Children are rarely asked about their experiences in the aftermath of war. Each child if given an opportunity has a unique and precious story to share. It is most likely that embedded within their experiential stories are essences of resilience. The purpose of this study was (1) to understand the phenomenon of resilience in an exploratory way with regard to how Afghan refugee children adapt despite facing adversities in the aftermath of war, and (2) to contribute to the knowledge of nursing science and practice for healthy childhood development. The core research question was: What are the experiences of Afghan refugee children currently living in Canada in the aftermath of war? The sub question was: How do Afghan refugee children describe their experiences of day-to- day life? Gadamers (1960/1989) hermeneutic philosophy was used to understand the experiences of Afghan children in the aftermath of war. In addition, hermeneutic photography, which is based on the methodology of hermeneutic (interpretive) inquiry, was used as the methodological approach as well as method. Data were collected with the aid of photographs of the childrens own choice. Two to three photo conversations were done with seven children residing in Edmonton, Alberta. The participants ranged between the ages of 13 to 17; five were females and two were males.They were all born in Afghanistan and had two parent families and belonged to the Shia sect of Islam specifically,the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims. Gadamers approach to data analysis was adopted throughout the study. Four themes emerged that described the day-to-day life experiences of the Afghan refugee children: (a) cherishing the family; (b) treasuring the Afghan culture; (c) creating opportune spaces to dwell; and (d) building and sustaining resilience. Recommendations were drawn as a useful guide from the findings of this study for education, practice, policy development, and future research to benefit Afghan refugee children and their families to dwell in a new country.

This thesis examined the extent to which South Africa has domesticated the international provisions protecting foreign migrant children. The thesis further investigated procedural gaps and makes recommendations in respect of law and procedure to ensure the adequate protection of the rights of undocumented foreign migrant children in South Africa.

Magister Legum - LLM / This thesis examined the extent to which South Africa has domesticated the international provisions protecting foreign migrant children. The thesis further investigated procedural gaps and makes recommendations in respect of law and procedure to ensure the adequate protection of the rights of undocumented foreign migrant children in South Africa. / South Africa

Refugee children are at risk of experiencing social, emotional or behavioural needs (SEBN) due to the stressful events they have experienced. These events may have occurred whilst in their country of origin, or when travelling to and seeking asylum in a new country. There are a high number of refugee children in the local authority where the current research takes place. Educational Psychologists (EPs) in the authority have become aware of some of the needs of these pupils through individual case work. However there is an acknowledgement that more detailed information about their needs is still required. There is also a role for EPs in working with school staff to support refugee and asylum seeker children. The current research was carried out by a Trainee Educational Psychologist (TEP) in a primary school with a high number of refugee children (10%). An action research design was employed, using the RADIO model to structure collaborative working with school staff. The focus of the action research was to identify the SEBN of refugee children in the school and to develop school practice. A whole staff questionnaire was completed for each class (15 classes in total) to explore the needs of all refugee children and identify the provision they had received. The ‘Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire’ (SDQ) (Goodman, 1997) was incorporated into this questionnaire to obtain scores for all 46 refugee children in the school. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. In order to further explore this data, three focus groups were run, one with members of staff and two with groups of children in Key Stage 2. The focus group data was analysed using thematic analysis. The SDQ data revealed that just less than 50% of the refugee children scored in the abnormal range for total difficulties. The themes emerging from the thematic analysis highlighted a range of ‘pupils’ emotions and behaviours’ and ‘reasons for different emotions and behaviours’. Provision in school was discussed in relation to ‘newly arrived pupils’, ‘social, emotional and behavioural support in school’ and ‘links with parents’. Somali refugee pupils were also highlighted as a group who had particular SEBN.An action planning group undertook further development work in response to the issues highlighted during the data collection phase. The group devised an action plan to focus on areas of the school’s provision to improve upon. The TEP supported the action planning group to focus on further developing the induction procedure in school. The implications of this research are discussed at the individual child level, the whole school level and for the role of the EP. The TEP also reflects on the role of the EP in identifying the SEB needs of refugee children and in supporting a school to carry out action research.

In recent years, a large number of refugees have migrated to many different countries. The migrations are due to conflicts, war and poverty: Migrants are leaving their homes in search of more peaceful havens. Sweden has been one of the countries receiving the largest number of refugees in Europe. As a consequence, the arrival of refugees has an impact on the country’s ability to adapt to serve the refugees’ needs. This study focuses on refugee children, who can be highly affected by their past traumatic experiences and different resettlement processes. The research studies the importance of building meaningful relationships for refugee children in the preschool, in order to encourage and facilitate their development. In this research, the term “meaningful relationship” is understood as a healthy relationship with someone that shows care, support and encourages individual growth. The study is based in attachment theory, which describes the children’s natural need to seek adult’s support, security and trust. This theory explains how strong relationships and support, encourages children’s development and well-being. In this research study, the different relationships studied are: the ones between the educators and the refugee children; between educators and refugee children’s parents; between refugee children with the rest of the children in the preschool. This was accomplished through semi-structured interviews with four educators in different Swedish preschools, exploring their practices and experiences with newly arrived refugee children. Findings show educators’ perspectives considering the different aspects of pedagogy to address in order to promote the creation of more meaningful relationships in all three of these diads. These aspects of pedagogy that affect in the creation of more meaningful relationships are: introduction weeks, the preschool environment, the language barriers and addressing refugees’ past experiences. The study provides different methods and strategies shared by the educators that are applicable to preschools’ daily practices, as a means of facilitating refugee children’s childhood and development.

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.

År 2020 uppmärksammades på nytt att det delade huvudmannaskapet inom missbruks- och beroendevården kan få konsekvenser för den enskilde i form av bristande tillgänglighet (Kommitédirektiv 2020:68). I dagsläget ansvarar regionen och kommunen gemensamt för missbruksvården, och har enligt Socialtjänstlag (SFS 2001:453) samt Hälso- och sjukvårdslag (SFS 2017:30) en skyldighet att samverka i vården av brukare med missbruksproblematik. I denna studie har syftet varit att undersöka professionella inom kommun och regions uppfattning avseende samverkan i relation till ensamkommande flyktingbarn och missbruk. Utöver detta var syftet att även studera professionellas konstruktion av ansvar samt brukaren i samverkansprocessen. För att uppnå syftet har professionella med erfarenhet av ensamkommande flyktingbarn och/eller missbruksproblematik intervjuats. Denna avgränsning motiveras av att samverkansbehovet i allmänhet har identifierats som stort avseende gruppen ensamkommande flyktingbarn, bland annat på grund av bristande nätverk i det nya landet, men även på grund av riskfaktorer i form av psykisk ohälsa och låg socio-ekonomisk status. Studien utgår från en socialkonstruktivistisk ansats och en abduktiv kvalitativ innehållsanalys har utförts med hjälp av en modell för samverkansanalys. Resultatet visar att professionella upplever nuvarande former för samverkan som tämligen välfungerande, men att ansvaret för bristfällig samverkan konstrueras som något som förklaras av faktorer som enskilda professionella inte rår över. Studiens fynd visar vidare på brukarkonstruktionens betydelse för att förstå samverkan mellan region och kommun samt personliga relationers relevans i samverkansprocessen när praktiskt stöd uppifrån konstrueras som bristfälligt. Utöver detta har strukturella förutsättningar relaterat till huvudmannaskapsfrågan samt tidsmässiga- och ekonomiska resurser porträtterats som betydelsefulla för att förstå fenomenet samverkan. Studien finner att inrättandet av samordnande tjänster är en möjlig väg till förbättrad samverkan, och en implikation för framtida forskning är att undersöka effektiviteten av sådana tjänster.

This study has been conducted in southwestern Sweden regarding asylum-seeking unaccompanied refugee children’s health. The aim is to investigate and understand unaccompanied refugee children’s health during their asylum-process based on care homes personnel’s experiences. The focus is on what factors that impact these children’s health the most and the data has been collected through interviews with personnel at care homes. The result showed that asylum-process, health care, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, traumatic events, and PTSD are factors that have a negative impact on these children’s health, and thatsecurity and integration have a positive impact on their health.

In the year of 2015, 35.000 refugee children arrived to Sweden. In Sweden education is a matter of right, every child has the right to attend school no matter if s/he is a citizen or a refugee. According to the Swedish Curriculum for Compulsory school, all teaching should be adapted to the individual student’s circumstances and needs. The aim of this degree project is to investigate how wordless picturebooks (Silent Books) could be used as a language learning tool in order to promote language acquisition among newly arrived children in Sweden. Firstly, this paper provides an overview of background knowledge, theories and concepts about wordless picturebooks and second language learning. The literature review indicates that the content of the books and the social context is important while learning a language. It also shows that picturebooks can be used in order to grow a cultural understanding among young learners with different cultural backgrounds. In the empirical study we employed semi-structured interviews with people from Sweden, Italy and England. We also carried out field research on Lampedusa, Italy, which included observations and interviews. The major conclusions of this study are that Silent Books is one tool of many, which could be used while learning a language. Silent Books is particular good since it lets the student base her/his language learning in one’s earlier knowledge and experiences as well as language level. The pictures are the starting point, and the learning process starts with what you see in the picture.

Today, the concept “unaccompanied refugee children” is common in Swedish media. The concept is both dramatic and sad. Alone - refugee - child. It is about children, who alone escape from perse- cution, war, poverty and starvation. The purpose of this study is to investigate, from a user perspec- tive and to a certain extent a goal fulfillment perspective, how some unaccompanied refugee chil- dren look at and assess how Kalmar's municipality has succeeded in taking care of and supporting the possibilities of unaccompanied refugee children to be integrated into the municipality. The result shows that the children are mostly satisfied with the municipality's efforts. The conclu- sion is furthermore that some of the goals presented in the regional program have been achieved. Some have not. Keywords: unaccompanied refugee children, integration, security, education.