On the Visibility and Agency of Migrant Children in the Contemporary World. Educational Issues and Challenges

Abstract

The presented article focuses on two main objectives. On the one hand, it presents the complex and multifaceted issues of migrant children’s education from a theoretical perspective, which have a significant impact on the course of their integration process, their quality of life and their chances of a better future in the country of migration. We draw attention to the importance of migrant children from the perspective of a child-centred approach, which emphasises children’s agency and subjectivity, the importance of their voice, their experiences, as well as the mission of the school and the roles of the professionals (teachers, cultural mediators, social workers) working with them and influencing their integration success. We show the school as a space that is not only institutional, formal and oriented towards intercultural education, but also a relational space in which informal processes take place to shape the future of children, dependent on significant others but also on the educational system. On the other hand we refer mainly to the contribution of the research project Children Hybrid Identity (CHILD-UP) to formulate theoretical explanations about the visibility of migrant children, their agency in school, and to uncover empirical findings about their achievements, barriers, challenges. Although these are in various locations, in different schools and educational programmes, they nevertheless bring about changes in the structure of a class and the occurrence of important processes due to their ethnic and national, cultural, religious, and language context.

How Can We Study Educational Inequalities in Different Cultural Contexts? Interdisciplinary Research Methods in Early Childhood Education and Care

“…However, there is still much to do and one of these burning needs comprise issues concerning disabled children, children from socially/economically disadvantaged families or children with a migration background, which is particularly relevant in the context of the current situation of a large influx of refugees. The situation after 24 February 2022 (the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine) has posed a particular challenge to the Polish education system, although it should be remembered that the number of migrant children in Polish kindergartens and schools had been steadily increasing for some time (Slany et al 2021) with the need for systematic integration work having already been pointed out. In 2023, there were 187,900 children and young people from Ukraine in Polish schools and kindergartens, who arrived in Poland after the Russian invasion of their country.…”