Conference Agenda

More than half a year past the beginning of the war in Ukraine, tensions in the education system are increasing, the lack of staff and resources for integrating refugee students pose great challenges – on a daily basis. This article provides insights into a quantitative sub-study (N=1158) of the School-Barometer based on the experiences of German teachers and school principals in managing the Russia-Ukraine war at school and the incoming students from Ukraine. Consequences of the war touch many areas of life, far beyond Ukrainian and Russian national borders. Thus, schools in German speaking countries were challenged to deal with the war on two levels: 1) thematically with resulting questions in classroom, concerns and fears of all involved in school and 2) with integrating students and teachers from Ukraine seeking protection in these countries. Hence, our study aims to present and discuss the experiences of school staff concerning both, the arrival of refugees and dealing with the topic of peace and war in the classroom.

Wishes, ideas, and experiences of school employees in dealing with the war in these two dimensions were published in Author et al. (2022) based on the qualitative research data, a compilation of online resources was provided, too. Anderegg (2022) developed a checklist for school principals concerning the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine war for schools. A guide for teachers on how to deal with the Russian war in Ukraine was also designed by Berens (2022).

Our study aims to present and discuss the experiences of school staff concerning the arrival of refugees and dealing with the topic of peace and war in the classroom.

RQ.: What are the experiences of teachers and school principals in Germany with arriving refugee students from Ukraine and the topic of war and peace in the classroom?

More than ten months after the crisis in Ukraine escalated, the situation remains dire for children and their families. The conflict in Ukraine has caused the fastest and largest displacement of people in Europe since World War II.

According to the International Children's Fund UNICEF as of December, 2022, the total number of refugees fleeing Ukraine reached nearly 16 million people including 1.2 million children, are currently abroad. These children are a part of the potential of Ukraine. It is especially important for every child, who was forced to flee from Ukraine because of the war, to have a sustainable and convenient education in a protective country. It is also equally important that a child adapts to the country's educational institutions and at the same time does not deviate from Ukrainian educational standards, and continues to study relevant subjects.

European schools have opened their doors to Ukrainian externally displaced children in order to help adjusting to local communities and enter their education system. An increasing number of French classrooms has opened doors for Ukrainian families and their children, but while French education faced urgent reaction for the refugee flow some schools lacked tools and effective practices for refugee and migrant inclusive education.

The literature on topic of refugee integration in local school classrooms traditionally distinguishes two aspects:

- On the one hand, the literature describe teachers readiness to work in multicultural classroom. The key factor then, in creating successful classroom communities, is teachers who are able to identify the specialized needs of refugee children and who are culturally responsive to the needs of refugee children in their classrooms (Candappa, 2000; Olsen, 2006; Goodwin, 2002).

- On the other hand, strategic studies how do refugee students find the inspiration and demonstrate strong resilience, positive future expectations, and high motivation at school (e.g., Bartlett et al., 2017; Blanchet-Cohen et al., 2017; Oppedal et al., 2017; Pastoor, 2015; Peterson et al., 2017; Shakya et al., 2010). Some authers debate whether the refugee experience may have an impact on education (Cerna, 2019, see also Ferede, 2010; Lynnebakke et al., 2020). Or how refugee students, influenced by their past experience in their home countries, feel disconnected to a sense of community within their own ethnic group, in the local communities to which they have been resettled, and within the local school communities in which they have been enrolled (Hernandez, Denton, & Macartney, 2009; Boyson & Short, 2003).

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine forced many people to flee their home and search for protection in neighboring European countries. While European countries have already taken many actions to address refugee learners’ educational needs, equal attention needs to be paid to their psychosocial needs.

To meet the challenges stated above, we launched the project under the title "Schooling of refugee children in the French education system" aims to study the schooling and adaptation of Ukrainian children in French schools.

This project was focused on describing a typical refugee school child who sustained external displacement during the war in Ukraine. We planned to discover the challenges and perspectives for adaptation of Ukrainian children in French schools. The objectives of the project were aimed at taking actions:

- to accumulate statistics on how many Ukrainian refugees of the school-age are there in France and how many of them attend schools;

- to make a comprehensible comparison of the school systems and school standards of Ukraine and France

- to provide qualitative research and collect empirical data to analyze the huddles and conveniences of the life of a refugee school children in time of war in Ukraine.

Recent years have witnessed a broad range of natural disasters adding to the existing disadvantages faced by many young people in Australia. These included bush fires, floods and the Covid-19 global pandemic. In the Australian context, Quay et al (2020) argued, these tragic events have had effects that have not been equal. Beyond the individual impacts for young people such as increased isolation, worry and uncertainty compounded during periods of school closures (Mulholland & O’Toole, 2021), international contributions highlight how such events contribute to escalating experiences of violence, abuse and trauma for many young people (Save the Children, 2020). For children already living with disadvantage and potentially vulnerability, such circumstances have likely ‘exacerbated pre-existing inequalities, increasing the economic, social and psychological pressures on children’ (Mulholland & O’Toole, 2021, p. 329). As such, understanding how best to support young people experiencing vulnerability and social injustices through educational interventions has become critically vital (Drane, Vernon & O’Shea, 2021). Contextual and localised examples of how to achieve this in practice are less evident in the literature.

This paper reports on a project designed to explore the potential of an outdoor adventure program for children aged 6-12 years recruited from areas of identified disadvantage in Victoria, Australia. Specifically, children from schools located in bushfire-impacted locations and regions identified as below the average Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) benchmark of 1000 were purposefully invited to attend. The short, three-to-four-day program sought to provide opportunities that challenge young people to take risks and learn new skills through outdoor experiences otherwise unattainable or not readily available to them. These include swimming with sea mammals, rock climbing and other otherwise ‘risky’ activities under the supervision of highly qualified staff. The research into the effectiveness of the program generated data from multiple sources including direct observations, surveys, interviews and student drawings and written feedback. Participants stressed notions of ‘overcoming fear’ and of ‘meeting the challenges’ they faced as influential, often labelling these as ‘life-changing’ experiences that made them believe they would be more likely to try new things in the future. Central to the nature of the experience had been the non-judgemental encouragement and scaffolded pedagogies employed by program staff that supported young people to tackle challenges fostering courage and confidence. The data collected from students, teachers, program staff and educational researchers supports the thesis that such experiences are likely to provide students with lasting and multiple benefits, now and into their futures.

Many participants spoke of an activity they were asked to perform that they initially perceived to be beyond their capabilities. These activities had been purposefully included in the program to challenge children’s self-belief in their own abilities. Nevertheless, a near constant refrain from the participants was that they were supported into challenging themselves to take risks in trying activities, trusting in the support of the program staff. This encouragement was done with care, rather than by placing the child in a position where they felt pressured to participate. As such, the children understood that if they had agreed to participate that the achievement was their own, and based on their own, improved self-belief.

The change in attitude many of these children experienced surprised even themselves. This led to an increased preparedness to attempt activities or to try new foods. This change in attitude was often noted by their teachers. As such, the power of outdoor education when provided by expert, qualified and dedicated staff proved highly impactful upon the lives of these young people, providing them with a means to reappraise their understanding of their own limitations and abilities.