Abstract:

The issue of school dropout especially among older children with refugee backgrounds poses a significant challenge to educational systems worldwide. This presentation aims to delve into the multifaceted causes contributing to this phenomenon, shedding light on the complex interplay of factors influencing refugee learners’ educational trajectories.

Like many other southern Mediterranean countries, since 2016 Greece has witnessed an unprecedented flow of refugees that must be catered to at an economic, political, social, and educational level. The Greek Ministry of Education has developed a program for the education of refugee children aged 4 to 15 with the cooperation of major humanitarian NGOs. According to UN figures in 2020, although the overall estimated number of refugee children present in the country was 44,000, by January 2020 it is estimated that only 13,000 refugee and migrant children of school age (4-17 years old) across Greece were enrolled in formal education (source: UNICEF 2020). Available statistics (see RSA 2021) also demonstrate a sharp and rapid drop in enrolments of refugee children in public schools, from 12,867 in June 2019 to 8,637 in March 2021. Research carried out with refugee learners living in camps (Gitsou and Pranentsi 2023), shows that about 3/4 of the children enrolled in school drop out of school prematurely. Only 1 in 4 children retains their schooling status until the end of the year. This problem is particularly acute with students enrolled in high schools.

As part of a wider project for the linguistic integration of young and adult learners with a refugee background, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in collaboration with the NGO Solidarity Now conducted a study into the main causes of school dropout amongst refugee learners. Qualitative and quantitative data was collected from various stakeholders. Focus groups were conducted with different groups of refugee learners of all ages (groups who were enrolled in school, who did not attend school systematically and who had dropped out of school) and their parents. Moreover, a questionnaire was distributed to Greek teachers in order to investigate their attitudes towards the multilingual and multiethnic composition of their classrooms, the extent to which they employed culturally responsive strategies in their classrooms and the challenges they faced.

This presentation will present the results of this study highlighting the complex interplay of factors influencing refugee learners’ decision to continue or discontinue their education in schools in Greece. On the basis of the findings strategies for fostering inclusive learning environments and suggestions for policy reforms to ensure equitable access to education for all refugee children and empower refugee children to achieve academic success and realize their full potential will be highlighted.

References:
[1] Gitsou M. & Pranentsi K. (2023) School integration and dropout of vulnerable children:The example of unaccompanied refugee minors. Paper presented at the 7th International Conference of the Society of Education Sciences of Drama, 8-9 December 2023 at the Municipal Conservatory of Drama (in Greek).
[2] Refugee Support Aegean (2021) Excluded and segregated. The Vanishing Education of Refugee children in Greece. https://rsaegean.org/en/excluded-and-segregated-the-vanishing-education-of-refugee-children-in-greece/#footnote-16
[3] UNICEF (2020) Refugee and Migrant Children in Greece (as of January 2020)

Keywords:

Education, school dropout, refugee learners.