Abstract:

The new law on secondary education came into force on 1 July 2018. It concerns migrant youth (16-19 years old), who came to Sweden as refugees but lost their asylum eligibility as a result of a changing international context based on e.g. end of armed conflict in the country of the refugees’ origin or life or health threats no longer present in that country of origin. The Swedish law implemented inter alia by the Migration Board (Swedish: Migrationsverket) excludes these individuals from further extension of stay based on asylum. Instead young adults are invited to leave Sweden and go back to their home countries.

A recently introduced reform with its procedures and obligatory practices drew strong criticism and disapproval mainly from school personnel – teachers and educators directly involved in the work with migrants and refugees. Also one of the refugee representing bodies i.e. Unaccompanied Minors Association (Ensamkommandes Förbund) expressed its confusion about a new gymnasium law (gymnasielagen). Controversies arise especially as regards young people who arrived in Sweden as children but are now 16 and older. However, the new law opens up a possibility for young adults to prolong stay in Sweden on a condition to continue education, in particular in areas associated with vocational training.

The reform has imposed curriculum modification on secondary schools to take into account both the needs of the Swedish labor market and the needs of young migrants/refugees. In this context the psycho-cultural aspects are especially relevant considering two major facts:
1) migrant youth growing up in at least two cultural settings - the culture of the country/region of origin and the Swedish culture;
2) the refugee minors traumatic experiences hampering their integration with the host society.

The proposed solutions, resulting from the reform of secondary education, have both supporters but also opponents expressing doubts about the real effectiveness of the reform. Based on interviews with specialists, teachers and educators working with unaccompanied minors, selected integration approaches are presented in the article, including educational programs shaped to serve social, cultural and economic integration of young refugees particularly and young migrants generally.

The interviews have been confronted with the opinions expressed by the refugees’ and migrants’ representative bodies like e.g. Unaccompanied Minors Association, complemented by the official statements of the state and municipalities’ agents.

Keywords:

Migration, integration, Sweden, inclusive education.