Opening Polish Schools to Ukrainian Refugee Children and Providing Them with Spiritual Support: Survey Results

Abstract

Following the Russian Federation’s attack on Ukraine, many women and children were forced to flee their homeland out of fear for lives. Poland, as a country bordering Ukraine, has accepted the most refugees, compared to other EU states. Soon after, Ukrainian school-age children began their education in Polish schools, but the process of their enrolment and adaptation to a new environment, as well as the provision of psychological assistance, became a significant challenge. The aim of the study was to inquire about the actions taken by principals of primary schools in Poland in connection with accepting refugee students from Ukraine to their institutions, as well as determining the possibilities of providing these students with spiritual support. The following survey research conducted in the four voivodeships that accepted the largest number of refugees, in urban and rural environments, allowed the identification of the practical solutions used by school principals in organising the assistance provided to refugee students from Ukraine in learning and integration with peers. As the research has indicated, the most important challenges in working with Ukrainian children affected by war are psycho-emotional experiences, depression and adaptation problems. Therefore, the priority in working with them was to use the strategy of spiritual support and solidarity, focusing on the prioritised human values—humanism, tolerance, faith, love, empathy, kindness, and mutual help. The conclusions drawn from the experience gained by Polish schools, in particular, in terms of the spiritual support for children of war, can be used by educational systems in other countries.