Introduction

The tragic events related to the recent increased wave of migrants arriving in Europe fleeing from war or hard living conditions, have revealed the profound economic and social factors that give rise to the phenomenon of mass migration. Both the sheer number of people escaping hardship and danger and the different types of countries involved highlight the permanent character of these migratory movements. This situation confronts us with the need to make choices that go beyond the current inadequate and unsteady emergency plans and implement systematic policies for resettlement and inclusion on a broader societal level. Promoting systematic inclusion policies means recognizing that the arrival of migrants and refugees, many of whom are children, is a challenge and a great educational opportunity for the European school systems.

Even though a large body of literature on the social inclusion of refugees is available today, investigation into refugee children and their education remains relatively underdeveloped, especially in relation to the implementation of school-based interventions and programmes. Currently, research and good practice in this field have been mainly developed within the boundaries of national educational politics and policies, addressing distinct populations. This fragmentation has stood in the way of a systematic analysis of the question at the European level, which is a necessary condition for the advancement of successful educational interventions that might measure up to the current size of the phenomenon. The seminar will systematically compare and discuss the growing, but still disjointed, body of knowledge that is emerging from European countries.

Programme

The seminar will be divided into two sessions:

1. in the morning, invited speakers from Austria, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, and UK will present a report of the current situation and future prospect of refugee education in their country;
2. in the afternoon, contributions from researchers and schools, selected through the call for paper process, will be presented during parallel sessions chaired by young researchers or PhD students from university partners.