25. Research on Children's Rights in Education
Paper
Children’s Rights and the Access to Education of Refugee Children and Youths in Switzerland
Pascale Herzig
Zurich University of Teacher Education, Switzerland
Presenting Author: Herzig, Pascale
Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, approximately 75,000 people have fled from Ukraine to Switzerland (SEM, 2023), including a large number of children and youths of school age. In addition to refugees from Ukraine, families with children from other areas of crisis are increasingly seeking refuge in Switzerland. This poses major challenges not only to the refugees themselves, but also to schools and teachers. Most children and youths with a refugee background are confronted with additional challenges – they not only have to settle into a new social and cultural context, but also face burdens such as grief, trauma, and precarious residence status.
Although the phenomenon of families with children of school age seeking asylum in Switzerland has been experienced repeatedly, and subsequently large numbers of refugee children have been enrolled in schools, concepts on how to react to this situation were slow to emerge, and the measures taken by the cantonal authorities were rather small scale and pragmatic (see Truniger, 2018).
The group of refugee pupils is very diverse, the children and young people come from different educational backgrounds and due to the flight, in some cases their educational biographies have been interrupted for months or even years. While refugees from Ukraine “are granted protection status S” (SEM, 2023) after their arrival in Switzerland, those seeking asylum from other countries of origin must undergo an asylum procedure (see SEM, 2022). As a result the families from other countries than Ukraine are accommodated in various collective accommodation and subsequently have to experience several involuntary changes of residence and school even after arriving in Switzerland. In contrast, the enrolment and schooling of refugee children from Ukraine (with protection status S) is more continuous: they are assigned directly to a municipality and are enrolled there either in a regular class or in a separate offer. In Switzerland, the right to education is guaranteed in both the Federal Constitution and the UN CRC, which has been ratified for more than thirty years meanwhile.
In the paper, firstly, I will analyse the question of how school as an institution deals with children and youths of refugee background and whether the right to education is successfully applied.
Secondly, I will examine the enrolment practices in concrete terms and how the right to education is implemented.
Thirdly, the paper will address challenges experienced by families and teachers when refugee children and youths attend school.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThe paper is based on empirical data which I collected as a part of the ethnographically oriented research project “Education for Refugee Children – Opportunities and Challenges regarding Inclusion in the Swiss Education System”. The project is supported by the Zurich University of Teacher Education Research Fund.
The fieldwork has started by the end of February 2022, just after the beginning of the war in Ukraine. With a 'multi-sited ethnography' (Aden, 2019; Marcus, 1995), refugee families, children and youths are accompanied according to the method of participant observation during the school enrolment process and their ongoing school experience. In addition, narrative or semi-structured interviews (Breidenstein et al., 2013; Lueders, 2000) are conducted with families (children and parents) as well as class teachers and other school personnel. Furthermore, the paper is based on current research about schooling of refugee children as well as the recommendations by the cantonal governments of how to include refugee children and youths in schools in Switzerland. The ethnographic data is analysed with grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1996).
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsFrom an individual perspective, school enrolment of refugee children seems to work mostly according to the legal framework with most children starting school some days or weeks after their arrival in Switzerland, nonetheless children and their families face great challenges such as barrier of language, integration in an unfamiliar school system as well as a new social and cultural context.
Still, from an institutional point of view, the great number of Ukrainian refugees coming to Switzerland in spring 2022 revealed weak spots within the education system such as the cantons or local authorities not always being able to grant access to education within an adequate period of time.
The data show that practices of teaching refugee children vary from municipality to municipality and from canton to canton. The time it takes for refugee children and youths to start school differs as well. Enrolment can take place in a separate class or, in an more inclusive manner, in a regular class.
According to the refugee families, the uncertainty regarding their residence status is a major challenge. Some teachers can handle the situation and integrate newly arrived pupils competently, others are struggling and complain about the lack of support by the administration.
ReferencesAden, S. (2019). Multi-sited ethnography als Zugang zu transnationalen Sozialisationsprozessen unter Flucht- und Asylbedingungen. In B. Behrensen & M. Westphal (Hrsg.), Fluchtmigrationsforschung im Aufbruch: Methodologische und methodische Reflexionen (S. 225–250). Springer Fachmedien. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-26775-9_12
Breidenstein, G., Hirschauer, S., Kalthoff, H., & Nieswand, B. (2013). Ethnografie: Die Praxis der Feldforschung (1. Aufl). UVK UTB.
Lueders, C. (2000). Beobachten im Feld und Ethnographie. In U. Flick (Hrsg.), Qualitative Forschung. Ein Handbuch: Bd. Qualitative Forschung. Ein Handbuch Reinbek bei Hamburg. Rowohlt.
Marcus, G. E. (1995). Ethnography in/of the World System: The Emergence of Multi-Sited Ethnography. Annual Review of Anthropology, 24(1), 95–117. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.an.24.100195.000523
SEM, Staatssekretariat für Migration (2023). 19.01.2023—Kantonszuweisungen. https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/de/home/asyl/ukraine/statistiken.html.
SEM, State Secretariat for Migration. (2022). Asylum procedure. https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home/asyl/asylverfahren.html
SEM, State Secretariat for Migration (2023). Information on the Ukraine crisis. https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home/asyl/ukraine.html
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1996). Grounded Theory: Grundlagen Qualitativer Sozialforschung. Beltz.
Truniger, M. (2018). Schule, Migration und Vielfalt: Chancen und Partizipation für alle? In U. Klotz, F. Grain, J. Gruber, A. Sancar, H. Baumann, R. Herzog, A. Bösch, H. Schatz, & Denknetz (Hrsg.), Bildung und Emanzipation: Jahrbuch Denknetz 2018 (S. 107–116). Edition 8.
25. Research on Children's Rights in Education
Paper
Refugee and Migrant Bodies in the Interplay of Education and Migration Policies in EU/Europe
Guadalupe Francia1, Adrian Neubauer2, Katarzyna Gawlicz3, Silvia Edling4
1University of Gävle, Sweden; 2Universidad a distancia de Madrid (UDIMA), Spain; 3University of Lower Silesia, Wrocław, Poland; 4University of Gävle, Sweden
Presenting Author: Francia, Guadalupe;
Gawlicz, Katarzyna
Education is both an important factor shaping children and their families to migrate to Europe, and “a key element for refugee and migrant children’s social inclusion into host communities” (UNHCN, UNICEF & IOM 2019:1, UN General Assembly 2016).
Paying attention to the role of education for refugee and migrant children’s wellbeing, international documents stipulated the responsibility of states to protect the human rights of refugee and migrant children, particularly unaccompanied migrant children. This includes the responsibility to provide access to qualified and equitable education, ensuring that the best interest of the child is a primary consideration in all policies concerning children (UN General Assembly 2016, United Nations 1989, United Nations 2023).
However, due to the absence of legal mechanisms to request asylum or migrate to Europe, refugee and migrant children often lack the necessary protection to guarantee their mental and physical health. Thousands of migrant children are stranded for long periods in African or Asian countries exposed to human treatment and abuse by mafias. Besides experiencing abuse, migrant children died in their attempts to migrate to Europe crossing the Mediterranean sea (UNICEF 2023, UNICEF España 2023). Moreover, restrictive migration policies implemented since 2016 in order to guarantee the right of European democracies to regulate their state territories have considerably limited the rights of migrant-refugee children (Benhabib 2004a, 2004b; Thorburn, 2018, 2019a, 2019b; Francia, Neubauer, & Edling, 2021).
However, in February 2022, the European Parliament showed a more open migration policy regarding refugee children, by approving a resolution to protect Ukrainian children and young people fleeing the war with Russia. In this resolution, the countries and members of the EU are committed to implement measures to protect children and young people fleeing the violence of war, facilitating their integration into the societies of the host countries. Nevertheless, these positive measures targeted to Ukrainian children can be implemented in different forms and extension at national level (European Parliament 2022; European Union Agency of Asylum 2023; Noticias Parlamento Europeo 2022). In Spain the “Order PCM/169/2022, of 9 March, which develops the procedure for the recognition of temporary protection for persons affected by the conflict in Ukraine” stipulates that all applications must be resolved within a maximum period of 24 hours. Poland introduced an act of March 12, 2022, on aid to Ukrainian citizens in relation to the armed conflict which facilitated the organisation of the refugees’ stay in the country. Even In Sweden Ukranian refugees can apply for a temporary residence permit according to the EU's mass migration directive, if they have arrived in Sweden on or after October 30, 2021, and have stayed in Sweden since they date of their arrival. If they don't meet the conditions the need to apply for asylum to receive this protection.
In order to develop comparative knowledge on refugee and migrant children as rights holders in EU countries, this contribution analyses current education and migration policies in Poland, Spain and Sweden during the year 2022.
In this research, Sara Ahmed's (2007) concept of whiteness is used in order to pay attention to what kind of children's bodies are recognized as rights holders in the selected countries as well as in which contexts this recognition takes place.
Following questions guide the study:
- In which way do education and migration policies guarantee refugees and migrant children 'rights to and in education in each selected country?
- Which similarities and differences concerning these policies can be found between the selected EU-countries ?
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThe contribution is based on comparative education research project (Bray et al., 2007) in which educational policies concerning migrant and refugee children in Poland, Spain and Sweden were analysed.
There are several reasons why Poland, Spain and Sweden have been selected for the analysis. Poland sits on the Eastern Borders Route and has recently become an important entry point for refugees from Africa and the Middle East, as well as being a major recipient country for Ukrainian residents fleeing the Russian invasion in 2022. Spain has historically been one of the main entry points to the European continent from Africa. Sweden was one of the countries with the highest number of asylum applications from migrants during the refugee crisis of 2015.
This research was static because the analysis focused on the state of the issue topic at a specific moment in time, i.e. the year 2022.
The method used was content analysis of selected European and national regulations (EU acts, national laws, ministerial ordinances etc.) addressing migrants and refugees, as well as governmental and non-governmental reports documenting the outcomes of the application of these regulations for migrant and refugee children in the selected countries.
The United Nation Convention of the Rights of the Child and international legislation aimed at protection of refugees and migrants guided the analysis. The conceptual framework was based on Ahmed's theory of whiteness (2007), which allowed for the identification of differential treatments of refugee and migrant children with different ethnic and national backgrounds. Previous comparative studies on national policies concerning the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and the Convention of the Rgihts of the Child were used for contextualisation.
Intertextual reading of the selected migration and education policies is used in order to analyse the way in which the interplay of these policies create possibilities or obstacles for the enactment of refugee and migrant children's rights to and in education.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsThe findings of this research show the need to focus on the interplay of migration and education policies in order to analyse the right to and in education of refugees and migrant children in EU/Europe in times of restrictive education policies.
Based on an intertextual analysis of the interplay of policies, the preliminary findings of this ongoing research shows that the existence of both a selective and a limited enactment of international legislation protecting refugees and children's rights to and in education.
The findings demonstrate both differential treatment of refugee and migrant children with varied backgrounds, and the nationalist orientation of the states, which result in infringements of children’s rights, including to and in education.
For instance, Spain has adopted some policies aimed at facilitating the reception of the Ukrainian population, based on the European Union's official position of welcoming Ukrainians. Meanwhile, in North Africa, specifically in Ceuta and Melilla (Spanish territory), there have recently been serious incidents that have violated migrant and refugees' human rights. Even in Sweden restrictive migration policies regarding certain ethnic/national children groups questioned the international conception of refugees and migrant children as rights holders. Concerning the Ukrainian refugees’ children, the interplay between Swedish migration and education legislation results in limitations regarding their rights in education. In addtion, policies concerning refugees, including refugee children’s education, introduced in Poland reflect both the state’s nationalist orientation and differential treatment of migrants with varied backgrounds.
Consequently, differential treatment regarding different "refugees -migrant children bodies" (se Ahmed 2007) create inequalities in relation to the rights of different children groups to be recognized as rights holders in EU/Europe.
Moreover, the lack of legal mechanisms to request asylum or migrate to EU/Europe hider the enjoyement of the rights to and in education agreed upon as a right for all children by international legislation.
ReferencesAhmed, S. 2007 A phenomenology of whiteness. Feminist Theory 2007 8: 149
Benhabib, Seyla. 2004a. The Rights of Others. Aliens, Residents, and Citizens. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bray, Mark, Robert Bob Adamson, and Mark Mason. 2007. Introduction. In Comparative Education Research: Approaches and Methods. Edited by Mark Bray, Robert Bo Adamson and Mark Mason. Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre, the University of Hong Kong, 444p.
Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 of 4 March 2022 establishing the existence of a mass influx of displaced persons from Ukraine within the meaning of Article 5 of Directive 2001/55/EC, and having the effect of introducing temporary protection. Official Journal of the European Union, serie L, number 71/1, of 4 of March of 2022.
Francia, G., Neubauer, A., & Edling, S. (2021). Unaccompanied migrant Children’s rights: A prerequisite for the 2030 Agenda’s sustainable development goals in Spain and Sweden. Social Sciences, 10(6), 185. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10060185
European Union Agency of Asylum ( 2023) Temporary protection for displaced persons from Ukraine.Retrieved the 26 th January 2023 from
https://whoiswho.euaa.europa.eu/temporary-protection
Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration. (2022). Ucrania Urgente Información para desplazados ucranianos. https://ucraniaurgente.inclusion.gob.es/
Noticias Parlamento Europeo (2022) Ucrania: la UE debe proteger a todos los niños que huyen de la guerra.Nota de prensa. Sesion plenaria. 07-04-2022 -13:28
Order PCM/169/2022, of 9 March, which develops the procedure for the recognition of temporary protection for persons affected by the conflict in Ukraine. Boletín Oficial del Estado, número 59, de 10 de marzo de 2022. https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2022/03/10/pdfs/BOE-A-2022-3715.pd
Thorburn Stern, Rebecca. 2019b. Om barn som migranter och som barn. In Barn, Migration och Integration i en Utmanande Tid. Edited by Karin Helander and Pernilla Leviner. Visby: Rakulga Press, pp. 159–73.
Unicef (2023) Refugee and migrant children in Europe. Retrieved the 26th January 2023 from https://www.unicef.org/eca/emergencies/refugee-and-migrant-children-europe
UNICEF ESPAÑA (2023) El sufrimiento de los niños refugiados y migrantes https://www.unicef.es/causas/emergencias/refugiados-migrantes-europa
United Nations (1989) Convention on the Rights of the Child.
United Nations (2023) Transforming the World THE 2030 AGENDA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.
UNHCR. (2022, 25 June). UNHCR and IOM deplore loss of life at Nador-Melilla crossing.
UNHC, UNICEF & IOM (2019 September) Access to Education for Migrant and Refugee Children in Europe.
UN General Assembly 2016. The New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrant.
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