Achieving Change Through Good Practices in Refugee Hosting Communities

• In Event: Educational Organizations: Toward Equality and Inclusion Organizing Equality and Social Justice Through Inclusion

Abstract

This paper will discuss the research findings from Austria regarding the good practices adopted in schools to support the inclusion of refugee students. The main discussion points include the development of good practices stemmed from well-grounded programs for refugee learners, how these practices are promoted and/or resisted within school context and community as well as at the national level, and whether and how they can achieve change in the school or district.
The continuous migration movements, including the recent refugee influxes in many countries worldwide, have confronted us and forced us to make choices that go beyond the emergency education practices. Systematic policies for resettlement undertaken in many countries should be accompanied by policies advocating for the educational inclusion of forced migrants as a condition for the social and economic integration of newcomers (Dobson, Agrusti & Pinto, 2019). Relevant literature shows that a holistic educational approach can ensure effective inclusion and transition of refugee youth and that schools play a key role in achieving this goal. However, this entails a professional challenge to schools and teachers, as refugee education cannot be considered just as a variation of the usual intercultural education programs (Balkar, Sahin & Isikli-Babahan, 2016).
The study adopted qualitative inquiry methods and used the interview technique. Semi-structured interviews (Meuser & Nagel, 2003) as well as pre-field research about the already existing educational programs for refugees in Austria granted access to data. Hereby, it was important to map a wide range of various educational programs for refugees at different (school) levels, in different institutions, and rural and urban areas and reach their effect on the school-community level.
Firstly, the strong and weak points of institutionalization and dissemination of good practices for refugee education in the Austrian context will be discussed through the analysis of a survey that collected data from teachers working at different school levels. Next, we will focus on the necessary elements at the school and community level to come up with good practices based on the data collected from people engaged in such practices as an expert, volunteer, or teacher.
As Blackmoore (2019) proposes, a resource-oriented perspective can consider the collective dimension of social change. The paper will emphasize the importance of schools’ collaboration with community services and NGOs through relational work and inter-professional collaboration, which is vital to ensure widespread and effective educational support to refugee children. We believe that lessons learned from developing good practices can provide valuable reflection and suggestions to review the agenda for supporting refugee education both at the global and the local levels.
Preliminary analyses suggest that educational system is dealing with the widespread ignorance of the multiplicity that pupils with refugee backgrounds represent. Even though it has a political focus on equality and multiculturalism, many policies adopted by the system reflect a monocultural orientation. Collaboration between schools, communities and third sector actors on developing good practices would help overcome this critical problem.

Authors

• Seyda Subasi Singh, University of Vienna

• Michelle Proyer, University of Vienna