Fostering U.S.-Ukraine student connection through nonprofit global virtual exchange: Lessons learned in building refugee educational inclusion and global competency

• In Event: Innovative approaches to foster student learning and connection

Proposal

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, 4.3 million children were displaced within the first month (UNICEF, 2022), 1.8 million of which were refugees in neighboring countries and 2.5 million of which were internally displaced. This case study draws on the monitoring and evaluation assessments performed for an education nonprofit seeking to bring educational inclusion to refugees and displaced persons. This study pertains to the global virtual exchange program between U.S. and Ukrainian middle and high school students implemented between 2023 and 2024. As of March 2024, the European Union (EU) (2024) reported that an estimated 700,000 displaced children from Ukraine enrolled across all EU countries.

Many Ukrainian students relocated to new countries alone, taken in by foster families (UNICEF, 2024) or separated from caregivers (UNICEF, 2023) who were financially supporting the family in Ukraine. Because of the prolonged conflict, many Ukrainian students delayed learning new languages upon resettlement, lost learning opportunities (UNICEF, 2023), deteriorated their Ukrainian language knowledge, and struggled to socialize in their new setting. Some have not returned to a classroom since the invasion (Gera, 2024).

Virtual exchange aims to foster global cultural awareness. For Ukrainian students, virtual exchange provides new opportunities without financial burden and teaches them intercultural and communication skills. Virtual exchange allows refugee students to uplift their cultural values and knowledge while broadening students’ cultural awareness about other countries. The increasing reliance on digital technology creates space for inclusive education that supports refugee and displaced students’ learning and adjusts to rapid changes in educational infrastructure, making continuous education seamless and global connection possible. This case study adds to the dialogue on leveraging digital technology to increase refugee and displaced persons’ access to education and educational inclusion.

This case study assessed the impact of an anonymous nonprofit’s virtual global exchange on its United States (U.S.) and Ukrainian participants regarding the acquisition of global competencies. Based on the program's mission of transforming Ukrainian students' wartime anxiety and trauma into positive, student-driven action for themselves and their country through virtual exchange, the following goals were outlined to inform the evaluation design and selection of key indicators that guided the study: 1) Develop deep cross-cultural understanding, 2) gain experience in international teamwork, and 3) foster a sense of personal efficacy and cultivate essential leadership qualities through virtual community engagement.

The evaluation was designed to answer: 1) To what extent (if at all) did the virtual exchange program equip its participants with global competencies (e.g., broadening worldview) and cross-cultural skills (e.g., confidence) to be leaders in today's globalized world, 2) to what extent did the virtual exchange program foster a collaborative virtual community, 3) to what extent does the virtual exchange facilitate opportunities to build cross-cultural networks for U.S. and Ukrainian students, and how does program accomplish this, and 4) what was the reach of this iteration of this virtual exchange program?

This mixed-methods study analyzed the quantitative data from the survey and the qualitative data from focus groups and interviews, applying the guiding frameworks of Deardorff’s (2006) global competencies and human-centered design approach (Chatti et al., 2020). Survey questionnaires were released for two weeks in May 2024 to the students who participated in the exchange. One hundred thirty-four responses from Ukrainian and U.S. students were received. In the survey, students were asked whether they would like to participate in focus group discussions, to which 35 students replied maybe and 16 said yes. Two focus groups (one with American students and one with Ukrainian students) were conducted on May 27, 2024, and May 31, 2024. Outreach was then conducted in June for in-depth interviews with participating teachers to gain another perspective of what worked well or could be improved upon in the next virtual exchange iteration. These were held on June 26, 2024, and July 16, 2024. Supplemental information was pulled from the nonprofit’s social media and LinkedIn.

The program successfully instilled key global competencies in its participants, such as curiosity, cross-cultural awareness, empathy, and open-mindedness, and built leadership and confidence in its participants. For Ukrainians, it also gave participants the chance to improve their English - a skill many Ukrainian refugees portrayed as a personal goal.

Despite some issues with the virtual platform, many participants were eager to participate in the next term, recommended the program to their peers - and some teachers, to their colleagues - and learned what it means to be displaced, which impacted their overall worldview. Moreover, all participants sought increased opportunities to interact with their exchange counterparts, requesting more opportunities to engage over videoconferencing platforms. Several alumni from both the U.S. and Ukraine also indicated they were interested in returning as alumni mentors.

Overall, the virtual exchange left an impactful legacy on the lives of Ukrainian refugee students and the U.S. students who interacted with them. During the next iteration, the program administrators will establish a timeline unifying the differing school calendars, encourage student-led group discussions, and pair classrooms in advance to ease the project-group forming process. They will also facilitate regular teacher and student check-ins, and provide more “facetime” (e.g., through informal “coffee” chats). Program administrators will also provide more trauma-informed response, social and emotional learning, empathy, and perspective-taking resources to teachers.

Author

• Caroline Natalie Rakus-Wojciechowski, The George Washington University