1st Edition
Refugee Education Theorising Practice in Schools
In the last five years, more child refugees have made perilous journeys into Europe than at any point since the Second World War. Once refugee children begin to establish their new lives, education becomes a priority. However, access to high-quality inclusive education can be challenging and is a social justice issue for schools, policymakers and for the research community. Underpinned by strong theoretical framings and based on socially just principles, this book provides a detailed exploration into this ethically charged, emotive and complex subject.
Refugee Education offers an interdisciplinary perspective to critical debates and public discourse about the topic, contextualized by the voices of young refugees and those seeking to support them in and out of education. Shaped by practitioners, the book develops an inclusive model of education for refugee children based on the concepts of safety, belonging and success, and presents practical tools for planning and operationalizing the ethics of inclusive education.
This book includes a wide range of case study examples which reveal the positive outcomes that are possible, given the right inputs. It is essential reading for teachers, senior leaders and policymakers as well as academic researchers in education, social policy, migration and refugee studies.
1. Introduction Section 1. Theorizing Practice in Schools 2. Safety, Belonging and Success 3. Recognition, redistribution and representation 4. Education and the search for safety 5. Education and the growth of Belonging 6. Education and the concept of success 7. A bespoke model of inclusive education for new arrivals Section 2. Contexts 8. A historical narrative of refugee education in England 9. On the ground: the East of England 10. Policy environment – England Section 3. Ways forward 11. Concluding Thoughts
Biography
Joanna McIntyre is Associate Professor of Education at The University of Nottingham, UK.
Fran Abrams is Chief Executive of the Education Media Centre charity, which is devoted to raising the profile of good evidence about education. She is a journalist and the author of five earlier books on education, social policy and social history.
"This text provides a welcome and comprehensive look at the circumstances of refugees, and in so doing, argues effectively that bespoke education is an essential pathway into their resettlement, flourishing and future opportunities. Designing refugee education in a way that encourages youth to build on their strengths, retain their cultures and identities while adapting to the laws and values of England, and by extension, Europe and democratic societies, is the most promising approach we have for creating a sense of belonging, mutual understanding and acceptance. We learn much about ourselves as the authors’ unique yet complementary exploration of theory, practice, and refugee and their teachers’ narratives communicate the full complexity of refugees’ resettlement at the nexus of education, politics, economics, and the simple joy of finding hope in life again after trauma and loss."
Susan Barber, Senior Lecturer in Education, Simon Fraser University, Canada
"This is a very timely and internationally significant book on refugee education. It is moving, informative and academically robust. It is also a powerful call for action in support of inclusive education for refugee and asylum seeker children. The authors develop a theoretically rich interdisciplinary account of refugee education drawn from lessons from history as well as the lived experiences of young people and the professionals who work with them. It is an inspirational book that highlights optimism over despair and offers ways forward for schools. This is a must-read book for all involved in refugee education."
Ian Thompson, Associate Professor of Education, University of Oxford, UK
"Bringing together the lived experiences of refugee students with practical theory, Joanna McIntyre and Fran Abrams’s Refugee Education: Theorising Practice in Schools brilliantly illuminates the difference schools can make, as sites of recognition, belonging and ultimately healing, in the lives of young people who have experienced too much of the world’s cruelty. A must read for anyone interested in inclusive education, refugee studies or social and global justice."
Wayne Veck, Reader in Education and Pathway Leader Education Studies, University of Winchester, UK
"The book is moving, informative and academically robust. It is also a powerful call for action in support of inclusive education for refugee and asylum seeker children. The authors have developed a theoretically rich interdisciplinary account of refugee education drawn from lessons from history as well as the lived experiences of young people and the professionals who work with them. It is an inspirational book that highlights optimism over despair and offers ways forward for schools. This book deserves to be read by all those interested and involved in refugee education."
Ian Thompson, Journal of Social Science Education
"Overall, Refugee Education: Theorising Practice in School is an excellent book that is well written and easy to understand. The authors’ positionalities provide an interdisciplinary approach that has positively impacted the research. Joanna McIntyre is a professor of education, while Fran Abrams is a journalist. The result is a text that is accessible to many audiences, including those outside academia."
James Alan Oloo, Teachers College Record
