Spurring Exclusions Through Educational “Inclusion”? A Critical Discourse Analysis of the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) Global Refugee Education Strategy

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 9:00 am
  In Roundtable Session: Diversity, Identity, and Inclusion in International Contexts (Table 1)

Abstract

This qualitative study uses Critical Discourse Analysis to examine UNHCR’s global refugee education strategy which promotes the “inclusion” of refugees into host country education systems. The analysis identifies five key themes: the undefined nature of “inclusion,” the use of commonsense framing, the alignment of refugee education with global agendas, a tension between inclusion as global responsibility vs. opportunity, and a paradox of promoting “inclusion” that signals myriad exclusions. Findings expose how the strategy’s discourse upholds a consensus paradigm, a functionalist view of education, and neoliberal market-oriented approaches. This study calls for a deep exploration of "inclusion" within forced displacement contexts and a thorough analysis of discursive strategies in refugee education policies to unveil hidden ideologies, power dynamics, and inherent contradictions.

Author

• Langan J. Courtney, University of Maryland