Refugee-background students in New Zealand and the United States: Roots and results of educational policies and practices

Both the United States (US) and New Zealand (NZ) have been resettling refugees since the Second World War. As such, and because of several international treaties signed by both countries, they must concern themselves with the education of resettled refugee students in their nations. In this study, the researchers examine the international agreements and national resettlement policies that shape these nations’ refugee education policies. Second, educational practices for refugee students in the US and NZ using phenomenological qualitative research based on observations, interviews, and focus groups with teachers and refugee students are examined. The researchers conclude that the more systematic methods of resettlement and educational tools available to teachers in NZ through consistent national policies provide better opportunities for success than policies and practices that vary widely from state to state and even within states in the US.

Intentional Inclusion

Finding models and insight into the best and most effective strategies and programs to teach English language learners in respectful and equitable ways is a persistent topic in practitioner and educational research. This chapter shares the voices and work of Toronto educators whose embrace of multiculturalism and multilingualism has contributed to the academic success of English language learners and refugee children in the Toronto schools. Through a series of interviews and classroom observations, the author explored the practices and programs used to support and empower these young English language learners. The chapter presents three major themes that emerged from this study: teacher mindset, family engagement, and targeted refugee education. These themes shed light and provide a deeper understanding for educators of the why and the how of Toronto's success. Educator takeaways are shared.

The promise of refugee lifelong education: A critical review of the field

The increasing number of refugees, coupled with the protracted nature of refugee situations around the globe, underline the critical importance of refugee education. Since 2010, education has been one of the global strategic priorities of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), but much of the focus and resourcing has been on primary education and, to a lesser extent, secondary education. Recognition of the role of lifelong learning for refugees has been much slower, only recently entering into prominence in global documents and policies. For refugees, the hope and desire for education that will enable them to achieve sustainable and dignified livelihoods has always been a core part of their realities. Lifelong learning has the potential to provide the bridge between disrupted schooling and future aspirations of self-reliance and participation in society. This article situates the emerging agenda for refugee lifelong learning in a postcolonial and global context. The author begins with a critical examination of the postcolonial “logics” which continue to construct and frame the study of refugees, before problematising how lifelong learning is incorporated and conceptualised in global policy. She draws the conclusion that despite global commitments, the realisation of lifelong learning for refugee youth and adults is likely remain frustrated for some time by normative assumptions firmly embedded in the conceptualisation of lifelong learning and the education frameworks of nation states. However, she argues that the recent global disruption to education and the inequalities that have been exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic provide an opportunity to rethink how education is conceptualised and the importance of providing lifelong learning opportunities to enable young people and adults to fulfil their aspirations.

BETWEEN BULLYING AND OTHER VIOLENCES: EXPLORING THE SCHOOL EXPERIENCES OF IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE CHILDREN AT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN DUQUE DE CAXIAS (RJ)

This article explores the main challenges faced by a small group of children from Angola and from the Democratic Republic of Congo in two elementary schools in Duque de Caxias, a municipality part of the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro. The article draws from a qualitative multi-method study conducted with children and community members. The empirical material shows that most of the Angolan and Congolese participants of this study suffer different types of peer harassment in school, as bullying and peer coercion. Moreover, the participants experience a triple kind of discrimination in school, first because they are black, second because they are outsiders, and third because they have an African background. KEYWORDS: Child Research. Formal Education. Refugee and Immigrant Children. Refugee Education.

The psycho-social needs of displaced Syrian youth in Turkish schools: A qualitative study

This study investigates major challenges encountered by Syrian refugee youth in public high schools in Turkey, focusing on three sources of assessment: the refugee students themselves and their parents and educators. Based on qualitative interpretive research methodology, twenty-three individual semi-structured interviews were conducted. The study simultaneously hears the voices of the Syrian refugee students as well as those of their parents, teachers, and principals. Making friends among Turkish peers, social integration in school and the host society, discrimination, feeling lonely or even depressed, and other displacement problems are the crucial issues identified by this study. While most of the teachers and principals interviewed focused more on academic problems as the main reason for the deterioration of the majority of Syrian youth’s education, refugee students and their parents claimed that the psycho-social challenges are more difficult and thus problematic. Keywords: Acculturation, Psycho-social needs, Refugee education, Syrian students.