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How do refugee children experience their new situation in England and Denmark? Implications for educational policy and practice

Thommessen, S. & Todd, B. (2018). How do refugee children experience their new situation in England and Denmark? Implications for educational policy and practice. Children and Youth Services Review, 85, pp. 228-238. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.12.025

Abstract

As the number of individuals who have been forced to flee their homes and country of origin has increased rapidly in recent years, the need to understand how best to support such individuals, especially the youngest of them, becomes pressing. This study presents findings from interviews with adults who had arrived as asylum-seekers in one of two countries, Denmark or England, when they were children. Qualitative findings based on Interpretative Phenomenological Analyses demonstrate the participants' focus on Language-based challenges that extend to further difficulties, Choosing to succeed, Gaining strength through social support, encouragement and guidance, Integrating two separate worlds into one and Seeing, hearing and understanding children's needs. The participants have had time to reflect on their early experiences of integration, and their voices can inform researchers, educators and other practitioners currently working with refugee children and families.

Publication Type: Article
Additional Information: © 2017. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Publisher Keywords: Refugees; Children; Education; Intervention; Policy-making
Departments: School of Health & Psychological Sciences > Psychology
SWORD Depositor:
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