Their educational needs and schooling experiences are often overlooked or lack nuanced understandings. This article focusses on Kurdish children seeking asylum in Germany. Qualitative data is presented to uncover the perceptions and understandings of schools, teachers and parents of children living through their unique educational…
2022
Refugee Children’s Early Development during Attendance of Specialized Preschool Programs and Transition into First Grade in Germany
Research Findings: We assessed socio-emotional behavior, nonverbal reasoning, German receptive language, and motor skills of refugee children attending early childhood development [ECD] programs and of those who did not (N = 207, mean age = 69.4 months). Young refugee children overall demonstrated lower levels of development and more socio-emotional behavior problems. Attendance of preschool-based ECD programs was inconsistently linked to…
2022
Post-migration ecology in educational leadership and policy for social justice: Welcoming refugee students in two distinct national contexts
Utilizing the post-migration ecological lens and the synthesized model of culturally relevant leadership formed by the authors, we aim to compare and analyze the policy outlines and school leadership responses to refugee education in Turkey and Germany; as the two main hosts of the largest number of refugees. Through comparative phenomenology, we draw on the semi-structured interviews, observations, and document…
2022
Making the Family Relationships of the Unaccompanied Youth Visible: An Opportunity to Include a New Actor in Children Care
The objective of this article is to identify those situations where the families of fostered unaccompanied migrant children are made visible in order to favor the incorporation of these families into the pathway planning. The study design is qualitative exploratory. The fieldwork was carried out in Spain and involved working groups with specialized professionals. The results show that the authorities…
2022
Is the public library included? An analysis of local government documentation on the integration of forced migrants in Scotland
Introduction. Library and information science researchers identify public library roles in the integration of forced migrants into local communities. Here an analysis of formal documentation issued by local authorities allowed for an exploration of public libraries as services to aid the integration of forced migrants in Scotland. Method. In 2021, 23 Scottish local authorities responded to Freedom of Information requests…
2022
Determinants of Refugee Children’s Social Integration: Evidence from Lebanon, Turkey, and Australia
This paper investigates the determinants of refugee students’ social integration in Lebanon, Turkey, and Australia. This paper seeks to understand how legal status and the corresponding length of refugee asylum shape refugee children’s social integration. The three host countries offer refugees different legal statuses ranging from short-term in Lebanon, medium-term in Turkey, and long-term in Australia. Therefore, our data collection…
2022
Contact vs. information: What shapes attitudes towards immigration? Evidence from an experiment in schools
We analyze whether (correct) information provision on immigration is more effective than contact in shaping attitudes towards immigration. We collect data from a randomized experiment in 18 middle- and high-school classes in the city of Rome. Half of the classes meet a refugee from Mauritania and read a book about his story, whereas the rest of them attend a lecture…
2022
Ambivalent Strategies: Student-Migrant-Workers’ Efforts at Challenging Administrative Bordering
Migrants’ struggles against borders have been examined extensively among refugees and undocumented migrants, whereas the everyday struggles in contexts of administrative bordering have remained insufficiently examined within the framework of so-called highly skilled migration. Drawing on in-depth interviews (N=34) with migrants holding a student residence permit in Finland, this article addresses the means of challenging administrative borders in a constrained…
2022
Integration policy and refugees’ economic performance: Evidence from Sweden’s 2010 reform of the introduction programme
In this paper, we investigate whether integration policy improves refugees’ economic performance, specifically examining the effects on refugees’ income of Sweden's 2010 reform of the introduction programme (or IP). We also evaluate how the reform effects vary depending on refugees’ gender and educational attainment. Our key finding shows a strong positive effect of the reform on refugees’ income, immediately after…
2021
From Engagement to Strategy: The Journey Towards a Civic University
Between 2002 and 2018, at a time when UK universities were being increasingly measured in economic and financial terms, Staffordshire University established a dedicated public engagement unit. Staffed by an experienced team of “pracademics” (Posner, 2009), the Creative Communities Unit (CCU) engaged with community members and voluntary organizations through teaching, research, and consultancy. Underpinning CCU practice was a clear set…
2020
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
Change or continuity? A comparative study of the immigrant integration models of Turkey and Germany after the Syrian Crisis
This study aimed to explore the effects of the Syrian refugee crisis on the immigrant integration policies and hence the national models of Turkey and Germany. It tried to assess whether there is a continuity or divergence in the policies after 2011. It also tried to match the two countries with one of the immigrant integration models discussed in the…
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
The labour market position of refugees and the role of effective policies [Statushouders aan het werk: De moeizame positieverwerving op de arbeidsmarkt en de betekenis van beleidsfactoren]
This article addresses the problematic labour market position of refugees in the Netherlands on the basis of different relevant explaining factors. The overall picture is that benefciaries of international protection are facing a great number of difculties in their attempts to get access to the Dutch labour market. These are both related to individual background characteristics and the extent to…
2017
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
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
Educators’ interactions with refugee pupils: knowledge, attitudes, and practices
The value of school for refugee and asylum seeking children is well established, in terms of their right to education under international law, their socio-emotional well-being, and their adaptation to living in a new country and culture. Yet there is a critical gap in our understanding of refugee education from the perspectives of educators – the people who interact with…
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
Opening up the University: Teaching and Learning with Refugees
Through a series of empirically and theoretically informed reflections, Opening Up the University offers insights into the process of setting up and running programs that cater to displaced students. Including contributions from educators, administrators, practitioners, and students, this expansive collected volume aims to inspire and question those who are considering creating their own interventions, speaking to policy makers and university…
2022
Educational Integration from the Perspective of Refugee Parents and Children [VKLJUČEVANJE V VZGOJNO-IZOBRAŽEVALNI SISTEM IZ PERSPEKTIVE STARŠEV IN OTROK BEGUNCEV]
This article is based on a research project executed by the authors in 2021. It revolves around the experiences of refugee children and parents within the Slovenian educational system. Data was acquired from twelve families. Interviewees spoke about the positive and negative aspects of educational integration. Those mainly consisted of language difficulties, learning difficulties, and discrimination. The presented research aims…
2022
Moving on from Dutch to English: Young Refugees Feeling Betrayed by the Dutch Language Integration Policy and Seeking for More Inclusive Environments
This article explores the linguistic strategies of young refugees (ages 12-23) in the Netherlands. The study takes place within a societal context in which new migrants and refugees are increasingly pressured to learn Dutch as key to their integration, but English is becoming more and more dominant, and in which learning Dutch is not considered necessary for other newcomer groups…
2022
The Civic Engagement and Social Integration of Refugees in Germany
Civil society has played an important role in meeting the challenges of refugee migration in recent years. This commentary documents the importance of civic engagement for the integration of refugees by linking individual survey data on refugees to a regional measure of civic engagement in Germany. Using the density of newly established civic associations at the county level as a…
2022
The Reception of New Migrants in French Urban and Rural Schools: Comparing the Cases of Bulgarian Roma and Syrian Refugees
This article examines the ways in which schools in France face the challenges posed by new types of migrant and refugee pupils. It is based on comparative ethnographic fieldwork carried out in various localities of a French department and on interviews with school personnel confronted with the arrival of children from two groups who embody the perceived distinction between undesirable…
2022