How the different policies and school systems affect the inclusion of Syrian refugee children in Sweden, Germany, Greece, Lebanon and Turkey

• Published in: Comparative migration studies Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 1 - 20
• Main Authors: Crul, Maurice, Lelie, Frans, Biner, Özge, Bunar, Nihad, Keskiner, Elif, Kokkali, Ifigenia, Schneider, Jens, Shuayb, Maha
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 09.04.2019; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Access; Careers; Children; Classes; Compulsory Education; Education; Education Work Relationship; Integration; Introduction classes; Literature Reviews; Migrant Children; Migrant Education; Migration; Original Article; Population Economics; Refugee children; Refugees; School attendance; School Districts; School dropouts; School Effectiveness; School Policy; School systems; Second Generation Refugees in Europe: The Legacy of Refugee Background; Second Language Instruction; Second languages; Social exclusion; Social Sciences; Sociology; Tracking; Welcome classes; Greece; Lebanon; Sweden; Turkey; Europe; Germany; Second language instruction; Welcome classes; Integration; Refugee children; Introduction classes; Education
• ISSN: 2214-594X; 2214-594X
• DOI: 10.1186/s40878-018-0110-6

Since the war in Syria started in 2011, many children left their war-torn country, alone or together with their families, and fled to neighboring countries in the Middle East, to Turkey or to Europe. This article will compare how Syrian refugee children are included – or not - in school systems both in Europe (Sweden, Germany and Greece) and outside Europe (Turkey and Lebanon). These five countries represent very different ways of receiving children in their educational system. We will compare national institutional arrangements like access to compulsory school, access after compulsory school age, welcome or immersion classes, second language education and tracking mechanisms. Including children as soon as possible in regular classes seems to provide the best chances for school success, whereas educating refugee children in a segregated parallel school system for extended periods often results in early school leaving or not attending school at all.