Editing Refugee (section)

==Education==
{{See also|Refugee children}}
[[Refugee children]] come from many different backgrounds, and their reasons for resettlement are even more diverse. The number of refugee children has continued to increase as conflicts interrupt communities at a global scale. In 2014 alone, there were approximately 32 [[List of ongoing armed conflicts|armed conflicts]] in 26 countries around the world, and this period saw the highest number of refugees ever recorded<ref name="Dryden">Dryden-Peterson, S. (2015). The Educational Experiences of Refugee Children in Countries of First Asylum (Rep.). Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.</ref> Refugee children experience traumatic events in their lives that can affect their learning capabilities, even after they have resettled in first or second settlement countries. Educators such as teachers, counselors, and school staff, along with the school environment, are key in facilitating [[socialization]] and [[acculturation]] of recently arrived refugee and [[immigrant]] children in their new schools.<ref name="Mcbrien">{{cite journal | last1 = Mcbrien | first1 = J. L. | year = 2005 | title = Educational Needs and Barriers for Refugee Students in the United States: A Review of the Literature | journal = Review of Educational Research | volume = 75 | issue = 3| pages = 329–364 | doi = 10.3102/00346543075003329 | citeseerx = 10.1.1.459.5997 | s2cid = 145725106 }}</ref>

===Obstacles===
[[File:UNICEF and CPZ Spilno Camp Final june 2022 Svaliava229 (52202531539).jpg|thumb|Internally displaced children from other parts of Ukraine in the [[Zakarpattia Oblast]] of western Ukraine]]
The experiences children go through during times of armed conflict can impede their ability to learn in an educational setting. Schools experience drop-outs of refugee and [[Immigration|immigrant]] students from an array of factors such as: rejection by peers, low self-esteem, antisocial behavior, negative perceptions of their academic ability, and lack of support from school staff and parents.<ref name="Mcbrien"/> Because refugees come from various regions globally with their own cultural, religious, linguistic, and home practices, the new school culture can conflict with the home culture, causing tension between the student and their family.

Aside from students, teachers and school staff also face their own obstacles in working with refugee students. They have concerns about their ability to meet the mental, physical, emotional, and educational needs of students. One study of newly arrived [[Bantus (Somalia)|Bantu]] students from Somalia in a Chicago school questioned whether schools were equipped to provide them with a quality education that met the needs of the pupils. The students were not aware of how to use pencils, which caused them to break the tips requiring frequent sharpening. Teachers may even see refugee students as different from other immigrant groups, as was the case with the Bantu pupils.<ref>Birman, D., & Tran, N. (2015). The Academic Engagement of Newly Arriving Somali Bantu Students in a U.S. Elementary School. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.</ref> Teachers may sometimes feel that their work is made harder because of the pressures to meet [[Standards-based education reform in the United States|state requirements]] for testing. With refugee children falling behind or struggling to catch up, it can overwhelm teachers and administrators, further leading to anger.

Not all students adjust the same way to their new setting. One student may take only three months, while others may take four years. One study found that even in their fourth year of schooling, Lao and [[Vietnamese boat people|Vietnamese refugee]] students in the US were still in a transitional status.<ref name="Nguyen">Liem Thanh Nguyen, & Henkin, A. (1980). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/30185415 Reconciling Differences: Indochinese Refugee Students in American Schools] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820035647/https://www.jstor.org/stable/30185415 |date=20 August 2020 }}. The Clearinghouse, 54(3), 105–108.</ref> Refugee students continue to encounter difficulties throughout their years in schools that can hinder their ability to learn. Furthermore, to provide proper support, educators must consider the experiences of students before they settled the US.

In their first settlement countries, refugee students may encounter negative experiences with education that they can carry with them post settlement. For example:<ref name="Dryden"/>
* Frequent disruption in their education as they move from place to place
* Limited access to schooling
* Language barriers
* Little resources to support language development and learning, and more

Statistics found that in places such as Uganda and Kenya, there were gaps in refugee students attending schools. It found that 80% of refugees in Uganda were attending schools, whereas only 46% of students were attending schools in Kenya.<ref name="Dryden"/> Furthermore, for [[secondary education|secondary levels]], the numbers were much lower. There was only 1.4% of refugee students attending schools in Malaysia. This trend is evident across several first settlement countries and carry negative impacts on students once they arrive to their permanent settlement homes, such as the US, and have to navigate a new education system. Some refugees do not have a chance to attend schools in their first settlement countries because they are considered [[Illegal immigration|undocumented immigrants]] in places like Malaysia for [[2015 Rohingya refugee crisis|Rohingya refugees]].<ref name="Dryden"/> In other cases, such as Burundians in Tanzania, refugees can get more access to education while in displacement than in their home countries.<ref>{{cite journal|author1= Fransen, S. |author2=Vargas-Silva, C. |author3=M. Siegel |year=2018 |title=The impact of refugee experiences on education: evidence from Burundi | journal = IZA Journal of Development and Migration | volume=8|doi=10.1186/s40176-017-0112-4 |doi-access=free |hdl=10419/197465 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

===Overcoming obstacles===
All students need some form of support to help them overcome obstacles and challenges they may face in their lives, especially refugee children who may experience frequent disruptions. There are a few ways in which schools can help refugee students overcome obstacles to attain success in their new homes:<ref name="Mcbrien"/>
* Respect the cultural differences amongst refugees and the new home culture
* Individual efforts to welcome refugees to prevent feelings of isolation
* Educator support
* Student centered pedagogy as opposed to teacher centered
* Building relationships with the students
* Offering praise and providing [[Affirmations (New Age)|affirmations]]
* Providing extensive support and designing curriculum for students to read, write, and speak in their native languages.<ref name="Mendenhall">{{cite journal | last1 = Mendenhall | first1 = M. | last2 = Bartlett | first2 = L. | last3 = Ghaffar-Kucher | first3 = A. | year = 2016 | title = "If You Need Help, They are Always There for us": Education for Refugees in an International High School in NYC | journal = The Urban Review | volume = 49 | issue = 1| pages = 1–25 | doi = 10.1007/s11256-016-0379-4 | s2cid = 151360887 }}</ref>
One school in NYC has found a method that works for them to help refugee students succeed. This school creates support for language and literacies, which promotes students using English and their native languages to complete projects. Furthermore, they have a learning centered [[pedagogy]], which promotes the idea that there are multiple entry points to engage the students in learning.<ref name="Mendenhall"/> Both strategies have helped refugee students succeed during their transition into US schools.

Various websites contain resources that can help school staff better learn to work with refugee students such as [http://www.brycs.org/publications/schools-toolkit.cfm Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922192216/http://www.brycs.org/publications/schools-toolkit.cfm |date=22 September 2018 }}. With the support of educators and the school community, education can help rebuild the academic, social, and emotional well-being of refugee students who have suffered from past and present [[Psychological trauma|trauma]], [[Social exclusion|marginalization]], and [[social alienation]].

===Cultural differences===
It is important to understand the cultural differences amongst newly arrived refugees and school culture, such as that of the U.S. This can be seen as problematic because of the frequent disruptions that it can create in a classroom setting.

In addition, because of the differences in language and culture, students are often placed in lower classes due to their lack of English proficiency.<ref name="Dryden"/> Students can also be made to repeat classes because of their lack of English proficiency, even if they have mastered the content of the class. When schools have the resources and are able to provide separate classes for refugee students to develop their English skills, it can take the average refugee students only three months to catch up with their peers. This was the case with Somali refugees at some primary schools in Nairobi.<ref name="Dryden"/>

The histories of refugee students are often hidden from educators, resulting in cultural misunderstandings. However, when teachers, school staff, and peers help refugee students develop a positive [[cultural identity]], it can help buffer the negative effects refugees' experiences have on them, such as poor academic performance, isolation, and discrimination.<ref name="Nguyen"/>