Ukrainian Forcibly Displaced Migrants in French Higher Education: Pathways, Opportunities, and Challenges

• In Event: Resilience in Exile: Immigrant Students’ Agency and Identity in New Educational Spaces

Abstract

Although there is a growing literature on the access and survival of displaced people in higher education, different cases of mass displacement in different geographies highlight the need for more research and elaboration to guide the enrollment of displaced people in higher education. This study aims to explore the access and experiences of Ukrainian migrants in French higher education. A total number of 21 Ukrainian Forcibly Displaced Migrants (UFDMs) were interviewed. The results suggest that the UFDMs use pre-established paths (e.g., the Erasmus program) in their moves to France and exhibit an agentic capacity in their choices between institutions and programs. Despite their agentic capacity, they confront structural and socio-cultural challenges, against which they use the Ukrainian diaspora to overcome.

Authors

• Merve Zayim-Kurtay, Middle East Technical University

• Yasar Kondakci, Middle East Technical University

• Kateryna Nakvatska, International Association of Universities

• Giorgio Marinoni, International Association of Universities