abstract: Given the surge of immigrant and resettled refugee student enrollment in public schools, a strong understanding of the transition process for these students and their families and facilitating the creation of effective schooling contexts are major educational priorities. It is critical to determine how to best support and assist resettled refugee students in academic and other endeavors. This study seeks to better understand the perspectives of resettled refugee students who are recent high school graduates and their mentors in order to contribute practical insights into resettled refugee education and to give voice to these students. Informed by sociocultural theories as reflected in the works of Daniels, Cole and Wertsch, (2007) and others, twelve resettled refugees from Bhutan, Iraq and Burma (aka Myanmar) and ten mentors participated in individual interview sessions and focus group discussions. The study took place in Arizona. The participants' responses were audio-recorded, transcribed, interpreted, coded, and categorized into themes. Study findings suggested that: resettled refugee students struggled with adjusting to their new school system. They were marginalized and faced discrimination and suffered low teacher expectations. They were placed in English language classes that they felt were not beneficial to them; and almost all attended inner city urban schools in areas with a high poverty concentration characterized by gang and drug activities that further adversely affected their performances. Against the odds, with the help of their mentors, striving for a better life, commitment to family, and resilience, the study participants were able to not only complete their high school education on time but earned impressive grade point averages of between 3.5 to 4.2 that helped five of them win scholarships to four-year colleges. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2012

Due to the protracted nature of forced displacement, a majority of refugees spend their entire academic cycles in exile (Milner & Loescher, 2011). While some successfully navigate their educational trajectories, others are unable to complete basic education. Despite the important role education plays in emergency, displacement, and resettlement, refugee education remains under-researched. There is a dearth of research that has investigated what factor(s) at individual, family, and school levels contribute to children and youth’s school persistence and dropout amidst displacement. This study aimed to fill this substantial gap in the literature by taking a balanced, comprehensive approach to investigate the experiences of children and youth in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. Using a sequential mixed-methods design, this study examined the different factors that influenced the schooling of children and youth in Kakuma Refugee Camp. This study found that family poverty, inability to afford school uniforms and supplies, school uniform policy, living without parents/guardians, and family responsibilities were some of the major reasons that contributed to school dropout. By contrast, different types of support—financial, emotional, or academic—received from family members, teachers, and peers mainly influenced students’ persistence, despite persistent barriers in schooling. This study finds that ensuring educational access and persistence was not the role of a single stakeholder in education—i.e., a family member (parent), a head teacher, a teacher, or a student. Instead, different actors in children and youth’s sociocultural environments could play a role in influencing their decisions to (dis)continue education. The findings from this study not only contribute to expanding the knowledge base of education in emergencies, but they also support educators and practitioners who are providing and improving education for displaced populations, as well as policymakers within the Ministry of Education working to strengthen education systems and to foster access to quality education. My research findings may also prove meaningful in understanding the school persistence of school-aged children and youth in other refugee-hosting countries around the world, including the United States, and other mobile and marginalized populations in non-conflict settings.

Low achievement, low attendance, and high dropout levels characterize immigrant student populations in cosmopolitan Canadian schools. This thesis identifies the lack of understanding in the community in urban multicultural Alberta as the prime cause of the struggle encountered by new immigrant students in school. The thesis incorporates the experiences of six new immigrant students to promote an authentic curriculum of learning and teaching to meet the needs of these learners. It posits that an authentic curriculum is unlikely without input from learners. The method used Hans-Georg Gadamer’s approach to hermeneutics and phenomenology, with the researcher asking the six African participants to share their stories in the African storytelling fashion in which no one dominates the discussion. The conversations were analyzed and interpreted to provide insight into the life-worlds of the participants. Ted Aoki’s multilayered curriculum of curriculum-as-planned, curriculum-as-lived experience and the “zone of between” are seen as a beneficial practice inclusive of all students. / viii, 139 leaves ; 28 cm

Originally the aim of this study was the exploration of the current situation of the right to education for refugee children in Burundi and Rwanda being the two countries with the highest number of refugees in Africa. However because of lack of information about the refugee situation in Rwanda, this study is limited to analysis of the situation in Burundi. This study then analyses the state of implementation of the international and national legal instrument by the government of Burundi and suggest ways of implementing the existing international and national legal framework. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2007. / Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Ass. Prof. Frederick Juuko, of the Faculty of Law, Makerere University Kampala, Uganda / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

There has been a significant increase in immigrant learners in South African schools. This research study captures the experiences of immigrant learners in selected inner city schools of Johannesburg. The May 2008 xenophobic violence prompted the researcher to investigate the extent of xenophobia. A survey of immigrant learners, South African learners and educators was conducted by means of interviews that allowed the research participants to express their feelings and experiences regarding the phenomenon of xenophobia. The result of the study revealed that immigrant learners do experience xenophobia in various forms by South African learners and, in some cases, educators as well. Immigrant learners were predominantly exposed to prejudice and xenophobic comments. They perceived South Africa as positive, giving them hope and opportunities. This research provided a baseline for more extensive research into this phenomenon. / Thesis (M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

There has been a significant increase in immigrant learners in South African schools. This research study captures the experiences of immigrant learners in selected inner city schools of Johannesburg. The May 2008 xenophobic violence prompted the researcher to investigate the extent of xenophobia. A survey of immigrant learners, South African learners and educators was conducted by means of interviews that allowed the research participants to express their feelings and experiences regarding the phenomenon of xenophobia. The result of the study revealed that immigrant learners do experience xenophobia in various forms by South African learners and, in some cases, educators as well. Immigrant learners were predominantly exposed to prejudice and xenophobic comments. They perceived South Africa as positive, giving them hope and opportunities. This research provided a baseline for more extensive research into this phenomenon. / Thesis (M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

According to UNHCR data from 2018, there are approximately seven and a half million school-age child refugees, with only 61% of them having access to primary education (versus 91% of the total child population). In Greece, child migrants have been around for several years, but they have not had access to education for a long time and some children still do not. The situation was dealt with in various alternative ways, through non-profit organizations, volunteers from around the world and refugees themselves. The thesis is conceived theoretically and empirically. The theoretical part of this thesis deals with these issues. It seeks to explore the educational situation of refugee children in the world, describes the recent migration crisis in Greece, deals with the right to educate refugee children at world and European level, and also in Greece, introduces educational opportunities for refugee children in Greece, both formal, provided by the state, and informal, provided by volunteers and non-profit organizations. In the empirical part, qualitative research examines the barriers that non-formal education providers have encountered in trying to deliver education to refugee children and describes the methods overcoming these barriers. Conducted ethnographic research included volunteer observation in...