Teachers & educational staff
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
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
Inclusion of migrant and refugee children in the education system: Exploring and overcoming language and social boundaries in the Una-Sana Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) has become strongly affected by migrants from the Global South who aim to migrate into the EU. However, due to the strengthening of the external EU border, migrants increasingly remain in B&H for a longer period making it a receiving country for migrants, 20% of whom are estimated to be children. Since education is a fundamental…
2023
Inclusive education for refugee children: Preservice social studies teachers and their critical thinking skills
The purpose of this study carried out with preservice social studies teachers in the final stage of transition to professional life was to investigate the sources they used for information about recent refugee mobility in Turkey, and their way of questioning the reliability of these sources. The study also analysed their views on the subject, within the context of critical…
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
Northern outpost: Chernihiv Polytechnic National University in the conditions of the russia-Ukrainian war
During the full-scale war, educational institutions of Ukraine were at the epicenter of hostilities and suffered from attacks and bombing by the russian army: many schools, colleges, and universities were destroyed or damaged, and tens of thousands of students and teachers became refugees or forced displaced persons, lost their property and housing. Chernihiv Polytechnic National University (CPNU), located in the…
2023
Colonial imaginaries and psy-expertise on migrant and refugee mental health in education
Education has become, rather unproblematically, a site for mental health management, with policies and implementation strategies that identify and support students’ mental health. Different forms of in-school mental health support have increased both in the Global North and South, with teachers being on the frontline when identifying students’ mental distress and recommending treatment pathways. Through an investigation of data produced…
2023
The value of formal host-country education for the labour market position of refugees: Evidence from Austria
Refugees hosted in countries with advanced economies often work in low quality jobs, regardless of the education they obtained in their home countries. In this paper, I analyse the long-term impact of formal host-country education for refugees on labour market outcomes, using 22 years of microcensus data on Bosnians arriving in Austria during the 1992–1995 Bosnian war. I estimate local…
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
Inclusion, exclusion and Syrian refugees in Turkey
Forced migration movements are changing the social, demographic and cultural structures of countries following political unrest, civil war, and international interventions in Syria. The immigration of Syrians to Turkey has required intensive work, particularly relating to the education of refugee children. A systems theory framework supports the evaluation of inclusive education practices directed towards Syrian refugee children and highlights exclusionary…
2023
“What doesn’t defeat me makes me stronger” A Qualitative Study drawing on the Perspectives of Syrian Refugee University Students in Turkey
Education is one of the most crucial instruments for refugee youth to remove the disadvantages and enhance their social and structural integration into society. However, the unequal education opportunities concerning the barriers avoid the integration of refugee students into society and make them prone to discrimination. This qualitative descriptive design study aimed at describing the experiences of the subjective perspectives…
2023
Teaching refugee students: the role of teachers’ attitudes towards cultural diversity
This article focuses on the role of teachers' attitudes towards cultural diversity in teaching refugee students in Germany. We examine which patterns of attitudes towards cultural diversity are common among teachers, how these depend on their professional experience and how they correlate with the perceptions of problems in teaching refugee students. Using data from the project 'Changing schools in a…
2023
Combining Language Training and Work Experience for Refugees with Low-Literacy Levels: a Mixed-Methods Case Study
Learning the host society's language and finding a job are important steps for the societal integration of refugees. Especially language proficiency is a key barrier for the integration of low literates. Often language training and gaining work skills are separated during the integration procedure. We investigated a 1-year pilot program for refugees with low-literacy levels in the Netherlands, which combined…
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
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
Refugee and migrant children’s views of integration and belonging in school in Ireland – and the role of micro- and meso-level interactions
Schools are chief among the social institutions impacted by migrant flows as key sites of integration and support for migrant children. This article focuses on micro-and meso-level interactions and their importance to experiences of belonging and socio-educational integration for migrant children. It explores outcomes from qualitative research in Ireland conducted as part of a European research project investigating the socio-educational…
2023
Dilemmas of ‘doing good’: How teachers respond to the care needs of newly arrived refugee and immigrant adolescents in Denmark
There is growing interest in the role of schools in supporting children facing adversity, including children with refugee and immigrant backgrounds. Based on six months of ethnographic fieldwork (December 2018 to June 2019) and interviews with teachers in two classes for adolescent newcomer refugee and immigrant learners in Denmark, this paper explores teacher responses to everyday dilemmas in supporting and…
2023
‘Not integrated at all. Whatsoever’: teachers’ narratives on the integration of newly arrived refugee students in Norway
This study investigates how teachers working with newly arrived adolescent refugee students reflect on these students, their situation within the educational system and in Norwegian society. We research the ways in which these reflections engage with the various understandings of the ubiquitous and 'fuzzy' notion of immigrant integration, a concept which we approach critically. The empirical data consists of interviews…
2023
Struggles of Refugee-Receiving Schools in Turkey
A total of 82.4 million persons had emigrated from their countries by the end of 2020 because of global conflicts. A total of 3.6 million settled in Turkey, which became the most refugee-receiving country. Among those resettled in Turkey, the majority were school-aged children, and schools became an inseparable instrument in the adaptation process. Thus, schools play a vital role…
2023
Opening Pandora’s box: a culturally relevant perspective on elementary teachers’ approaches to educating immigrant and refugee students in Turkey
Given the influx of immigrants and refugees in Turkey and across the globe, our study aims to examine how elementary teachers in Turkey are responding to the growing needs of immigrant and refugee students. Drawing on culturally relevant pedagogical frameworks, we interviewed 21 teachers to highlight if and how they build on cultural and individual strengths to reimagine educational contexts.…
2023
Tutoring project for children from a refugee community: tutor perspectives
Background: The question of how best to support children who are refugees to resettle and thrive in a new country is important and complex. One of the many challenges experienced by such children is disrupted education. It is widely recognised that a sense of belonging and integration within a new school and community are key to enhancing children’s chances of…
2022
The role of emotions in educational work with asylum-seeking and refugee children in culturally diverse classrooms
This article examines the role of emotions in educational work with asylum-seeking and refugee children by studying a specific case of teaching in culturally diverse classrooms. Using empirical data from various classroom contexts in Denmark based on teacher interviews and participant observations, the role of emotions is examined through a relational approach informed by, among others, Sara Ahmed. The analysis…
2023
THE ONLINE COMMUNICATION OF ART-BASED EDUCATION ORGANISATIONS WORKING WITH UNDERAGE REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS IN EUROPE
Communication is one of the critical issues organisations working with migrants and refugees in Europe must face. Our research question is how do art-based education organisations’ projects working with underage migrants and refugees communicate online? There is a gap concerning three key discursive approaches that we wish to tackle when communicating about these populations: miserabilism, even-image, and gender-neutrality. We propose…
2022
The first stop of transit migrant students on the road to Europe and America: The Turkish education system
There have been forced migrations from one country to another due to wars, conflicts, and various reasons within and among countries. Turkey is a transit point from Asia to Europe. Accordingly, this study sheds light on experiences the refugee students have in the Turkish Education System. Therefore, this study is meant to be based on a qualitative approach as a…
2022
Teachers’ ideological dilemmas: lessons learned from a Language Introduction Program in Sweden
In this qualitative study, we draw on theory and practice in relation to the concepts of fixity and fluidity in language education (i.e. the simultaneity of bounded, named languages; and the need to transcend language boundaries). We use data from focus group interviews to investigate the entangled ideological dilemmas facing four teachers in a Language Introduction Programme in an upper…
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-background students negotiating academic literacy practices in L2: a dialogical and nexus analytical approach
This study explored the academic literacies of multilingual refugee-background students who had completed some higher education studies before migrating to Finland. Previous studies have paid little attention to students like them. The research context is a pilot training programme integrating language and content studies. Applying dialogical and nexus analytical perspectives, the study investigated the sense-making processes of two key participants…
2023
Chances and discrimination in dual vocational training of refugees and immigrants in Germany
This article depicts the obstacles within the vocational education for trainees with escape and migration experience in Germany. The structure of the highly formalised vocational training system in Germany is based on the assumption of a ‘normal case’ of an educational biography. However, this neither applies to the often-broken educational pathways of refugees and immigrants, nor to an increasing number…
2023
A Music Therapy Intervention for Refugee Children and Adolescents in Schools: A Process Evaluation Using a Mixed Method Design
Refugee children and adolescents have often experienced negative or traumatic events, which are associated with stress and mental health problems. A specific music therapy intervention is developed for this group in school settings. The aim of the present study was to set the first steps in the implementation of this intervention. A process evaluation was performed using a mixed method…
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
“Coming to Norway as a refugee can be misinterpreted as a bad thing” Exploring the Individual Educational Experiences of African Youth in Norway
There is a lot of research written about unaccompanied minors in Norway, but this thesis is concerned with the individual education experiences of African unaccompanied minors. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the experiences of African unaccompanied minors regarding access to education opportunities in Norway. Based on a review of literature on unaccompanied minors, by using four theories:…
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
Teacher’s beliefs and flexible language strategies in a monolingual preschool classroom
This study aims to examine teacher’s beliefs about Syrian children’s Turkish language learning and teacher’s language strategies in a monolingual preschool classroom located in a multilingual city, Siirt Turkey. This ethnographic study was conducted between October 2019 and January 2020 in a multilingual city. The data included fieldnotes kept during participant observations of children’s interactions and interviews with the teacher.…
2022
Planning for Belonging: Including Refugee and Asylum Seeker Students
The education of students from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds is an international concern. It calls for inspired teachers, sensitive interventions, and informed leadership. This writing discusses the views of students, teachers, general staff, parents, and the principal of a primary school in regional New South Wales, Australia regarding the sense of belonging that is so critical to the very…
2022
How schools in Germany shape and impact the lives of adolescent refugees in terms of mental health and social mobility
Schools are relevant settings for supporting refugee adolescents' mental health. As education and migration are important social determinants of health, we aim to integrate the qualitative findings of our mixed-methods study into a broader discussion regarding the role of schools and the potential effects on refugee adolescents' lives and mental health, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.…
2022
Thrown in at the deep end? Perceptions of burdens, gains, and contributions to the integration of refugee students among teachers with(out) target group-specific professional knowledge
In Germany, young migrants and refugees whose German language skills are not sufficient for attending regular classes at school are assigned to so-called “preparation classes”. As the name implies, the main objective of these classes is to teach German language skills and thereby prepare students for regular classes or vocational education and training. Teachers in these classes face special challenges:…
2022
Challenges in the Medical and Psychosocial Care of the Paediatric Refugee—A Systematic Review
Background: After the invasion of Ukraine, neighbouring countries were forced to find systemic solutions to provide medical care to those fleeing the war, including children, as soon as possible. In order to do this, it is necessary to know the communication problems with refugee minors and find proposals for their solutions. Methods: A systematic review of the literature from 2016…
2022
Mental health problems in refugee and immigrant primary school children in Flanders, Belgium
Background: European countries face the challenge of promoting refugee and immigrant children’s well-being within their host communities, invoking the necessity of adequate mental health assessment. This study aims to contribute to document the psychosocial well-being of primary school refugee and non-refugee immigrant children in Flanders, Belgium. Method: A total of 120 children (8–12 years old) with migration backgrounds participated in the…
2022
Teacher agency for social justice in telecollaboration: locating agentive positioning in virtual language interaction
In this study, we draw data from a tripartite telecollaborative project that involved 112 teacher candidates (TCs) from university-based teacher education programmes in France, Turkey, and the USA. Theoretically, we rely on Pantić’s (2015. A model for study of teacher agency for social justice. Teachers and Teaching 21, no. 6: 759–778) model of teacher agency for social justice and use…
2022
An ecological, multilingual approach to language learning with newly reunited refugee families in Scotland
Although academic literature and Scotland's refugee integration strategy recommend multilingual, decolonising approaches, language classes for refugees in Scotland usually focus only on the target language (English) and are predominantly teacher-led. This paper argues that newly reunited refugee families can be better supported through an ecological, multilingual approach by presenting empirical data from a five-month teaching study using qualitative methods (semi-structured…
2022
Experiences of forced migration: learning for educators and learners: a report
A combination of structural barriers, inadequate student welfare provision and the absence of psycho-social and academic support make higher education access for forcibly displaced students challenging. Many of these students will have experienced many stressful and potentially traumatic events that may have or may continue to impact their mental health and wellbeing. This article draws on reflections by educators and…
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
The Life of Syrian Asylum-Seeking Children in a Temporary Shelter Centre in Turkey: An Ethnographic Study on Primary School Education
This research aims to describe primary school children’s life and education experiences who escaped from the war environment in Syria and took refuge in Turkey. The study was conducted with an ethnographic research design. The study participants comprised fourth-grade students, teachers, parents, and the close social circle of Syrian nationals who stayed in the temporary shelter in Turkey. Observation, interview,…
2022
Mobile Learning Applications for Refugees: A Systematic Literature Review
The proliferation of mobile devices in everyday life since the end of the 20th century has led to mobile applications for educational purposes and the creation of the research field of mobile learning. Despite the extended research interest on the effectiveness of this field, there is limited research on mobile learning for various social groups, such as refugees, students with…
2022
Teachers’ Global Perceptions and Views, Practices and Needs in Multicultural Settings
Multiculturalism and globalization are common traits of western societies, and affect the way people interact and communicate. In such a context, this study comes to investigate teachers’ perceptions, practices and needs towards global and intercultural competences. This study was designed and implemented in order to shed light on major issues which are associated with the context of global competences as…
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
Educators’ positive practices with refugee pupils at two schools in England
Extensive evidence indicates that education is an integral part of the settling in process for refugee and asylum-seeking children. Furthermore, it has been suggested that positive teaching practice with refugee pupils should be asset-based and holistic in nature. The present study examines educators' positive practices with refugee pupils and explores factors that shape these practices. Data were collected through participant…
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