The right to education of refugee children integrated into an elementary school in Zagreb

Šeneta, Antonija. (2019). The right to education of refugee children integrated into an elementary school in Zagreb. Diploma Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of Pedagogy. [mentor Širanović, Ana].

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Abstract

The topic of this thesis is the right to education for refugee children who have integrated into elementary school in Zagreb, Croatia. Due to an insufficient amount of research regarding refugee children’s right to education, specifically in the Republic of Croatia, the goal of this study is to analyze the right to the education of refugee children, as well as define the challenges faced by participants in the process of integration. The analysis of the implementation of the right to education of refugees is based on the theoretical framework of Katarina Tomaševski (2001) focusing on three dimensions of this right, which are: accessibility, acceptability and adaptability of education. The research used a qualitative methodology for which the data were collected through interviews with 13 participants. Member of the school counselling service, teachers and teacher’s assistants participated in the study. Results showed the lack of implementation of the right to education for refugees in educational practice. The results show that the school had a short period of time for preparing teachers, students and parents. The results also show the delayed enrollment in school and lack of standardized tests to determine knowledge and ability for school enrollment. The results point out the problem of the students not having personal documents and documents confirming prior educational experiences, which made it difficult to integrate them in the appropriate classes. Results show the lack of transport for students from the Reception Center for Asylum seekers to the school, lack of materials for learning Croatian language as a secondary language, lack of co-operation with some institutions and lack of necessary professional training for teachers. A certain number of students have the need for adapted educational content, individualized instruction, and individual work that is challenging for teachers to provide. The language barrier also makes communication difficult; this is especially so at the beginning of the children’s integration. To a lesser extent, participants integrate the educational contents that reflect the students' backgrounds and experiences. The results show that the students need help and support in different areas, but there are many factors that make it difficult to provide it to them. Teachers and assistants point out different attitudes about the causes of lower educational achievements as well as the different experiences of student participation and the relations with other students. Most participants felt a limited capacity for working with refugee children and would state that they had faced many challenges and required various types of support.

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