Disrupting the dominance of ‘linear pathways’: how institutional assumptions create ‘stuck places’ for refugee students’ transitions into higher education

Support for Prospective Refugee Students in Germany

“…Due to the circumstances of forced migration, the rules and restrictions of the asylum procedure and their often-precarious situations, they also face a number of additional challenges, such as trauma or psychological distress, gaps in their educational biography, missing documents or contradictory formal requirements from different organisations (Berg, 2018;Détourbe & Goastellec, 2018;Grüttner et al, 2018;Unangst & Streitwieser, 2018). Further, the processes and requirements of HEOs are built on organisational assumptions about typical students, which can create difficulties for those who do not fit these norms (Baker & Irwin, 2019).…”

University Applicants from Refugee Backgrounds and the Intention to Drop Out from Pre‐Study Programs: A Mixed‐Methods Study

“…Financing of living expenses, educational fees and immigrationrelated debt are key challenges for refugee students (Joyce et al, 2010;Webb et al, 2019) but could also be relevant for other international students (Thomas, 2017). Financial problems represent obstacles to learning success and are likely to have an impact on the cost-benefit considerations in the transition to university (Lenette, 2016;Sontag, 2019), thus making employment or vocational training for refugee students far more attractive than the arduous route of pre-study programs (Baker & Irwin, 2019;Molla, 2019). Gender aspects and older age, respectively educational disruptions and family obligations, can put a strain on refugee students' learning (Cin & Doğan, 2020;Harris et al, 2015;Joyce et al, 2010).…”

“…These differences are related to the lasting impact of the migration channel (Sandoz, 2018). Refugee students are involved in a complex interplay of various dependencies, resulting from intersections of legal frameworks and private and public actors (Berg, 2018;Détourbe & Goastellec, 2018;Sontag, 2019) and face institutional assumptions of applicants and students which often disregard their specific situation (Baker & Irwin, 2019;Berg, 2020). Therefore, barriers that are, in principle, also relevant for international students, can be amplified for refugee students and contribute to particular disadvantages (Lambrechts, 2020).…”

‘I’m not sure where home is’: narratives of student mobilities into and through higher education

“…The idea that students experience a homogeneous and linear journey from home to university has been increasingly critiqued (e.g. Baker and Irwin 2021;Holton and Finn 2018;Taylor and Harris-Evans 2018;Gravett 2019), and it is becoming ever more apparent that we need to understand students' mobilities in new and more nuanced ways -a situation that has become even more necessary due to COVID-19. At the present time, student mobilities are the subject of increasing attention as recent literature has emphasised the importance of recognising students who experience mobilities in higher education in alternative and diverse ways (Finn 2015;2017;Finn and Holton 2019).…”