write a refugee child...

       The experiences children go through during times of armed conflict can impede their ability to learn in an educational setting. Schools experience drop-outs of refugee and immigrant students from an array of factors such as: rejection by peers, low self-esteem, antisocial behavior, negative perceptions of their academic ability, and lack of support from school staff and parents. Because refugees come from various regions globally with their own cultural, religious, linguistic, and home practices, the new school culture can conflict with the home culture, causing tension between the student and their family.

       Aside from students, teachers and school staff also face their own obstacles in working with refugee students. They have concerns about their ability to meet the mental, physical, emotional, and educational needs of students. One study of newly arrived Somali Bantu students in a Chicago school questioned whether schools were equipped to provide them with a quality education that met the needs of the refugee students. Teachers may even see refugee students as "different" from other immigrant groups, as was the case with the refugee students from Somalia. Teachers may sometimes feel that their work is made harder because of the pressures to meet state requirements for testing. With refugee children falling behind or struggling to catch up, it can overwhelm teachers and administrators.

       Not all students adjust the same way to their new setting. One student may take only three months, while others may take four years. One study found that even in their fourth year of schooling, Lao and Vietnamese refugee students in the US were still in a transitional status. Refugee students will continue to encounter difficulties throughout their years in schools that can hinder their ability to learn. Furthermore, educators must consider the experiences of students pre-settlement in the US in order to provide them with the proper support.

       In their first settlement countries, refugee students may encounter negative experiences with education that they can carry with them post settlement. For example:

• Frequent disruption in their education as they move from place to place
• Limited access to schooling
• Language barriers
• Little resources to support language development and learning, and more

       Statistics found that in places such as Uganda and Kenya, there were gaps in refugee students attending schools. It found that 80% of refugees in Uganda were attending schools, whereas only 46% of students were attending schools in Kenya. Furthermore, for secondary levels, the numbers were much lower. There was only 1.4% of refugee students attending schools in Malaysia. This trend is evident across several first settlement countries and carry negative impacts on students once they arrive to their permanent settlement homes, such as the US, and have to navigate a new education system. Unfortunately, some refugees do not have a chance to attend schools in their first settlement countries because they are considered undocumented immigrants in places like Malaysia for Rohingya refugees. (Wikipedia)

 Read more about the anyrefugee project.

• UNHCR RefWorld
• Bridging Youth Refugees and Children's Services