SIRIUS-Policy Network on Migrant Education MULTI-COUNTRY PARTNERSHIP TO ENHANCE THE EDUCATION OF REFUGEE AND ASYLUM-SEEKING YOUTH IN EUROPE-PERAE Comparative Report

Full text



®

SIRIUS‐PolicyNetworkonMigrantEducation

MULTI‐COUNTRYPARTNERSHIPTOENHANCE
THEEDUCATIONOFREFUGEEANDASYLUM‐SEEKINGYOUTH
INEUROPE‐PERAE
ComparativeReport
January2018
Koehler,C.;Kakos,M.;Sharma‐Brymer,V.; Schneider,J.;Tudjman,T.; 
VandenHeerik,A.;Ravn,S.;Lippens,M.;Nouwen,W. ; Belloni,M.Clycq,N.;
Timmerman,C.;Denkelaar,M.;Palaiologou,N.;Toumpoulidis,G.
european forum for migration studies (efms)
Institute at the University of Bamberg
Katharinenstraße 1, 96052 Bamberg, Germany
tel +49-951-932020-0, fax +49-951-932020-20
efms@uni-bamberg.de, http://www.efms.de
Directors
Prof. Dr. Friedrich Heckmann / Prof. Dr. Daniel Goeler
Project Manager
Claudia Koehler
claudia.koehler@uni-bamberg.de
“Multi-country Partnership to Enhance the Education of Refugee and
Asylum-seeking Youth in Europe” is funded by Stiftung Mercator
PERAE



Content
Tables....................................................................................................................................3
Introduction..........................................................................................................................4
THEMULTI‐COUNTRYPARTNERSHIPTOENHANCETHEEDUCATIONOF
REFUGEEANDASYLUM‐SEEKINGYOUTHINEUROPE...................................................................4
1 Policyandlegalframeworksforrefugeeeducationinreceiving
countries.....................................................................................................................7
INTERNATIONALCONVENTIONSANDSTRATEGIES........................................................................7
EUDIRECTIVESANDFRAMEWORKS...........................................................................................7
NATI O N A L FRAMEWORKS........................................................................................................8
2 Threestagesofeducationforyoungrefugeesandasylumseekers:
fromfirstarrivaltomainstreameducation.................................................................11
STAG E ONE:EDUCATIONATFIRSTARRIVAL..............................................................................11
STAG E TWO:RECEPTIONEDUCATION......................................................................................12
STAG E THREE:MAINSTREAMEDUCATION................................................................................17
3 Theroleofthequalityofteaching,fundingandmulti‐stakeholder
cooperationintheprocessoftheeducationofyoungrefugeesand
asylumseekers..........................................................................................................27
QUALITYOFTEACHING..........................................................................................................27
FUNDING.............................................................................................................................30
4 Inclusionofrefugeesintovocationalandhighereducation........................................35
VOCATIONALEDUCATION.......................................................................................................36
HIGHEREDUCATION..............................................................................................................38
5 Overviewofidentifiedobstaclesandchallenges........................................................41
6 Recommendations.....................................................................................................44
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................46


PERAE–COMPARATIVEREPORT


3/50

Tables
Table1: ReceptioneducationinselectedEUcountries........................................................................23
Table2: TrackinginselectedEUcountries...........................................................................................24
Table3: Additionalsupportforrefugeesandasylumseekersinmainstreamschoolsinselected
EUcountries...........................................................................................................................24

PERAE–COMPARATIVEREPORT


4/50

Introduction
THEMULTI‐COUNTRYPARTNERSHIPTOENHANCETHEEDUCATIONOFREFUGEEANDASYLUM‐SEEKING
YOUTHINEUROPE
The‘Multi‐countryPartnershiptoEnhancetheEducationofRefugeeandAsylum‐seekingYo u t h in
Europe‐PERAE’wasinitiatedbytheSIRIUSNetwork–PolicyNetworkonMigrantEducationin
2016withthesupportoftheMercatorFoundation.TheinitiativebuildsupontheSIRIUS‘Agen d a 
onMigrantEducation’(SIRIUS,2014)andtheStatementonUrgentResponsefortheEducationof
Refugees(SIRIUS,2015)that“…callsontheEUanditsMemberStatestorespondtothespecific
educationneedsofrefugeechildrenandstudentsintheEUandabroad”.Thepartnershipbetween
sevencountries(Belgium(Flanders),Bulgaria,Germany(Bavaria,Hamburg),Greece,theNether‐
lands,Sweden,UnitedKingdom(England))addressesinadequateaccesstoqualityeducationfor
asylum‐seekingandrefugeeyouth1throughouttheEuropeanUnion(EU)withafocusonsecon‐
daryeducation.
TherecentdrasticriseinasylumapplicantshasplacedincreasedpressureonEUMemberStatesto
developstrategiesforeffectivelyintegratingnewarrivalsintosociety.Notwithstandingeffortsin
recentyears,third‐countrynationalscontinuetobeplacedatadisadvantageregardingemploy‐
ment,educationandsocialinclusioncomparedtoEUcitizens(OECD/EuropeanUnion,2015).
Researchhasshownthateducationisoneofthemostimportantpathstothestructuralintegra‐
tionofyoungasylumseekersandrefugees;theyhaveparticularsocialandemotionalneedsthat
qualityeducationcanhelpthemovercome(Fazel,2012).Equally,educationhasakeyfunction
fromtheperspectiveofbuildingpeaceandstabilityinthecountriesoforiginofrefugees.Consid‐
eringthatsomerefugeeswilleventuallyreturntotheircountriesoforigin,theeducationandskills
theyacquireinEUcountriesaretoolstheycanapplyfortransformationprocessesinthecon‐
cernedcountries.
EUMemberStateshavebeenfacingchallengesinprovidingdecentopportunitiesineducationfor
newlyarrivedrefugeesandintegratingthemintomainstreameducation.Thesechallengeshave
intensifiedsince2015withthearrivaloflargernumbersofrefugeesandasylumseekers.Atthe
sametime,thereisinsufficientunderstandingofthechallengesthatrefugeeyouthface.Knowl‐
edgeonpotentialsolutionsandgoodpracticeshadinadequatelybeensharedonanationaland
transnationallevel.
Beforethisbackground,the‘Multi‐countryPartnershiptoEnhancetheEducationofRefugeeand
Asylum‐seekingYou thinEurope’aimstocontributetotheimprovementoftheaccesstoquality
educationforrefugeechildrenandyouththroughtheadaptationofpoliciesintheEuropeancoun‐
triestotheirneeds.Throughaninteractiveprocesswithstakeholdersandpolicymakers,theini‐


1Thereportdoesnotdifferentiatebetweendifferentformsofprotectionordifferentstatuses.Itratherincludesall
youngpeopleintheanalysiswhohaveenteredEuropeinthesearchforprotectionasarefugeeorasylumseeker,re‐
gardlessofthestatustheyholdatthetimeofthedatacollection.

PERAE–COMPARATIVEREPORT


5/50

tiativewillensurethatthedevelopedrecommendationswillbeownedandimplementedbythem.
Itisexpectedthatthiswillcontributetobettereducationalopportunitiesforrefugeechildrenand
youthinalongtermperspective.
Theinitiativeisimplementedintwostages:
1) Inafirststage,fundedbytheMercatorFoundation,empiricalassessmentsweredonein
thesevenparticipatingcountries.Theseincludeddeskresearchandinterviewsandfocus
groupswithrefugeestudents,teachers,principals,socialworkers,andpolicymakersin‐
volvedinrefugeeeducationissues.Thefindingsweredocumentedinnationalreports
identifyingchallenges,goodpracticesandrecommendationsineachoftheparticipating
countries.Itisexpectedthatthesereportswillservenationalstakeholdersandpolicy
makersasabasisfortheirworkandtheprojectpartnersforthecounsellingofnational
policymakersandstakeholder.Thenationalreportsprovidethebasisforthiscompara‐
tivereport.ThereportisexpectedtofacilitatethecommunicationbetweentheEuro‐
peancountriesandontheleveloftheEUaboutissuesofmigranteducation.
2) Onthebasisoftheempiricalfindings,anexchangeofgoodpracticeandexperience
throughtransnationalworkshopsonaninternationallevel–inRotterdam,theNether‐
lands;Hamburg,Germany;andStockholm,Sweden‐hasbeeninitiated.Thisstageisbe‐
ingimplementedthroughthesupportoftheEuropeanCommission,Erasmus+asthe
project‚Exchangeofknowledgeandgoodpracticetoenhancetheeducationofrefugee
andasylumseekingyouth–RefuEdu’.Itisexpectedthatthisstagecontributestoim‐
provedcooperationbetweenpractitioners,scientistsandpolicymakers,andamongthe
Europeancountriesintheareaofrefugeeeducation.
Thepartnersofthe‘Multi‐countryPartnershiptoEnhancetheEducationofRefugeeandAsylum‐
seekingYouth inEurope‐PERAE’are:
• CentreforMigrationandInterculturalStudies(CeMIS),UniversityofAntwerp,Belgium
• europeanforumformigrationstudies(efms),Germany–coordinatorofstageone
• Fryshuset,Sweden–coordinatorofstagetwo
• LeedsBeckettUniversity,UnitedKingdom
• MultiKultiCollective,Bulgaria
• Risbo,theNetherlands
• UniversityofWesternMacedonia,Greece
• Verikom,Germany
Thisreportconstitutesacomparativeanalysisofthenationalreportscompiledinstageoneofthe
‘Multi‐countryPartnershiptoEnhancetheEducationofRefugeeandAsylum‐seekingYo u t hin

PERAE–COMPARATIVEREPORT


6/50

Europe’.Hence,aparticularfocusisplacedonapproachesofpoliciesandinitiativesforensuring
accesstoeducationandopportunitiestosucceedineducationforrefugeesandasylumseekersin
schoolage(withafocusonsecondaryeducation)inBelgium(Flanders),Germany(Bavariaand
Hamburg),Greece,theNetherlands,Sweden,andtheUnitedKingdom(England).Whileusingthe
nationalreportsofthe‘Multi‐countryPartnershiptoEnhancetheEducationofRefugeeandAsy‐
lum‐seekingYouthinEurope’asthemainresource,thecomparativeanalysisalsodrawsonother
existingstudiesinordertocomplementtheavailableinformation.Onthebasisofdeskresearch,
FinlandandItalywerefurtherincludedinthecomparisonduetotheirrelevanceforthetopicof
concerninregardtotheimplementationofgoodpractices(Finland)andthehostingoflargenum‐
bersofyoungrefugeesandasylumseekers(Italy).
• Thereportstartsoffwithanoverviewofpoliciesandlegalframeworksforrefugeeedu‐
cationontheinternationallevel,theEUlevelandthelevelofEUMemberStates.
• Thesecondsection,followingthelogicthatwasappliedinthedesignoftheempirical
stageofthisinitiative,analysesthethreestagesofeducationforrefugeesthatareun‐
derstoodtoconstitutethepathoftheintegrationintomainstreameducation:education
atfirstarrival(stageone),receptioneducation(stagetwo),andmainstreameducation
(stagethree).
• Thenextsectiontakesaccountofthreefactorsthat,apartfromschoolarrangements,
areconsideredasparticularrelevantforenablingaccesstoeducationandopportunities
tosucceedforrefugeesandasylumseekers:qualityofteaching,funding,andmulti‐
stakeholdercooperation.
• Successfultransitionsintofurthereducationandtrainingand/orlabourmarketentryaf‐
tersecondaryeducationareamongthekeygoalsofschooleducation.Thisiswhythe
fourthsectionofthisreportanalysestheopportunitiesforvocationalandhighereduca‐
tionforrefugeesandasylumseekers.
• Sectionstwo,threeandfourclosewithanoverviewoftheidentifiedgoodpracticesin
therespectivefields.
• Thesixthsectionprovidesanoverviewoftheidentifiedobstaclesandchallengesforen‐
suringaccesstoeducationandopportunitiestosucceedineducationforyoungrefugees
andasylumseekersintheEU.
• Thefinalsectionformulatesrecommendationsforpolicymakersandstakeholders.

PERAE–COMPARATIVEREPORT


7/50

1Policyandlegalframeworksforrefugeeeducationinreceiving
countries
INTERNATIONALCONVENTIONSANDSTRATEGIES
Educationisahumanrightandaninstrumentforrealisingotherhumanrights.Therighttoeduca‐
tionforall,includingrefugeesandasylumseekers,isdocumentedinseveralinternationalagree‐
ments,suchas:
Article26oftheUniversalDeclarationofHumanRights(UDHR),1948,statesthat‘everyonehas
therighttoeducation’.The‘developmentofthehumanpersonality’andthe‘strengtheningof
respectforhumanrightsandfundamentalfreedoms’shallbecoreelementsofeducation(United
Nations,2015a,p.54).Article13oftheInternationalCovenantonEconomic,SocialandCultural
Rights,1966,equallyrecognisestherightofeducationwiththesameunderstandingasArt.26of
theUDHRandmakesprovisionsforfreeandcompulsoryprimaryeducationforallandthegeneral
availabilityandaccessibilityofsecondaryeducationtoall(OHCHR,2016b).TheRefugeeConven‐
tionof1951,Article22makesprovisionsfortheaccessofrefugeestoelementary,secondary,
higherandothereducation,andfortherecognitionofforeignschoolcertificates,diplomasand
degrees,financialsupportforeducationandthequalityofteaching(OHCHR,2016a).
TheapplicationoftheaboverightstochildrenisfurtheremphasisedbyArticle28oftheConven‐
tionontheRightsoftheChild,1989,withparticularemphasisonregularschoolattendance,the
reductionofdropoutrates,and‘accesstoscientificandtechnicalknowledgeandmodernteaching
methods’(OHCHR,2016c).
TheUNHCREducationStrategy2012‐2016furthercallsforreceivingcountriestopromotethein‐
clusionofrefugeeandstatelesschildreninnationaleducationsystemsortodevelopresponsive,
qualityeducationopportunitieswherethisisnotpossible(UNHCR,2012).Inaddition,Goal4of
theUnitedNation’s(UN)SustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs)targetseducationandinstructs
statesto‘Ensureinclusiveandequitablequalityeducationandpromotelifelonglearningopportu‐
nitiesforall’(UnitedNations,2015b).
EUDIRECTIVESANDFRAMEWORKS
AttheEUlevel,anumberofpoliciesareinplacetoensuretheeducationofrefugeesandasylum
seekingchildrenandyouth,whichincludethefollowing:
Article14(1)oftheDirective2013/33/EUoftheEuropeanParliamentandoftheCouncil(replac‐
ingDirective2003/9/CE)providesthatchildrenofasylumseekersandminorasylumseekers
shouldbegrantedaccesstotheeducationsystem‘undersimilarconditionsasnationalsofthe
hostMemberState’,whileArticle27oftheCouncilDirective2011/95/EUprovidesthatminors
grantedrefugeeorsubsidiaryprotectionstatusshouldbegrantedaccesstoeducation‘underthe
sameconditionsasnationals’.Italsoprovidesthatadultsgrantedinternationalprotectionshould
beallowedaccesstothegeneraleducationsystem,furthertrainingorretraining,underthesame
conditionsaslegallyresidentthird‐countrynationals.Article14(2),Directive2013/33/EUfurther

PERAE–COMPARATIVEREPORT


8/50

requiresthatchildrenenteringaMemberStateshouldbeincludedineducationwithinthree
monthsandthat‘preparatoryclasses,includinglanguageclasses,shallbeprovidedtominors
whereitisnecessarytofacilitatetheiraccesstoandparticipationintheeducationsystem’.The
proposaladoptedin2016torevisetheReceptionConditionsDirectivemaintainstheseguaran‐
tees,andisfurtherstrengthened,astherulesunderQualificationRegulationwillbedirectlyappli‐
cable.
TheEuropeanAgendaforMigration,withitsrelocationandresettlementframework,emphasizes
interaliathenecessityofintegratingintoEUsocietiesthoserefugeesandasylumseekerswhoare
eligibleforprotection(EuropeanCommission,2015).
InextensionoftheAgendaforMigration,theEuropeanCommissionadoptedtheActionPlanon
theintegrationofthirdcountrynationalsin2016.TheActionPlanprovidesaframeworkfor
MemberStates’effortsindevelopingandstrengtheningtheirintegrationpoliciesandtheCom‐
mission’ssupportfortheseefforts;aspecialfocusisplacedonresponsestothechallengesof
refugeeintegration.Ineducation,MemberStatesareencouraged,interalia,toprovidelanguage
learningandpreventeducationalsegregation,ensurethatteachershavetheskillstomanagedi‐
versity,topromotetherecruitmentofteacherswithamigrantbackground,topromotethepar‐
ticipationofmigrants’childreninearlychildhoodeducationandcare,toenableaccesstovoca‐
tionaltraining,andtoassess,validateandrecogniseskillsandqualificationsofthirdcountryna‐
tionals(EuropeanCommission,2016).Duetotheoverlapbetweenrefugeeandmigrant
education,researchers,policymakers,andpractitionersoftendrawfromtheirknowledgeinthe
latterarea.
Furthermore,therecentlyadoptedCommissionCommunicationontheprotectionofchildrenin
migrationconfirmstheCommission’scommitmenttoprioritisesafeaccesstoformalandnon‐
formaleducation,reducingthelengthoftimethattheeducationofminorasylumseekersisdis‐
rupted.Italsounderlinesthatearlyandeffectiveaccesstoinclusive,formaleducation,including
earlychildhoodeducationandcare,isoneofthemostimportantandpowerfultoolsfortheinte‐
grationofchildren,fosteringlanguageskills,socialcohesionandmutualunderstandingandhence
iscrucialforensuringdurablesolutions(COM211final,2017).
NATIONALFRAMEWORKS
WhilesomecountriesinEuropeguaranteeaccesstothesameeducationalopportunitiesasna‐
tionalstomigrantsincludingrefugeeandasylum‐seekingchildren(e.g.Spain,UK,Norway,Finland,
Belgium,theNetherlandsandMalta),othercountriesgrantthemdifferentiatedaccess,withtheir
legalstatususedasthemainargumentandcriteriafordifferentiation(e.g.Bulgaria,Croatia,Po‐
land,Germany,Sweden)(CentrefortheStudyofDemocracy,2012,p.57‐58).
TherighttoaccesscompulsoryeducationisusuallyguaranteedbylawinEUcountries(Crul,2017,
p.5).However,theEuropeanregulationthatrequiresthatchildrenenteringaMemberState
shouldbeincludedineducationwithinthreemonths(article14(2)Directive2013/33/EU)isnot
fullyputinpracticeinsomeEUcountriesduetoprolongedprocedures(multiplerelocation,time
laginfindingaschoolplace,etc.).Itmaytakeuptosixmonthsforchildrentoenterastableschool

PERAE–COMPARATIVEREPORT


9/50

setting(Eurocities,2017)andinsomecasesevenlongerthanthat.Meanwhile,somecountries’
lawsmandateashorterwaitingperiod.InSweden,forinstance,refugeesmuststartattending
schoolwithinonemonthoftheirarrival(Rydinetal.2012,p.193)andasageneralrule,assoon
asappropriatetothechild'spersonalcircumstances.Similarly,inBulgaria,proceduresmustbe
completedwithin24workingdaysoftheasylumapplication(FundamentalRightsAgency,2017,p.
10).
Insomecountries,forexampletheNetherlands,ItalyandBelgium,educationiscompulsoryforall
schoolagechildrenregardlessoftheirstatus,whereasinothercountries,forexampleSwedenand
Germany,forsomegroupsofrefugeechildren(inSwedenrefugeechildrenwhoseasylumproce‐
duresarestillongoingorwhodonotyethavearesidencepermit,insomeGermanLänderchil‐
dreninreceptioncentres,childrenfrom‘safecountriesoforigin’,andunaccompaniedchildrenin
preliminarycare2)educationisnotcompulsory3,(Rydinetal.2012,p.191;Bourgonje2010,p.47,
in:Cruletal.,2016,p.6,FundamentalRightsAgency,2017,p.7‐8,AssociationforJuridicalStudies
onImmigration,2017).WhileinallEUcountries,allschool‐agedchildrenhavetherighttoattend
school,intheabsenceofobligatoryschoolattendance,schoolshavetherighttorejectrefugee
pupils4.Althoughlanguagecoursesareoftenoffered,andareinsomecasesobligatoryforrefugee
childrenwhoarenotobligedtoattendschool,inthemajorityofcasestheamountofschooling
considerablylagsbehindregularschooling(Cruletal.,2016,p.6).Whileregulationsoncompul‐
soryschoolingmainlyapplyonthenationallevel,itisusuallyuptothemunicipalitiestoprovide
theinfrastructureandspacesneededtocomplywithcompulsoryschoolattendance(Eurocities,
2017,p.10).
PoliciesontheeducationofrefugeesandasylumseekersinEUcountriesusuallypursuethreecore
goals:1)acquisitionofthenationallanguage;2)integrationintomainstreameducation;and3)
integrationintovocationaleducation.Multiplemeasuresaretargetedatreachinggoal(1)asfast
aspossibleandasafacilitatorforreachinggoal(2);somemeasurestakeaccountofthefactthat
continuouslanguagesupportisnecessaryforeducationalachievementsaftertheacquisitionof
basiclanguageskillsandwithintheprocessofreachinggoal(2).Whilegoal(2)appliestoall
school‐agedrefugees,goal(3)appliestoolderrefugeesbutisalsorelevantasalong‐termgoalfor
thoseinsecondaryschools.
Inmanycases,administrativeproceduresrepresentobstaclestosmoothprocessesofintegration;
forexample,whenaccesstoeducationdependsonmigrants’legalstatusorreachingacertain
stageoftheasylumprocess.IntheUK,forexample,apartfromsomebasicconditionsandrules


2RegulationsdifferamongtheGermanLänder.Schoolattendanceisnotcompulsoryforchildreninfirstreceptioncen‐
tersinmostLänder.Forchildrenfrom‘safecountriesoforigin’andunaccompaniedminors,schoolattendanceiscom‐
pulsoryinmostLänder.
3‚Compulsoryeducation‘isnotsynonymouswiththe‚obligationtoattendschool’.While‘compulsoryeducation’also
extendstohomeschoolinginsomecountries,the‘obligationtoattendschool’meanstheactualschoolattendance.
Sincehomeschoolingisrarelythecaseforrefugeechildrenandyouth,bothtermsareusedinterchangeableinthisre‐
port.
4RegulationsontherighttoschoolingandobligatoryschoolattendancedifferamongtheGermanLänder.

PERAE–COMPARATIVEREPORT


10/50

onreceptioneducation,thereisnocoordinatedcentralpolicyapproachandnohighrelevancefor
receptioneducation.Greeceiscurrentlydevelopinganactionplanforthecare,educationand
trainingofrefugeeswithinthepublicschools5,alsoatthehotspotfacilities.Concerninghotspot
facilities,thesewereestablishedforthefirsttimeinFebruary2016inareaswithlargeamountsof
refugees,forinstance,inthecampofDiavata,MunicipalityofDeltaandinthecampofPolycastro
KilkisnearIdomeni(Workshop,2016;Palaiologouetal.,2018).Also,theFinnishMinistryofEduca‐
tionandCulturehassetupasteeringgrouptodevelopshort‐termandlong‐termmeasuresto
dealwiththeeducationoftheincreasingnumberofrefugeestudents(Workshop,2016).
Notwithstandingthefactthatthereisnotmuchrecentnationallegislationwithconcreteprovi‐
sionsforenablingthecontinuityoflearningfornewlyarrivedrefugees,apromisingexampleisthe
Swedishlawonassessmentofrefugeepupils’knowledgeandtheconceptofintroductoryclasses
thatcameintoforceinJanuary2016.Withintwomonthsofthearrivalofapupilatschool,itis
obligatorytomapher/hispreviousschoolingaswellaslevelofknowledgeandskillsinliteracyand
mathematics.Onthisbasis,theschooldecidesonthegradetoplacethepupilinandonthesup‐
porttheschoolwillprovide,allocatesteachingtimeforsubjects,andmakesmappingmaterials
availableinordertoassessthepriorknowledgeofthepupil.Sofar,mappingmaterialsareavail‐
ableforbiology,physics,chemistryandtechnics.Themaximumperiodforattendanceofanintro‐
ductoryclassistwoyears.Withinthistime,thepupilshouldalsoholdaplaceinamainstream
classwhereshe/hewillattendlessonsaccordingtotheassessededucationallevel.Aftertheter‐
minationoftheintroductoryclassperiod,additionalsupportisprovidedformainstreamschooling
ifneeded(MinistryofEducationandResearchSweden,2016).
NationaleducationauthoritiesinItalyrecentlystartedadhocinitiativestargetingtheeducationof
asylumseekingchildrenandUnaccompaniedMinors(UM).Arecentlyapprovedlawenforces
someaspectsoftherighttoeducationforUMinItaly.InparticularitmakesprovisionsforUMto
beabletoobtainaschoolleavingcertificateeveniftheyreachthemaximumageforthespecific
coursebeforecompletingit(Grigt,2017,p.14).
PoliciesandcurriculainFinlandstandoutwithastrongfocusonmulticulturalism,societalpartici‐
pationandinternationality.Onecross‐curriculargoalofeducationincludes‘Culturalidentityand
knowledgeofcultureprovidingstudentswithopportunitiestobuildtheirculturalidentityby
meansoftheirnativelanguage,analysisofthepast,religion,artisticandnaturalexperiencesand
otheraspectsthataremeaningfultothem’.Tea c h ereducationisincreasinglyaddressingmulticul‐
turalism,socialjusticeandsimilarissues,aimingatpreparingteachersforworkingwithmigrant
students(FinnishNationalBoardofEducation,2003,p.23,in:Dervinetal.,2017,p.5‐7).Never‐
theless,workisneededtoensurethesegoalsareproperlytakenupinstrategiesfortheirtransla‐
tionandimplementationinpedagogicalprocessesandactions(Dervinetal.,2017,p.11,16‐17).


5ThisschemeforpubliceducationiscoordinatedbytheGreekMinistryofEducationincollaborationwiththeInstitute
ofEducationPolicy(I.E.P.)forthedevelopmentofeducationsupportmaterial,suchasOpenCurriculainICTs,English
Language,ScienceandMaths,Arts.Relevantwebsite(inGreeklanguage):
http://www.iep.edu.gr/el/component/k2/content/5‐ekpaidefsi‐prosfygon

PERAE–COMPARATIVEREPORT


11/50

2Threestagesofeducationforyoungrefugeesandasylum
seekers:fromfirstarrivaltomainstreameducation
Asmoothtransitionprocessfromeducationuponfirstarrivaluntiltheirintegrationintomain‐
streameducationiskeytorefugees’successfulattainmentofeducationinreceivingcountries.
ThissectionanalysespracticesofschoolarrangementsinEUcountriesdifferentiatedbythethree
mainstages–yetwhilenotclearlydistinguishableinmanycases–thatcanbeidentifiedinthis
process:educationatfirstarrival(stageone),receptioneducation(stagetwo),andmainstream
education(stagethree).
STAGEONE:EDUCATIONATFIRSTARRIVAL
Interviewsconductedbythe‘Multi‐countryPartnershiptoEnhancetheEducationofRefugeeand
Asylum‐seekingYou th inEurope’revealedthatmanyyoungrefugeesandasylumseekersare
highlymotivatedandambitious;manyofthemseeeducationastheirmainchanceofsucceeding
inthereceivingcountry.ThisisbackedbythefindingsbyBunar(2017,p.7)thattheambitionof
newlyarrivedmigrantstudents(NAMS)tosucceedinschoolinSwedenis‘oneofthelargestop‐
portunitiesfortheeducationsystem’.HeidentifiesinNAMSa‘greatenthusiasmforlearningthe
languageandhopeforabrightfutureinSweden.’
Delayedintegrationintoschoolsettings
Duringthefirstmonthsuponarrival,educationisoftenarrangedinanimprovisedmanner,intem‐
poraryfacilities,therefore,theintegrationintoaschoolsettingisoftendelayed.
Insomecases,accesstoeducationislimitedduetounstableandunfavourablehousingarrange‐
ments–nospacetostudyhampersthelearningofthenewlanguageandtheadaptationtothe
newschoolenvironment(Cruletal.,2017,p.5;PERAE).Especiallyduringthecourseofthelarge
numbersofnewarrivalssince2015,refugeeshavefrequentlybeenmovedfromonelocationto
another.Accommodationinthesetemporaryarrangementsisprolongedbylengthyasylumproce‐
dures(Eurocities,2017;PERAE).
InnineEUMemberStates(Austria,Finland,France,Bulgariaconcerningpre‐removaldetention,
Denmark,Hungary,partsofGermany,GreeceexceptforinformalactivitiesbyNGOs,Sweden)out
of14coveredbyaFRAsurvey,childreninimmigrationdetention6hadnoaccesstoanyformof
education.ThreeoftheMemberStatessurveyed(theNetherlands,PolandandSlovakia)provide
educationindetentionfacilitiesimmediatelyafterarrival,evenifchildrenstayonlyforashort
time.IntheNetherlandsthisappliestoprimaryeducationwhilesecondarypupilsoftenhaveto
waitseveralmonthsuntiltheyareabletoattendschool.Alternativecasesare‘familylocations’in
theNetherlands,wherefamiliescanmovearoundfreelywithinthemunicipality.Thisgiveschil‐


6Inmostcases,onlypeoplewhoserequestsforasylumorrefugeestatuswererejectedorwhohavenoregularstatusof
residencearedetained.

PERAE–COMPARATIVEREPORT


12/50

dreninsomelocationsthepossibilitytoattendaregularprimaryschoolnearby.InSpain,asylum‐
seekingchildrenarenotdetained,exceptforthetemporaryreceptioncentresinCeutaand
Melilla,Spain(FundamentalRightsAgency,2017,p.2,6‐7).InItaly,UMarebylawnotdetained
alongsideadults.However,therearesignificantnumbersofUMwhoaredetainedin‘hotspot’
facilitiestogetherwithadults.Accordingtoatwo‐phaseaccommodationsystemintroducedin
2015andamendedin2017,UMshouldnotstayin‘short‐term’accommodationstructureslonger
than30days.However,duetothelackof‘long‐term’accommodationplaces,theirstayin‘hot‐
spot’andother‘shortterm’facilitiesisoftenextendedoverweeksormonths.Duringthistime,
theyhavenoaccesstoeducationandtraining.Furthermore,sincesignificantproportionsofUMin
ItalyaimtoreachotherEUcountries,manyofthem‘disappear’fromaccommodationfacilitiesto
continuetheirjourney.ThisphenomenonisintensifiedbythefactthatmanyUMappeartobenot
awareoftheirrightsoffamilyreunificationorrelocationtoanotherEUcountry.Thissituationex‐
posesUMtoconsiderablerisksandpreventsthemfromexercisingtheirrighttoeducation(Grigt,
2017,p.16‐18).
SomemunicipalitiesinGermany,suchasHamburg,haveinstalled‘learninggroups’inreception
centres(classesofupto15childrenandadolescents,roughlydividedintoagegroups,whoreceive
GermanlanguagelessonsandpartlyalphabetizationinLatinwriting).Inprinciple,attendanceat
thelearninggroupsisobligatoryforallyoungpeopleunderage18,butabsenteeismishigh.The
teachersforthegroupsarefrequentlyfree‐lancersorformerteacherswhohaveretired;theyare
coordinatedandaccompaniedbyneighbouringschools.Theseschoolsalsoassesstheschoollevel
ofthechildrentosmooththeallocationandtransitiontothenexteducationalsteps,especially
oncefamiliesorUMhavebeenassignedtomorepermanentaccommodation(Koehlerand
Schneider,2018).
STAGETWO:RECEPTIONEDUCATION
Provisionsforsmoothentryintomainstreameducation
InmostEUcountriesthereareprovisionstosmoothrefugeechildren’sentryintomainstreamedu‐
cationthroughspeciallanguagecourses,differenttypesofimmersionclassesandadditionalsup‐
port.
AmongthecountriessurveyedbytheFundamentalRightsAgencyandbyPERAE,differentforms
ofimmersionclassestohelprefugeechildrenfolloworjoinregularclassesareinplaceinAustria,
Germany,Finland,France,Italy,Sweden,Denmark,Greece,Hungary,theNetherlandsandPoland.
Insomeofthesecountries(Flanders(Belgium),Denmark,Hungary,Finland,France,Germany,the
Netherlands)refugeepupilsattendschoolinseparateclassesforone,orinsomecountriesupto
twoyears,untiltheyarereadytojoinmainstreamclasses(FundamentalRightsAgency,2017,p.8‐
9;PERAE).
Arrangementsfortheseclasses(e.g.intheNetherlands,Flanders(Belgium)andGermanyina
nearbyschoolorinsomecitiesaschoolorspecialclassesonthepremisesoftheasylumseekers
centre)andnames(e.g.‘immersionclasses’intheNetherlands,‘receptionclasses’inFlanders

PERAE–COMPARATIVEREPORT


13/50

(Belgium)and‘preparation’or‘welcomeclasses’inGermany)differacrosscountries.Common
featuresoftheclassesincludeafocusonquickacquisitionoflanguageskillsandageneralorienta‐
tioninthehostsocietyandculture(Cruletal.,2016,p.7–11;PERAE;FundamentalRights
Agency,2017,p.8).Oftentherangeofsubjectsisbroadenedstepwise.
InGermany,whenenteringtheeducationsystemafterprimaryschool,thevastmajorityofrefu‐
geechildrenareallocatedtopreparationclassesatlowersecondaryschools.Onlysmallnumbers
ofpreparationclassesexistatmediumandhighersecondaryschools(Cruletal.,2016,p.7‐11).
Sincethissystemhasbeeninplaceforseveralyears,thedrasticincreaseofnewarrivalsin2015
representedlessaconceptualchallengethanachallengeofmagnitude.Schoolshadnospacefor
additionalclassesandtherehasbeenanimmenseshortageofqualifiedteachers.Somesecondary
schoolsinHamburgoperatewithalongerandmoreintensivepreparatorysystemaimedatfacili‐
tatingthetransitiontotheuppersecondarytrackforhigh‐potentialstudents.Intheselonger
coursespupilsstaytwoyearsinthepreparationclass,repeat10thgradeatuppersecondary
school(inordertosmoothenthetransitionandgetextrasupportforadaptation)andthenmove
ontohighersecondaryeducationwithreasonablygoodchancesforgraduationafteranothertwo
years.TheLandBavariatriestokeepthetimespentinpreparationclassesasshortaspossiblein
ordertohastentheeducationalintegrationofrefugeechildrenwithintheregularsystem.Thishas
theadvantagethatpupilsareconfrontedwiththefullrangeofsubjectsfromtheverybeginning.
However,lackingGermanlanguageskillsandalackofappropriateteachingmethodsrepresent
majorobstacles.Thepilotproject‘InGym’hasbeenimplementedinselectedcitiesinBavariasince
schoolyear2015/16inordertoeaseaccesstohighersecondaryeducation.Withinsixmonths,
pupilswithamigrantbackground,includingrefugees,whohaveaqualificationlevelthatiscom‐
parablewiththeuppersecondaryschoollevel(Gymnasium)attendaspecialsix‐monthstransition
classtopreparethemfortheirintegrationintomainstreamuppersecondaryschools(Koehlerand
Schneider,2018).Inordertoeasetransitionfromreceptionclassestoregularclasses,theSenate
ofBerlinsetupadditional‘bridgecourses’asastepbetweenthetwosystems,particularlyprovid‐
inglanguagesupport(Eurocities,2017,p.11).
InItaly,nopreparationclassesareforeseenonthenationallevel,butduetoschoolautonomy,
schoolsarefreetoorganisepreparatorycoursesinordertoeaseintegrationintomainstream
classes(AssociationforJuridicalStudiesonImmigration,2017).Datasuggeststhatearlychildhood
anduppersecondaryeducationarethemostdifficultforrefugeechildrentoaccessinItaly.Most
UMattendcoursesoftheProvincialcentersforadulteducationandtraining(CPIA).Thecourses
allowthose16yearsandoldertoattainalowersecondaryschooldegreeandareexperiencedin
assessingskillsandteachingmigrantsandpeoplewhoareilliterate.Butatthesametimetheyare
criticizedfordirectingcourseparticipantsawayfrommainstreameducation,notmeetingthe
particularneedsofUMinregardtopsycho‐pedagogicalapproachesandpracticalarrangements
(e.g.teachingalongsideadults),andnotprovidingthemwithopportunitiestointegrateinto
society.Thisispartlybecausetheywereinitiallydesignedforadultlearnersandlackstaffand
resourcestoappropriatelycaterfortheneedsofUM.ProvisionsforCPIAtoadapttothechanging
needsweremadein2015/16butareyettobeimplemented(Grigt,2017,p.21‐24).

PERAE–COMPARATIVEREPORT


14/50

InGreece,duringthe‘firstsemester’oftherecentrefugeeflows,thatistheperiodfromFebruary
2016untilOctober2016,educationsupportforrefugeechildrenwasmainlyprovidedbyNGOs
withinthecamps.SincemidofOctober2016thissituationstartedtochangethroughtheimple‐
mentationofanofficialeducationpolicyschemebytheGreekMinistryofEducation(Palaiologou,
2018).Inthisframe,educationforrefugeechildrenwasinitiallyofferedexclusivelythroughafter‐
noonclassesatpublicschools,afterthemorningmainstreamschoolprogramme.Gradually,morn‐
ingclasseswereadded,i.e.withinthemainstreamschoolprogramme,aimingattheinclusionof
refugeechildrenwithinthepublicschoolsystem.FromJanuary2018,morningReinforcingCoach‐
ingClasseswillbeimplementedforrefugeechildrenfrom13‐15years(Palaiologouetal.,2018).
InFlanders(Belgium),schoolscanrequesttoopenreceptionclassesduringtheentireschoolyear
insteadofonlyatitsbeginning;thisenablesflexibleresponsestorisingnumbersofnewcomers.
Thelargemajorityofschoolsofferingreceptionclassesaremainstreamschools.Furthermore,in
receptioneducationinFlanders(Belgium),differentabilitygroupsareorganizedinordertoenable
teachingbasedonstudents’prioreducationandabilities.Follow‐upcoachesinsecondaryeduca‐
tionpreparestudentsforthetransitiontomainstreameducation,guideandsupportthemand
follow‐upwiththemaftertheirtransitiontomainstreameducation.Coachingteachersfurther
initiateexchangewithmainstreamschoolsandcoachtheteachersofformerreceptionclassstu‐
dents.TheFlemishMinistryofEducationallocatesresourcesfor0,9teachinghoursperreception
pupilwhichamountedto175coachesinschoolyear2016/17(Ravnetal.,2018).
SomespecificsupportsystemshavebeensetuptoaccommodatetheneedsofUM.InLeeds,for
instance,a‘virtualschoolhead’wasappointedwhoseresponsibilityitistomakesurethatallchil‐
dreninthecareofthelocalauthoritiesareinappropriateeducation,andadditionaltransition
classeswereopenedforUM(Eurocities,2017,p.11).
UsuallyintheNetherlandsandFinland,NAMSattendapreparationclassataspecificschoolbe‐
foretransferringtoamainstreamclass.TheseclasseslastoneyearinFinland.IntheNetherlands
theperiodhasbeenextendeduptotwoyears;dependingontheirneeds,refugeechildrenspend
betweenafewmonthsandtwoyearsinpreparationclasses(Dervinetal.,2017,p.4‐5;Tu djman
etal.,2016;Ravnatal.,2018).
Swedenhasapolicy(formallylegalisedin2016)ofintegratingchildrenasquicklyaspossibleinto
mainstreamclasses;hencethetimetheyspendinimmersionclassesisusuallyrathershort,some‐
timesonlyafewmonths.Inordertofacilitatetheprocessoftransitionfromimmersiontomain‐
streamclasses,immersionclasspupilsalreadyholdaplaceinamainstreamclasswheretheyat‐
tendsomeclassesaccordingtotheircompetences(Cruletal.,2016,p.8‐11;MinistryofEducation
andResearchSweden,2016,p.1‐2).
Informationabouttheeducationsystem
Transparentinformationabouttheeducationsystemenablesinformedchoices.
MostEuropeaneducationsystemsarecharacterisedbycomplexstructuresandregulationsanda
diversityoftrajectoriesandopportunities.Itisnecessarytoprovidenewlyarrivedrefugeechil‐

PERAE–COMPARATIVEREPORT


15/50

drenandtheirfamilieswithtransparentinformationaboutthereceivingeducationsystemand
educationalopportunitiesinordertoenableinformedchoices.
InFlanders(Belgium),newlyarrivedfamiliescangetinformationabouttheeducationsystemfrom
thelocalIntegrationCentre,fromthereceptioncentresandfromNGOsworkingwithrefugees.
Someschoolsorganise‘networkdays’withinreceptioneducationinordertoenableconnections
amongstudents,parents,principals,teachersandfollow‐upcoaches.Nevertheless,refugeesoften
feelthattheyarenotwellinformedabouttheeducationandlabourmarketsystem.Atsome
schools,thereisalackoftargetedandindividualguidanceforNAMS,especiallyduringandafter
thetransitionfromreceptiontomainstreameducation,whereasotherschoolsmanagetoprovide
individualguidanceandinformation(Ravnetal.2016).InLeipzig,Germany,aneducationaladvi‐
soryserviceoffersmonthlygroupandindividualstudysessionsforasylumseekerswherethey
learnabouttheGermaneducationsystemandopportunitieswithaparticularfocusonfurther
education.InMalmö,studyadviceisbeingofferedtoaround3,000NAMSintheirownlanguages
(Eurocities,2017,p.11).InHamburg,theSchoolInformationCentre(SIZ)providesinformation
abouttheeducationsystemandschoolsinHamburg(KoehlerandSchneider,2018).
Connectivityofeducation
Enablingconnectivityofeducationrequiresfunctioningsystemstoassessprioreducationand
knowledge.
RefugeechildrenarriveinEuropewithamultiplicityofprioreducationandschooling.Childrenof
thesameagecohortarefoundtohavecompletelydifferentprioreducationexperiences.Atone
endofthescale,therearechildrenandyoungpeoplewhohadlittleexposuretoschoolintheir
countriesoforigin,whereasontheotherendofthescaletherearethosewhoattendedschool
withoutinterruptionuntiltheirdepartureandinsomecaseshavealreadyattainededucational
qualifications.Integratingthesechildrenandyoungpeopleintoeducationthatbuildsupontheir
priorschoolingrequirestheconnectivityoftheexistingsystemswiththeprioreducationofNAMS,
andstructurestoidentifythelevelandtypeoftheirprioreducation.
Fortheassessmentofprioreducation,citieshavestartedtodevelopdifferentmethods:Sweden
hasbeenimplementingthe‘START’projectwherecitystaff,aninterpreterandamother‐tongue
teachermeettheentirerefugeefamilytoassessthestudent’sknowledgeinthecoresubjects
(math,English,nativelanguage).ThecityofMunichhasmadeplansforacentral‘assessmentand
assignmentcentre’toassessNAMS’knowledgeandneedsandsupporttheminfindingtheappro‐
priatetypeofeducation(Eurocities,2017,p.11).InHamburg,allminorsarepresentedtothe
HamburgInstituteforVocationalEducation(HIBB)inordertoassesstheirprioreducation.The
teachersofthe‘learninggroups’inreceptioncentresrecommendthechildrentocertaintypes
andlevelsofschooling.ThefirststepisaconsultationattheSIZ,whichthenassignsthestudents
totheschoolsaccordingtotheregionalavailabilityofplaces.Thefamiliescannormallynotaskfor
aplaceinaparticularschool.Thepreparationclasseslaterassesstheappropriateschoollevelfor
thetransitiontomainstreameducation.InBambergandothercitiesofBavaria,thewelfareor‐
ganizationthatisassignedtorunningtherefugeeaccommodationunitsassumetheroleoffacili‐

PERAE–COMPARATIVEREPORT


16/50

tatorsinidentifyingaschool.Theycontacttheschoolsthatareeithertheonesresponsibleforthe
neighbourhoodofthecentre–inthecaseofprimaryandlowersecondaryschools–orthemost
suitedonesaccordingtothelevelofGermanlanguageandgeneralacademicskills.Ingeneral,
however,theabilityofschoolsinGermanytoconnecttheirteachingwithpriorlearningofrefugee
studentsandprovideindividualsupporttothemisquitelimited(KoehlerandSchneider,2018).
TheFinnishmodelofintegratingNAMSintomainstreameducationprovidesthatwithinthefirst
year,anindividualcurriculumisdesignedforeachstudenttailoredtohis/herneedsandbasedon
theirpreviousschoolhistory,ageandotherfactorsaffectingtheirschoolwork(e.g.beinganUM,
comingfromawarsituation).Theindividualcurriculumissetincooperationbetweentheteacher,
thepupilandthefamily(Dervinetal.,2017,p.5,15).IntheNetherlands,someschoolsapplya
similarstrategyofassessingtheprioreducationandsocialandfamilyconditionsofeachchild,
togetherwiththeparentsorcaretaker,anddesignanindividuallearningschedule.Schoolsare
encouragedtogiveparentsregularupdatesonthelearningprogressofthechildinordertoen‐
surecontinuityandavoidclassrepetition(Tudjmanetal.,2018).Similarly,intheUK,anindividual‐
izedlearningplanisdesignedforeachrefugeestudentoncetheyenterschool.Itremainsachal‐
lenge,however,forfamiliesandstudentstoacquirethenecessaryinformationaboutschoolsand
socialservicesintheUK,intheabsenceofacoordinatedsystemtoproviderelevantinformation
tonewlyarrivedrefugees(KakosandSharma‐Brymer,2018).
Accommodationarrangements
Receptioneducationismuchdependentonaccommodationarrangements.
AsylumseekersandrefugeesinreceptionfacilitiesinsomepartsofGermany,Greece(concerning
asylumseekers)andHungaryhavenoaccesstoformaleducation;theonlyeducationavailableis
providedbyvolunteersorNGOs(FundamentalRightsAgency,2017,p.7‐8).InGermany,refugees
arehousedinreceptioncentresorapartmentsinsocialhousingafterthefirstfewmonthsofinitial
receptionuntiltheircaseshavebeenprocessedandaresidencypermithasbeenissued–which
maytakeyears.Becauseoftheprovisionalandtemporarynatureofthisformofaccommodation,
itisimpossibletoestablishandmaintainfixedgroupsofchildren(KoehlerandSchneider,2018).In
GermanyandBelgium,refugeesarefrequentlymovedbetweendifferentaccommodationcentres
duringtheirasylumprocedure.Thiscomeswithchallengesfortheschoolattendance,forexample
havingtotravellongdistancestoreachtheschool.InBelgium,thefactthatthedifferentregions
havedifferentofficiallanguagescontributestothehardshipsrefugeestudentsfaceandslowstheir
integration.Intherefugeecentres,refugeechildrenoftensharesmallroomswithmanypeople,
whichhamperstheirabilitytofocusonstudying(Ravnetal.,2018,KoehlerandSchneider,2018).
Insomecountries,suchasBelgium,manyasylumcentresarelocatedindistantorruralareas
whereschoolsarenotalwayseasilyaccessiblebypublictransport.Asaresult,somerefugeechil‐
drendonotattendschool.Thismaybeoneofthefactors(butnotthemainone)leadingtothe
worryingabsenteeismamongrefugeechildren.Ruralschoolsarenotalwaysabletodividethe
newcomersindifferentclassesaccordingtotheirpriorschoolinglevelduetolownumbersof
newcomers(andthuslackoffunding)andhavelittleexperiencewithreceptioneducationand

PERAE–COMPARATIVEREPORT


17/50

refugeestudents(Ravnetal.,2018).SimilarlyinItalyandtheUK,refugeesindistantaccommoda‐
tioncentresfacethechallengeoftransportationtoaschool.Thereisashortageofplacesin
schoolslocatednearaccommodationcentresinItalyandschoolstendtobehesitanttoaccept
largenumbersofrefugeepupils(AssociationforJuridicalStudiesonImmigration,2017;PERAE).
InGreece,sincethebeginningofschoolyear2016/17,refugeestudentslivingwiththeirfamilies
inaccommodationcentresorcampshavebeenabletoattendclassesatReceptionSchoolAn‐
nexesforRefugeeEducation.Theseadditionalsupportclasseswereopenedupaspartofexisting
schoolsinschooldistrictswhereaccommodationcentresarelocated(FundamentalRightsAgency,
2017,p.10‐11;Palaiologouetal.,2018).
STAGETHREE:MAINSTREAMEDUCATION
Goalsforintegrationintomainstreameducation
Contradictinggoalsforintegrationintomainstreameducation:rapidintegrationintoregular
classesandoptimallanguagesupport.
Generally,thetransitiontoregularclassesinmainstreameducationisnotonlythemaingoalof
thepreparatoryortransitionclasses,butalsoseenasthecrucialpointof‘integration’forrefugee
youth.Yetatthesametime,itisalsodifficulttoachieve.Twogoalsseemtocontradicteachother:
therapidintegrationintoregularclassesandtheprovisionofoptimallanguagesupport.Theat‐
tendanceofregulareducationmaynotofferenoughtimeandspacefortheprovisionofsufficient
teachinginthenationallanguage.Thisislessaprobleminprimaryschoolsthaninsecondaryedu‐
cationbecausepupilsarenotonlyolderandlessabletosimply‘pickup’thenewlanguage,the
formalrequirementsaremuchmoredemandingandstrict,andthesubjectstobelearnedmore
complexandextensive.Therefore,somestakeholders,forexampleinGermany,aredrawnbe‐
tweenapositionthatpleadsforlongerperiodsoftimeinpreparationclasses(i.e.mostlysepa‐
ratedfromtheregularclasses)inordertocontinueputtingmoreemphasisontraininginthena‐
tionallanguage,andtheemphasisonanearlyintegrationintoregularclassesandamixingofthe
pupils,sothatsocialintegrationandtheapplicationofthenewlyacquiredlanguageskillsisfacili‐
tatedassoonaspossible.OtherspleadforamixedsystemthatwouldbringNAMSandtheirage
peersinregularclassestogetherinallsubjectsinwhichlanguageisnotnecessarilyascentral,such
assports,arts,religion,mathsandscience(KoehlerandSchneider,2018).
InsomeMemberStates(Austria,Italy,partsofGermany,Greecesinceschoolyear2017/18,Swe‐
denandPoland)refugeestudentsmayenroldirectlyinmainstreamclasses.Atthesametime,
theybenefitfromintroductoryclassesandlanguagesupport(FundamentalRightsAgency,2017,
p.8,seeTable1:ReceptioneducationinselectedEUcountries).
InItaly,challengesappeartobethefactthatsomeschoolsrejectenrolmentofrefugeechildren
andthattheyareoftenassignedtoclassesthatdonotcorrespondtotheirage.Thisispartlythe
resultofsomeschoolsnotbeingawareofrespectiveguidelines,notbeingabletoassesscompe‐
tencesindependentfromlanguageandnotfeelingequippedtomeettheneedsofrefugeechil‐
dren,e.g.thosewhoareilliterate.WhereasthereisnosystemofpreparatoryclassesinItaly,refu‐

PERAE–COMPARATIVEREPORT


18/50

geepupilsaresubjecttoadditionallinguisticsupportinsmallgroupsandtoindividualisededuca‐
tionallearningplans.However,duetothelackofresources,thefullscheduleoflanguagesupport
oftencannotbeprovidedandteachersoftenteachextrahourswithoutpayment(Grigt,2017,p.
20,28‐29).
InBulgaria,Slovakia,SpainandtheUK,childrenareenrolledinregularclassesimmediatelywith‐
outtheoptionofanimmersionstage.AdditionalsupportinthesecountriesislimitedtoNGO‐run
languageclassesandtutoring.IntheUK,studentsareallocatedtoclassesbasedontheirage.In
England,schoolshavetheautonomytodevelopappropriateprovisionswhichcanbeeventhe
offeroflanguageorpreparatoryclasses.However,thestudentsspendmostoftheirtimeinschool
inmainstreamclasseswithadditionalprovisioninparalleltomainstreamschooling,oralldayin
schoolwhenadditionalprovisionisofferedafterschool.Theadditionalsupportcanincludebutis
notlimitedtoNGO‐runclasses(FundamentalRightsAgency,2017,p.8,KakosandSharma‐Brymer,
2018).
Afterpreparationclasses,refugeestudentsinGermanychangetoaregularclassingeneraleduca‐
tion.Forthoseinprimaryeducation,thisismostlythesameschooltheyhavealreadybeenat‐
tending.Forthoseinlowersecondaryeducationthismayimplyachangeofschool.Ideally,there
arenevermorethanfiveformerpreparationclassstudentspermainstreamclass.Duetothefed‐
eralsystem,institutionalandcurricularrequirementsandteachingmethodsformainstreamedu‐
cationarenotuniformacrossGermanybutvarybetweenthefederalstates(‘Länder’)(Koehler
andSchneider,2018).AsimilarsystemisinplaceintheNetherlands,Belgium(Flanders)and
Finland(seeabove).Largegapsareoftenfound,especiallyinGermany,theNetherlandsandBel‐
gium(Flanders),betweentheskillsandknowledgeNAMSacquireinreceptioneducationandthe
expectationsinmainstreameducation.Inthemajorityofcases,theyareinneedofextrasupport
inlanguageacquisitionandonasocio‐emotionallevel(PERAE).Intheaforementionedthree
countries,secondlanguagesupportisoftencontinuedafterintegratingrefugeestudentsinmain‐
streamprimaryschoolclasses,whereassecondaryschoolsoftendonotprovideextralanguage
classes.Sincelanguageinstructionisconsideredasanadditionalsubject,therearenostandard‐
izedprovisionsonqualityandquantityofteaching(Cruletal.,2016,p.7–11,Eurocities,2017,p.
10;PERAE).InSweden,bycontrast,avarietyofadditionalsupportisprovidedafterfinalplace‐
mentintomainstreamclasses.ThisincludesadditionallanguageclassesandthefactthatSwedish
isofferedasasecondlanguagewithcompleteteachingsyllabus,instructionandtrainedteachers
atalllevelsofschool;thesubjectcanalsobecountedasanentrancemarkforuniversity(Crulet
al.,2016,p.8‐11;MinistryofEducationandResearchSweden,2016,p.1‐2).
Tracking
Earlytrackinglimitsrefugeepupils’chancestoreachhighersecondaryeducation.
Itseemsthatinclusionintoregularclassesinprimaryschoolsiswidelyunproblematic.However,
theschoolsystemsofmostEUcountriesarecharacterizedbyahierarchyofdifferentstreamsor
tracks,separatedbyabilitylevelandgradeaveragesfromthesecondarylevelonup.Asarule,late
andlessselectivetrackingoffersmoreopportunitiesforhighersecondaryandacademiceduca‐

PERAE–COMPARATIVEREPORT


19/50

tion.AmongEUcountries,Germanytrackstheearliestatageten,followedbytheNetherlands,
GreeceandBelgium(Flanders),eachatagetwelve(seeTab le2:TrackinginselectedEUcountries).
Insomecountries,e.g.GreeceandGermany,thereisacertaindegreeofflexibilitytomovebe‐
tweentracks.Butmovinguptoahighertrackismostlyconditionedbygradeswhilemovingdown
toalowertrackisgenerallypossiblewithoutconditions.Inthescenarioofearlytracking,refugee
childrengenerallyhavelowchancesofmakingittoahighersecondaryschoolafterprimary
school.Thosewhoarrivelateduringtheireducationalcareeraredisadvantagedbecausethey
havemissedtheentryexamsorgradeaveragesforenteringanacademicsecondarypath.Much
alsodependsonthepreviouseducationandknowledgeoftheparents.
Studentswhohavethecognitiveandintellectualskillstofollowtheacademictrackareoftenad‐
visedtoenterthevocationaltrackbecauseoftheirinsufficientlanguageskills,orbecauseschool
advisorsmaymakemisjudgementsattheendofprimaryeducation(PERAE).Enteringalowersec‐
ondarypatheffectivelymeansthatastudentischannelledtowardsvocationaltrainingandhas
littlechanceofswitchingtoanacademicpath.Policiesofthosecountriesthatparticularlytarget
vocationalcareersforrefugeessustainthissystem;forexample,theymaypresentlowersecon‐
daryschoolsasthe‘normalpath’torefugees,whileatthesametimethemajorityofnativestu‐
dentsattendhighersecondaryschools.Hence,disproportionatelyhighnumbersofrefugeestu‐
dentsattendthevocationaltracksofsecondaryschoolsintheNetherlands,GermanyandBelgium
(Flanders).Thiscomesnotonlywithlimitededucationalchances,especiallyregardingopportuni‐
tiestosuccessfullyenrolinhighereducation,butmostlyalsowithlowsocialappreciation.That
said,theapprenticeshipsystemsintheaforementionedthreecountriesarewelldevelopedanddo
indeedofferrealisticchancesforlabourmarketentry(Cruletal.,2016,p.15‐17;PERAE).Some
attemptshavebeenmadeinHamburgandBavariatoeaserefugeestudents’accesstohighersec‐
ondaryschoolsthroughtheabovedescribedsystemofprolongedpreparatoryclassesforhigh‐
potentialstudentsinHamburgandthepilotproject‘InGym’inBavaria.Furtherfacilitatingthisin
Hamburgisbyrecognizingthemostcommonoriginlanguagesofmigrantstudents(Turkish,Rus‐
sian,Arabic)tomeettheobligatorysecondforeignlanguagerequirement,andasamainsubjectin
theirfinalexams.InotherGermanfederalstatesandinsomeothercountries,forexamplethe
Netherlands,thereisgenerallynotmuchattentionpaidtonativelanguages(PERAE).
InSweden,trackingonlytakesplaceattheageof15andthegeneralgoalistogetasmanystu‐
dentsaspossible,includingrefugees,intoacademiceducation.Whilethissystemdoesofferbetter
chancesforahighereducationpathforrefugees,thedisadvantageisthatthosewhodonotman‐
agetosucceedinthispathfindonlylimitedchanceswithinthevocationalsector(Cruletal.,2016,
p.15‐17).LatetrackingalsotakesplaceinFinland,whereattheageof16studentschoosebe‐
tweenavocationalandanacademictrack(Dervinetal.,2017).TheUKdoesnotapplyasystemof
trackingatall;thedifferentschoolsthatareavailableatsecondarylevelareopenforallability
levels;differentiationinsteadtakesplacewithineachschool(KakosandSharma‐Brymer,2018,see
Table2:TrackinginselectedEUcountries).

PERAE–COMPARATIVEREPORT


20/50

Additionalsupport
Additionalsupportiscrucialforsuccessfulintegrationintomainstreamclasses.
InallEUMemberStatessurveyedbytheFundamentalRightsAgency,refugeechildrenbenefit
fromthesameservicesasnationalpupilsoncetheyareenrolledinamainstreamschool.How‐
ever,additionalsupportisnecessaryforrefugeechildrennotonlyforcognitivemattersbutalsoin
ordertorespondtotheirparticularsituation,e.g.experiencesoftrauma,lossofrelativesand
otherpsychosocialissues.Mostcountriesattempttomeettheirrespectiveneedsinschools,e.g.
throughfinancial,educationormaterialsupport(FundamentalRightsAgency,2017,p.11).
Incountrieswherethereisnoobligationtoassignasupportperson,forinstanceinGermany,
Flanders(Belgium)andtheNetherlands,thetypeandqualityofsupportvaries(Cruletal.,2016,
p.13;PERAE,seeTable3:Additionalsupportforrefugeesandasylumseekersinmainstream
schoolsinselectedEUcountries).Insomecases,ateacheroraschoolmentortakesupthisrole,
butinmostcasesthesupportpersonisnotparticularlytrainedfortheneedsofrefugeestudents
anddealswithheavyworkload.Thisoftenresultsinasituationwheretheneedsofrefugeestu‐
dentscannotappropriatelybemetandcrisisandinterventionsupportcannotbeprovided(Crulet
al.,2016,p.13).InItaly,schoolstrytoprovideasmuchsupporttorefugeeandUMpupilsaspos‐
sible,butthereisalackoftrainedstafftoteachinmulticulturalclassroomsandtorespondtopsy‐
chologicalneedsaswellasalackoflinguisticandculturalmediation,alsoinordertocommuni‐
catewithparents(Grigt,2017,p.26‐27).ThesurveybytheFundamentalRightsAgencyidentifies
traumaanduncertaintyaboutthefutureasparticularimpedimentsforrefugeechildren’sintegra‐
tionineducationinHungary,GreeceandGermany.Infourofthesurveyedcountries(France,Slo‐
vakia,theNetherlands,Sweden)thereissomesortofsupportfortraumatisedchildren.However,
thissupportoftendoesnottargetrefugeechildrenandmightthereforebeinadequatefortheir
needs(FundamentalRightsAgency,2017,p.11‐12).InFlanders(Belgium),follow‐upcoachesare
assigned.However,thePERAEstudyperformedinthecityofAntwerpshowedthattheyunder‐
standtheirtaskprimarilyasbeingfocussedonschool‐relatedissues;theyrarelyreachouttonon‐
schoolactors(Ravnetal.,2018).Inothercountries,forexampleSweden,schoolsareobligedto
assignaparticularsupportpersonforstudents