Unaccompanied & separated children
Representations and recognition of (un)protected childhood: Dilemmas for Social Education from Melilla
The text1 reflects on the concepts of childhood, social justice, recognition and citizenship, focusing on unaccompanied children and the implications for the socio-educational function related to this group. For this purpose, five interviews were conducted with unaccompanied North African children, adolescents and young people (CAYP) residing in Melilla (Spain) and two of their educators. Two of the CAYP have not…
2023
(Im)possibilities of parity of participation in school settings in the lives of unaccompanied youth
Despite the rhetoric of inclusion and equal participation, educational practices end up producing social exclusion. In this research, we are interested in practices where outcomes fail to match efforts with respect to students’ opportunities to participate equally. The research was carried out as a focused ethnography with young people who arrived in Finland as unaccompanied asylum-seeking youths. The results show…
2023
Study design: Pathways to Independence – A study of unaccompanied minor refugees settled in a Norwegian city municipality
Aims: The aim of the ‘Pathways to Independence’ study was to gain knowledge of how to facilitate a healthy development for unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs) after settling in Norwegian municipalities. Methods: The project is located in the URM child welfare services (URM CWS) of the Bergen municipality. We invited 101 URMs older than 15 years connected to the URM CWS…
2023
The lives of unaccompanied refugee minors during their transit stay in Greece
This article explores daily threats in the lives of unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs) in Greece. The aim is to stimulate debate and understanding in the context of growing forced migration. Our observations, arguments, and conclusions are primarily informed by critical discussion of politics, policies, and legislation of the European Union, Greece, and international treaties on human rights. Our analysis also…
2023
Governing resettlement beyond safety: Multilevel governance as a model for sustainable resettlement of unaccompanied refugee children in rural Sweden?
This article explores the sustainability of the resettlement of unaccompanied refugee children from their perspective. Against the backdrop of a critical assessment of the multilevel governance of resettlement, it compares two rural municipalities. Unaccompanied refugee children in the municipality with a disempowering local governance model were hindered to engage with civil society, while in the municipality with an enabling model,…
2023
Agency in silence: The case of unaccompanied Eritrean refugee minors in the Netherlands
Following the so-called refugee crisis, unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs) from Eritrea were portrayed negatively in Europe. Although such portrayals are often amplified by media and policy discourses, the main reasons for this negative view were a lack of understanding of URMs’ subjectivities, the institutional silencing process they face in their everyday lives, and the ways they show agency in such…
2024
A national mental health cascade training programme for practitioners supporting unaccompanied minors in Greece
Background: Practitioners who support unaccompanied minors (UAMs) come from different professional backgrounds and often are not appropriately trained to address children’s complex mental health needs. This gap informed a training programme across all accommodation centres in Greece. Methods: The aim of the Train-of-Trainer (ToT) national programme was to upskill trainers from 17 organisations to cascade knowledge. Training was interprofessional, trauma-informed…
2024
Risk and protective factors in the training-employment trajectory of young adult migrants who have left the guardianship system
In recent years, young people's economic and employment possibilities have been compromised, especially in the case of vulnerable populations such as unaccompanied foreign minors who migrate to Spain and enter the guardianship system. The aim of this study was to identify this group's most representative training trajectories, and determine the risk and protective factors involved in their insertion to the…
2024
Psychosocial and integration needs of unaccompanied children in Greece
This article seeks to fill the research gap on the psychosocial and integration needs of unaccompanied children and the challenges they encounter to reach autonomy and social integration. To address this issue, the study utilized a qualitative research survey interviewing 18 field professionals, which indicated that the key challenges include insufficient preparation, institutionalization, uncertainty about the future, asylum procedures, and…
2024
Young, unaccompanied refugees’ expectations of social workers and social worker roles
Background: Young people who have travelled to another country, unaccompanied and with refugee status, are a both resilient and vulnerable group with specific needs. Supporting them is often challenging for social workers, and providing this support is mediated by the expectations that these young people have of social workers and social worker roles. Aim: In this study, we explore how…
2023
Prevalences of mental distress and its associated factors in unaccompanied refugee minors in Germany
Prevalences for mental disorders within minor refugees are comparatively high and heterogeneous. To reduce heterogeneity and identify high-risk subgroups, we compared unaccompanied refugee minors (URM) to accompanied refugee minors (ARM) regarding depressive symptoms and mental distress. Furthermore, we examined associative factors of mental distress in URM on a broad scale. We conducted a survey with a cross-sectional design in four…
2023
Integration & assimilation
Adult education & training
Caregivers
Gender
English
Resilience & adaptation
Unaccompanied & separated children
Mental health & psychosocial well-being
Formal education
Tertiary education
Detention & deportation
Language education
Germany
Surveys & questionnaire
Cross-sectional study
Regression analysis
Vocational & technical education
Creative (en)counterspaces: Engineering valuable contact for young refugees via solidarity arts workshops in Thessaloniki, Greece
This article explores the role of non-formal arts education in Thessaloniki, Greece for fostering contact considered valuable by the young refugee community. Drawing on accounts of their daily life, gathered over eight months of ethnographic fieldwork for a project on their post-15 educational participation, the article details how around the city, young refugees (aged 15-25 years) experience conflicted encounters involving…
2023
Participation, Leisure and Social Networks as Key Factors in the Inclusion of Young Unaccompanied Migrants
Social participation, leisure activities and the use of social networks could be key factors in the social inclusion of young unaccompanied migrants and their transition to adult life. Thus, relevant aspects are analysed regarding the community bonding that shapes young people's transition to adulthood and the influence the protection system, mainly residential care, exerts on this in Catalonia (Spain). More…
2023
Catholic education and social justice in Europe
This article focuses on two major issues in contemporary Catholic social justice: care for the poor and the inclusion of migrants and refugees. The care for the poor is examined in the gospels and in the contemporary articulation of the preferential option for the poor, drawing on the theology of Gustavo Gutierrez and Jon Sobrino. Pope Francis and his 'preferential…
2023
Changes in life satisfaction among unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee minors who participated in teaching recovery techniques (TRT)
BackgroundUnaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee minors report low life satisfaction and high levels of mental health problems, nevertheless they often do not seek or receive help for their problems. Teaching Recovery Techniques (TRT) is a low-threshold, five sessions intervention developed to reduce distressing war- and disaster-related trauma reactions among children and youth. In this study, we investigate if TRT can contribute…
2023
Using composite case material to develop trauma‐informed psychoeducation for social care workers looking after unaccompanied minors in residential care in Ireland
Although the provision of trauma‐informed psychoeducation for carers of adolescents who have experienced traumatic events has been shown to be a fundamental aspect of the recovery process, it is not routinely made available to the social care workers who look after unaccompanied asylum‐seeking adolescents living in residential care. Furthermore, the development of the content of trauma‐informed psychoeducation is rarely informed…
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
Learning in and beyond the classroom: Communities of practice in education support for separated children
Separated children, seeking protection in a new country unaccompanied by parents or customary caregivers, have the right to education yet many face difficulties accessing appropriate provision. We analysed data from Scotland across different types of provision: one specialist programme for separated children and four areas providing a mixture of mainstream and adapted classes. Drawing on situated learning theory and the…
2022
Differences in all-cause and cause-specific mortality due to external causes and suicide between young adult refugees, non-refugee immigrants and Swedish-born young adults: The role of education and migration-related factors
Background International migration has increased during the past years and little is known about the mortality of young adult immigrants and refugees that came to Sweden as children. This study aimed to investigate 1) the risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality in young accompanied and unaccompanied refugees and non-refugee immigrants compared to Swedish born individuals; and 2) to determine the…
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
Critical Thinking and Motivation in Vocational Training and Baccalaureate: A Comparison Study of Students of Spanish Nationality, Unaccompanied Foreign Minors and Young Care Leavers
The present study analyzed academic motivation and its relationship with dispositions towards critical thinking in a sample of 131 students of Spanish nationality and 131 students of foreign nationality (unaccompanied foreign minors and foreign adolescents who had previously experienced the Andalusian care system). For this, an ex-post-facto study was conducted which was descriptive, comparative, and cross-sectional in nature. The main…
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
Educational provision for newly arrived unaccompanied sanctuary seekers aged 15–16
Local Authorities in England are rarely able to find a school place for newly arrived unaccompanied sanctuary seekers when the young person arrives in their locality aged 15–16. Criticisms regarding this exclusionary practice are plentiful; that said, it has been argued the dominance of debate regarding access to mainstream education for pupils aged 15–16 obfuscates critical analysis of the educational…
2022
The Rights Hero – Serious Games for Human Rights Education and Integration of Migrant and Refugee Children in Europe
Following the rise of migrant inflows in Europe since 2015, more than 210,000 unaccompanied children have arrived in Europe. This article argues that serious games can in principle fill the gap of human rights education that these children face and ultimately help them develop, but important issues and challenges need to be considered. The article follows the design and development…
2022
Education of unaccompanied refugee minors in high-income countries: Risk and resilience factors
Record numbers of unaccompanied refugee minors continue to arrive in high-income countries seeking asylum and protection. Despite receiving educational support, unaccompanied refugee minors continue to be vulnerable to negative educational experiences and outcomes. The review investigates what resilience factors enable unaccompanied refugee minors in high-income countries to have positive educational experiences and outcomes. It aims to inform the literature on…
2022
Characterizing Unaccompanied Foreign Minors: Educational Level and Length of Stay as Individual Difference Factors That Impact Academic Self-Efficacy
The aim of the present study is to analyze individual differences in academic self-efficacy within a population of Unaccompanied Foreign Minors (UFM) from the European cities of Ceuta and Melilla (Spain). Variables describing educational level and length of stay were considered in a sample of 377 individuals being cared for in different youth centers. Of these, 63.4% belonged to the…
2022
Practitioners’ perspectives and needs: Developing skills to support unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASCs) in experiencing ‘belonging’ in English educational spaces
This article builds on Yuval-Davis’s (2006, 2007, 2011) theories of belonging, in order to relay how practitioners can support unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASCs) in developing a positive sense of belonging in educational spaces in England. To do so, the article synthesises literature surrounding theories of belonging, UASCs’ educational access in England and practices supporting UASCs’ educational attainment and sense of…
2022
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
Happy 18th? Unaccompanied minors and the transition to adulthood. An Italian case study
This qualitative study considers the interaction between the Italian migration regime and young male African migrants (age 14-21) who have made the precarious, illegalised journey to Italy, where they are bureaucratically labelled as ‘unaccompanied minors’. The thesis focuses in on what happens when these children become legally adult; examining how the idealised concept of ‘childhood’ has a bordering effect, dividing…
2021
The impact of educational achievement on the integration and wellbeing of Afghan refugee youth in the UK
An unprecedented number of unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) have arrived in Europe over the last decade, and young Afghans account for the highest proportion of UASC across England, Scotland and Wales. Despite a wealth of UK policies aimed at ensuring positive outcomes for young people who have been through the care-system, and a rich body of research exploring the…
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
The Personal Learning Environment of Unaccompanied Foreign Minors in Spain
Spain is one of the countries with the greatest number of unaccompanied foreign minors (UFM) whose educational and social inclusion is a challenge and a priority. The present research considers the use of tools and strategies as fundamental for the inclusion of minors and improvement of their personal learning environment (PLE): self-concept of the learning process, planning and management of…
2021
Impact of the covid-19 pandemic on habilitating residential communities for unaccompanied minors during the first lockdown in italy: The educators’ relational perspective
(1) Background: Italian residential communities for unaccompanied minors suffered a long period of closure during the SARS-COV2 lockdown. Professional educators who work inside these institutions with the aim to habilitate children toward life-span achievements faced a great challenge and responsibility during this period. In this context, the psychological well-being and development of unaccompanied children were at high risk. The aim…
2021
The effects of service-learning on physical education teacher education: A case study on the border between Africa and Europe
Recent studies, supported by the European project Europe Engage – Developing a Culture of Civic Engagement through Service-Learning within Higher Education in Europe, suggest that service-learning (SL) is an effective approach to develop personal and social learning linked to real contexts. This particular case study analyses the perceived effects of an SL programme implemented in Melilla (on the border between Africa…
2021
The role of civil society organisations in labour market integration of young immigrants in Sweden: An analysis of the organisation Right To Play
During the year of 2015 and the large migration wave that hit Europe, many unaccompanied young refugees came to Sweden. For this particular group, the challenge is to become integrated to the labour market in order to receive a permanent residency permit in Sweden after they graduate their upper secondary education. Over the past few years, it has become more…
2020
Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children: Childhood, agency and integration
This thesis investigates the practices and understandings of integration of asylum-seekers, under 18, who arrive in the UK without parent, guardian or carer. The recognition of children as active participants in society is widespread across the social sciences, yet this critical enquiry into the integration of unaccompanied minors brings new understandings concerning the form and complexities of agency. Unaccompanied minors…
2020
An emancipatory study exploring the educational experiences of unaccompanied children and young people
This research was set within the context of the refugee crisis and children and young people’s (CYP) rights. This study aimed to explore the educational experiences of unaccompanied children and young people (UCYP), a particularly high-risk group who are separated from their parents due to reasons such as war, persecution or violence, and whom do not have the protection of…
2020
School integration in a Southern Norwegian municipality: Factors that hinder the integration of unaccompanied young refugees into the Norwegian schools
Unaccompanied young refugees constitute a vulnerable portion of the refugee population because of the numerous hardships they contend with both in the country of origin and during the flight. Given the plethora of challenges they face, many often find it challenging to integrate into the school environment and society at large. This study attempted to explore and describe the challenges…
2020
Navigating troubled waters: Unaccompanied minors views on education and language learning in Austria
This thesis analyses how young refugees experience learning and living in Austria. It examines their motivation for learning and how their motivation may be influenced by the difficulties they face (e.g.: PTSD, anxiety, very low levels of literacy, language barriers, having never attended a school before or having not attended one in a long time, refugee accommodation, and limited access…
2020
Needs of educators for the socio-educational attention of unaccompanied foreign children in reception centers [Necesidades de los educadores para la atención socioeducativa del menor extranjero no acompañado en los centros de acogida]
The present study aims to show a description of the characterization, training, and intervention carried out by educators who attend unaccompanied foreign minors in a reception center in the city of Granada, Spain. Nineteen educators were surveyed with a questionnaire and that was then analyzed using a quantitative methodology. The results obtained revealed a series of needs presented by the…
2020
Refugee Youth Educational Trajectories
This is an account of three refugee youth—Yaser, Abas, and Malek—who fled from their home countries and arrived in Greece after 2015 as unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors. All three youngsters were fluent in English and engaged in public narration at the Intercultural Forum in Nafplion Greece in June 2018. Through vivid narratives, they showcase their tireless efforts to obtain formal education…
2020
Déficits in educational action with vulnerable adolescents from Latin America living in Spain [Déficits en la acción socioeducativa dirigida a adolescentes vulnerables latinoamericanos residentes en España]
The Protection System for Children and Adolescents in Spain has the same mechanisms for the national population as it does for the foreign population of children and Young people who are originally from Latin American. This research aimed to determine the specific emancipation difficulties of youths from Latin America with a Child Protective Service record, as well as to identify…
2020
Being inside out: the slippery slope between inclusion and exclusion in a Swiss educational project for unaccompanied refugee youth
This article discusses how important social markers surrounding the figure of the unaccompanied minor, such as ‘integration’ and ‘deservingness’ are negotiated and made sense of by unaccompanied refugee youth and their teachers in a Swiss integration class. Starting from the premise of the classroom as both, a project of future-making and control, I investigate the ambiguous potential of education in…
2020
Common mental disorders among young refugees in Sweden: The role of education and duration of residency
Background: Studies investigating risks of common mental disorders (CMDs) in refugee youth are sparse. The current study examined health care use due to CMDs in unaccompanied and accompanied refugee youth and Swedish-born, and the role of education and residency duration. Methods: This longitudinal cohort study included 746,517 individuals (whereof 36,347 refugees) between 19 and 25 years, residing in Sweden in…
2020
Civil Servants Talk Back – Political Subjectivity and (Re) Constructions of the Nation
This article discusses the emergence of political subjectivity and politicization among social workers and teachers. We present situations that have induced teachers and social workers to become politically active and examine what their struggle might imply for these unaccompanied children. We also ask how the nation state is interpellated and transformed. Drawing on Laclau, Mouffe and Biesta, we find that…
2020
Academic self-efficacy in unaccompanied foreign minors: Structural equation modelling according to schooling
(1) Background: Newmigratory flows taking place in Europe and the USA are categorised by a huge arrival of unaccompanied foreign minors (UFM), requiring appropriate attention to schooling in order to guarantee their integration. In facing this situation, the various political and educational administrations of the European Union (EU) have promoted an action plan for schools. Despite this, it has been…
2020
Social Work Education in Uncertain Times: Protecting the Human Rights of Migrants
In Greece, the coincidence of deep austerity occurring at the same time as the advent of large numbers of incoming asylum seekers and migrants has created an extremely pressing condition for social work practice. Social workers in state and municipal social services and in nongovernmental organizations are setting up frontline intensive interventions for arriving migrants and those staying in camps…
2019
Labour market participation among young refugees in Sweden and the potential of education: a national cohort study
This register-based study examined the importance of education on labour market participation among young refugees in Sweden. The study population consisted of unaccompanied (n = 1606) and accompanied refuges (n = 4142), aged 23–26 years in 2006–2010, after 7 years of residence in Sweden. Native Swedish, aged 24 years (n = 347,255) constituted the comparison population, with intercountry adoptees (n…
2019
Conceptualising educational provision for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in England
The right to education for all children, including asylum-seeking children, is enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, there is little research available to describe the educational provision provided to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) in England. Crucially, it is not known whether the educational needs are met by the provision available to UASC. In the…
2019