Eighteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

Recent refugee crises have placed many countries under substantial pressure to accommodate and integrate large numbers of refugees. Refugee children, who are a particularly vulnerable group because of forced displacement, find that their educational needs are not always met by a system, which hinders their potential for integration. Given the plethora of xenophobic attacks currently being experienced in South Africa, this paper focuses on key questions: What key factors promote the integration of refugee children in education, and how can education systems promote the integration of refugee children and youth? I use a case study approach to focus on narratives as told by a group of refugee youth. The results of this case study indicate that refugee youth feel ostracized and stereotyped by a system that has not given very careful thought to their unique educational needs. Often, they experience emotional stress, inadequate social support, and trauma, which hinders the potential for integration into the host society. I conclude that given the needs of refugee children, departments of education need to work closely with university faculties to train emerging teachers to cope in classroom situations that include refugee children. I present a model that may be valuable in teacher training.