Conference Agenda

The number of forcibly displaced persons has reached a new high in 2023, and currently there are more than 110 million refugees worldwide. Almost 40 % of those forcibly displaced are children (UNHCR, 2023). At the same time, the number of persons with disabilities is also growing. An estimated 1.3 billion people worldwide live with disabilities, which represents 16 % of the global population (WHO, 2022). Both persons with disabilities and refugees are very diverse populations. However, what they often have in common are the experiences of discrimination, exclusion, and inequality, which have so far been well documented.

The above-mentioned heterogeneity within the groups of refugees and persons with disabilities also means that some persons belong simultaneously to both groups. This particular population is far less visible. In fact, the incidence of disabilities amongst refugees still remains unknown (Crock et al., 2017). Some reports suggest even that the incidence seems to be higher than in the general population (HelpAge International & Handicap International, 2014), but reliable statistical data remains unavailable. Refugees with disabilities often face discriminatory practices targeted generally against persons with disabilities and refugees, but they also experience specific oppression stemming from the interplay of these two characteristics. They may thus be left behind during flight or they may not survive the journey, they often lack access to mainstream assistance programmes and are in danger of being exposed to further protection risks, such as sexual and physical violence and harassment (Reilly, 2010). For refugees with disabilities, their journeys often take longer putting them at greater risk of attack and insecurity (Kett & Trani, 2010). When accessing education, one of the fundamental human rights building the cornerstone for the exercise of other human rights, refugees with disabilities face particular challenges as well. Yet in situations of acute crises of human displacement, persons with disabilities and their right to education remain largely forgotten (Crock et al., 2013).

The proposed symposium aims to bring this partly invisible population to light while focusing on the role and experiences of displaced parents of children with disabilities while accessing the right to inclusive education within three different European contexts (Austria, United Kingdom and Germany). It uses the intersectional lens in order to bring not only the invisible cases of violations of the human right to (inclusive) education and the broader system failures to light, but also to highlight agency and resilience of individuals, who are often seen as vulnerable, and point out examples of good practice.

The involvement of parents in their children’s education promotes the developmental skills of children, enhances the motivation to learn (Jasis & Mariott, 2010) and has a positive influence on the academic success of children (Park & Halloway, 2013). However, several factors play a role in the process of parental involvement and different parental backgrounds result in different understandings about the necessity and type of parental involvement. On the other hand, parents can be challenged by systemic barriers and their involvement can be curbed. The culprit can be the “school” itself as well as it may be difficult to access or ‘hard to reach’ (Crozier & Davies, 2007). This may be true for parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) (Lendrum et al., 2015). Research suggests that parents of children with SEND are infrequently asked or listed and are mainly reluctant to be involved. On the other hand, another group whose involvement in school is highly expected but at the same time challenged, is parents who were forced to migrate and have just settled in the new country. Immigrant parents, mainly in the context of forced migration, face several barriers to be involved in school-based engagement or home-based support (Leong et al. 2019). Their engagement, both in home-based and in school-based activities, can be challenged due to several factors such as language barriers, cultural barriers, or unfamiliarity with the school system, even more so if their children have a disability (Subasi Singh et al. 2021). However, the involvement of immigrant parents suffers mainly from static notions of culture and norms of society. Such norms can put parents in a passive, recipient role and expect from them to adjust to the new education system and to adopt it, especially given recent trends towards right-wing leaning policies across Europe. However, immigrant families bring new perspectives, different experiences, and expectations with them and their engagement can re-shape the norms about parental involvement and bring new insights to the school-parent relationship. In this contribution, we will report endeavours of Viennese schools to involve parents from a forced migration background in the decision-making processes in the school of their children. Data is informed by head teachers and teachers and their reflections on the efforts to increase parents’ involvement.

Crozier, G. & Davies, J. (2007). Hard to reach parents or hard to reach schools? A discussion of home-school relations, with particular reference to Bangladeshi and Pakistani parents.’ British Educational Research Journal, 33 (3), pp. 295–313. Jasis, P. & D. Marriott.(2010). All for Our Children: Migrant Families and Parent Participation in an Alternative Education Program.” Journal of Latinos and Education, 9(2). Lendrum, A., A. Barlow & N. Humphrey. (2015). Developing positive school–home relationships through structured conversations with parents of learners with special educational needs and disabilities. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 15(2) Leong, A. D., S. C. Berzin and S.S. Hawkins. (2019). Immigrant Parent Involvement in Government Funded Early Childhood Education Programming: An Examination of FACES. Early Childhood Development and Care, 189 (12). Park, S.& S D. Holloway. (2013). No Parent Left Behind: Predicting Parental Involvement in Adolescents’ Education Within a Sociodemographically Diverse Population. The Journal of Educational Research, 106(2). Subasi Singh, S., Pellech, C., Gutschik, A., Proyer, M., & O'Rourke, I. M. (2021). Intersectional Aspects of Education at the Nexus of Disability and Forced Migration: Perspectives of Parents, Educational Experts, and School Authorities in Greater Vienna. Education Sciences, 11(8), [423]. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11080423

When Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022 a mass forced migration began (Unicef, 2022). Many teachers across Europe found themselves welcoming children seeking sanctuary to their classrooms with over two million children from Ukraine at the start of the war travelling to other countries in search of safety (Kruszewska and Lavrenova, 2022). By December 2022, 3.9 million children had left Ukraine to seek refuge in other countries (Unicef, 2022). By September 2022, 22,100 applications for school places in the United Kingdom had been made for children from Ukraine (DfE, 2022). Schools have been welcoming and including children and trying to learn the best way to support the newest members of their school communities. This research explores what supports and what hinders the formation of effective parent-school relationships for the inclusion of refugee students and their families (Block et al., 2014). Through a series of semi-structured interviews with Ukrainian parents, we examine effective school-parent relationships for the inclusion of refugee families and children in education. Drawing on the voices of Ukrainian parents, we argue that recognising communication and relationships between schools and displaced parents turns on the formation of ongoing and inclusive dialogues. This, we contend, involves enacting shift from ‘monolingual cultures’ within schools (Sime, 2018), which compound isolation and exclusion, to multilingual cultures, which allows all students, parents, and members of staff to give voice to their differences. Indeed, we argue to the conclusion that what is needed between these parents and school staff is inclusive and attentive listening. Such listening, we will suggest, involves a willingness, not simply to hear others too often denigrated as deficit, but to also to listen to them with responsibility, that is, to prioritise the ability to respond to the other person before the ability to name, to classify, and to label them.

Block, K., Cross, S. Riggs, E. and Gibbs, L. (2014) Supporting schools to create an inclusive environment for refugee students, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 18(12), 1337-1355. Department for Education (DfE) (2022) School placements for children outside of the UK. Available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-placements-for-children-from-outside-of-the-uk [accessed 25.01.24] Kruszewska, A. & Lavrenova, M. (2022) The educational opportunities of Ukrainian children at the time of the Russian invasion: perspectives from teachers, Education 3-13, DOI: 10.1080/03004279.2022.2083211 Sime, D. (2018) Educating migrant and refugee pupils. In: Scottish Education. pp. 768-778. Eds. T.G.K. Bryce, W.M. Humes, D. Gillies and A. Kennedy, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press. Unicef (2022) Humanitarian response for children outside of Ukraine. Available at Humanitarian Response for Children Outside of Ukraine Factsheet No. 12, December 2022.pdf (unicef.org) [accessed 25.01.24]

Given the rather unsatisfactory situation in the general progress of implementing the right to inclusive education worldwide and the scarce resources and infrastructure in many countries, it is not surprising that also the specific group of refugees with disabilities, finding themselves on the intersection of multiple vulnerabilities, face various challenges when accessing their right to inclusive education worldwide (Smith-Khan & Crock, 2018), as well as in Germany (Deutsches Institut für Menschenrechte, 2016; Steigmann, 2020; Bacakova, 2023). These range from physical inaccessibility of school facilities (Refugee Law Project, 2014; Steigmann, 2020), missing and inadequate teacher training in inclusive education (Handicap International, 2015), the lack of even the most basic assistive devices ensuring reasonable accommodation as required by the CRPD (Smith-Khan & Crock, 2018) to stereotyping and stigmatising of children with disabilities and/or their families (Smith-Khan, 2013; HelpAge International & Handicap International, 2014; UNESCO, 2018). All these barriers prevail despite the increased funding of education in emergencies (UNESCO, 2020). While it is essential to research and target the exclusion refugees with disabilities face, it is just as important to challenge the victim perspective and give space to the agency of maginalised population. This is why this proposed paper concentrates not on the discriminatory practices faced by Ukrainian refugee parents of children with disabilities in Germany when accessing education, but on their dreams and aspirations for their children, which have until now remained largely unknown. The paper will present part of a larger mixed-methods research project currently (2023-2024) conducted by a team lead by the author concentrating only on the results obtained from more than 300 Ukrainian refugee families with children with disabilities through an online survey offering first insights into the educational dreams these parents share.

Deutsches Institut für Menschenrechte. (2016). Entwicklung der Menschenrechtssituation in Deutschland Juli 2016 – Juni 2017. Bericht an den Deutschen Bundestag gemäß § 2 Absatz 5 DIMRG. Deutsches Institut für Menschenrechte. Handicap International. (2015). Disability in humanitarian context: Views from affected people and organisations. Handicap International. https://handicap-international.ch/sites/ch/files/documents/files/disability-humanitarian-context.pdf HelpAge International, & Handicap International. (2014). Hidden victims of the Syrian crisis: disabled, injured and older refugees. HelpAge International and Handicap International. Refugee Law Project. (2014). From the Frying Pan into the Fire: Psychosocial Challenges Faced by Vulnerable Refugee Women and Girls in Kampala. Refugee Law Project. Smith-Khan, L. (2013). Overcoming barriers to education for refugees with disabilities. Migration Australia, 3, 63–67. Smith-Khan, L., & Crock, M. (2018). Making Rights to Education Real for Refugees with Disabilities: Background paper prepared for the 2019 Global Education Monitoring Report. UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000266058 Steigmann, F. (2020). Inclusive Education for Refugee Children With Disabilities in Berlin - The Decisive Role of Parental Support. Frontiers in Education, 5(529615), 1–15. UNESCO. (2018). Migration, Displacement, and Education: Building Bridges, not Walls. UNESCO.