Ethnic diversity fosters the social integration of refugee students

Abstract

Forced migration has become a global megatrend, and many refugees are school aged. As social integration is key to their wellbeing and success, it is pivotal to determine factors that promote the social integration of refugee youth within schools. Here, using a large, nationally representative social network dataset from Germany, we examine the relationships of refugee adolescents with their peers (304 classrooms, 6,390 adolescents and 487 refugees). We find that refugee adolescents have fewer friends and are more often rejected as desk mates than their classmates. Crucially, however, they are less rejected in more diverse classrooms. This results from two basic processes: (1) more opportunities to meet other ethnic minority peers, who are more accepting of refugees in general and (2) higher acceptance of refugee adolescents by ethnic majority peers in more diverse settings. Our results can help promote the social adjustment of young refugees in school and mitigate the negative consequences of prejudice.

Trauma-sensitive school concepts for students with a refugee background: a review of international studies

“…The establishment of trauma-sensitive concepts in schools underlines the importance of teachers as social caregivers ( Popham et al, 2023 ), and it emphasizes their importance in supporting social integration and, thus, the psychosocial development of students ( Boda et al, 2023 ). Social integration supports refugee students’ well-being, psychosocial development, and academic success ( Stadtfeld et al, 2019 ).…”

“…This not only makes it more difficult to resort to social support as an adaptive coping strategy through peers and advice from teachers, but it also impairs participation in lessons, which can have a negative effect on academic success. Trauma-affected children and adolescents are, therefore, more likely to be rejected by their peers ( Schwartz and Proctor, 2000 ; Boda et al, 2023 ) and show frequent school performance-related problems such as lower grade point averages and lower graduation rates ( Delaney-Black et al, 2002 ; Terrasi and De Galarce, 2017 ). On a psychological level, this can impair self-perception and negatively affect the school-related motivation of the children, which can lead to persistent learning deficits in the long term ( Lehman et al, 2017 ).…”

“…Social inclusion and support, as well as emotional regulation, are proven protective factors against the development of PTSD ( Demir et al, 2020 ; Höltermann et al, 2022 ). According to a survey of 304 classes from German schools, students with refugee experience, in particular, have fewer friends than their classmates and are rejected more frequently, although this effect was less pronounced in classes with a highly heterogeneous student body ( Boda et al, 2023 ). Friendships do not only offer social support to students with refugee experience.…”

“…Social contacts with the majority group in particular offer students with a refugee background important resources for acquiring the language of the host country, thus increasing their chances in the education system and the labor market and acculturating overall ( Edele et al, 2020 ; Lorenz et al, 2021 ). Supporting social integration is therefore not only of individual importance for the development of the students concerned but is also of long-term interest concerning current political discourses on migration and inclusion policy ( Lorenz et al, 2021 ; Boda et al, 2023 ; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2023 ). While trauma-sensitive school concepts are increasingly being established in the United States of America ( Simon et al, 2020 ), limited efforts have been made to implement such concepts into European school systems.…”

Promoting positive development among refugee adolescents

“…Among refugee adolescents within the school context, peer relations operate as stronger determinants of perceived school belonging than relations with teachers or family members (Rizkallah, 2020). A nationally representative sample of German ninth graders found that refugee students are more often rejected by their peers as deskmates than their non‐refugee classmates and even more so in more homogenous (less ethnically diverse) classrooms (Boda et al, 2023). Further, perceived discrimination by peers in school is a significant source of distress and isolation, while social acceptance is associated with a sense of belonging in resettlement and leads to better academic and psychological outcomes (Kim et al, 2015; Samara et al, 2020).…”