Access to and Accessibility of Education Throughout the Educational Trajectories of Youth in Europe

This paper revisits and expands upon the findings of the ‘Multi-country Partnership to Enhance the Education of Refugee and Asylum-seeking Youth in Europe (PERAE)’ initiative, which was launched by the SIRIUS Network in 2016 to address the challenges of integrating refugee youth into European education systems. Amid the significant influx of refugees since 2015, PERAE conducted empirical assessments in seven European countries to examine the systemic and ad-hoc responses to the educational needs of refugee students. The project generated critical insights into the barriers to education for refugees and provided policy and practice recommendations aimed at improving access to quality education. In light of the continued rise in asylum applications and the persistent challenges faced by refugee students, this paper shifts from a national focus to a broader analysis, identifying overarching patterns in refugee education across Europe. It incorporates more recent findings to assess the current state of educational integration for refugees, highlighting ongoing issues such as limited resources, language barriers, and the need for coordinated efforts among stakeholders. The paper underscores the importance of understanding these patterns to inform future policies and practices that promote inclusive and equitable education for refugee youth in Europe.

The current generation of European youth is coming of age in the European Union. Compared to the generation of their parents and grandparents, this generation has been afforded new opportunities of travel and employment that transcends the borders of nations. How is this new reality experienced by youth from different European nations and from different social classes? Do younger generations feel more of a connection to their European identity, to their national identity, or to both? Such questions are addressed in the papers of this special issue, which draw data from the EU Horizon 2020 Constructing Active Citizenship with European Youth (CATCH-EyoU) project. Together these studies suggest that to address these questions we need to decompose who the youth are and what the historical context of their experience is. For example, youth from higher socio-economic status families living in post-communist or low wealth nations differ in their loyalties and commitment to the EU, compared to their counterparts. The papers in this special issue reveal important insights as well as gaps in the scholarship concerning youth active citizenship at the European level.

This scoping review aims to explore the role of gender in refugees' educational access, experiences, and outcomes in Europe since 2015. Gender can act as a significant barrier to education, and gender stereotypes and bias can affect learning opportunities and outcomes. As a response, a scoping review was conducted to explore the role of gender in refugees' educational access, experiences, and outcomes in Europe since 2015. This review follows a systematic process of reviewing and synthesising texts compiled in the Hub for Education for Refugees in Europe (HERE) Knowledge Base to fill the gaps in knowledge about gender‐related post‐migration experiences of refugees and displaced individuals who have arrived in Europe. The review includes studies that focus on educational services for refugees in Europe and uses a meta‐ethnographic synthesis approach to data analysis and synthesis. Using a socio‐ecological framework, it was found that at the individual level, access and progression were shaped by previous educational attainment, health issues, survival tactics and future aspirations; at the micro‐level, by relationships with family, educators and peers; at the meso‐level, by public perceptions of refugee learners and home‐school interactions; and at the macro‐level, by administrative barriers, the asylum system, socio‐economic factors and the tailored opportunities and community support available. The majority of the studies referred to the experiences of women and girls.

The partner choice of young ethnic minorities can be a contested topic as it is central to the reproduction or change of diaspora groups. Using Denmark as a case, this chapter explores developments in the marriage trajectories of Turkish-originated youth living in Europe. In the 1980s and 1990s, such youth predominantly married spouses from Turkey, who then came to Denmark as marriage migrants. However, immigration regulations have been tightened significantly since then. This has contributed both to a shift towards co-ethnic marriage within the diaspora and to some transnationally married couples utilising cross-border mobility to circumvent national immigration rules. Other changes over time include increases in the age of first marriage and a decline in the share of arranged marriages. Still today Turkish-originated youth in Europe must negotiate different norms and expectations from their families, communities, and the majority society when they consider whom they will marry.

A presença de mulheres angolanas em São Paulo é narrada a partir das trajetórias migratórias das gerações anteriores, que também vivenciaram situações análogas a de refúgio. Suas experiências no Brasil como angolanas (não necessariamente lusófonas) e seus relatos acerca de deslocamentos entre Angola e República Democrática do Congo (RDC) no período da Guerra de Independência de Angola (1961-1974) e da Guerra Civil Angolana (1975-2002) são entrelaçadas pelas suas trajetórias educacionais e familiares. É relatada a permanência de dinâmicas educacionais coloniais no ensino dos idiomas francês e português em detrimento dos idiomas nacionais vinculados a grupos étnico-linguisticos, no contexto de formação de identidade nacional angolana no período pós-independência. O produto lingüístico de seu pouco domínio do idioma português é relacionado à sua dificuldade de inclusão no mercado de trabalho e o não reconhecimento de suas habilidades e certificações profissionais, situação que reforça sua posição como migrantes/refugiadas africanas no mercado de trabalho brasileiro.

Despite the unified system of admission to universities in Russia, applicants can still face unequal access to higher education. This article analyzes the barriers which restrict the inter-regional accessibility of higher education. We propose an analytical model, reflecting the direct and indirect influence of family, schools, and location on the educational strategies of youth, assuming that these factors affect the university enrollment both directly and indirectly through academic achievement. An empirical examination of the model, based on data from the longitudinal study ‘Trajectories in Education and Careers’, shows that students from Moscow are most likely to enroll at university, since they face the lowest barriers. The problem of the accessibility of higher education is more acute for residents of large cities or regional capitals: their likelihood of matriculating is limited by cognitive abilities, socio-economic status, and school characteristics. Residents of small towns or villages are facing the highest barriers and gender inequality.

Despite the unified system of admission to universities in Russia, applicants can still face unequal access to higher education. This can lead to an inefficient choice of the educational strategy and result in the increased inequality. This paper analyzes the barriers which restrict the interregional accessibility of higher education in the context of the Unified State Exam (USE). We propose an analytical model, reflecting the influence of channels such as family, school characteristics, and place of birth, on the educational strategies of youth. We assume that these factors affect the likelihood of being enrolled at university both directly and indirectly through USE scores. Given the unequal regional economic development and the differences in educational opportunities, we argue that university choice can be limited for certain cohorts of applicants, depending on their place of origin, because of differences in the magnitude of the barriers. An empirical examination of the model, based on data from the longitudinal study ‘Trajectories in education and careers’, shows that students from Moscow or Moscow Region are most likely to enroll at university, since they face the lowest barriers. The problem of the accessibility of higher education is more acute for residents of large cities or regional capitals: their likelihood of matriculating is limited by a large number of factors (cognitive abilities, SES, school characteristics). Residents of other settlements (small towns or villages), are least likely to be admitted to university, facing the highest barriers and gender inequality.

BackgroundPromoting tolerance is an important goal of European education policies focused on education for democratic citizenship and human rights. In this article, we argue that cross-cultural comparability must be empirically assessed and ensured for the measurement of highly relevant indicators that serve to monitor inter-European and international differences in young people’s tolerant attitudes toward immigrants.MethodsUsing the framework and data provided by the recent International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS 2016), we examine the extent to which average comparisons of cross-national differences in young people’s tolerant attitudes toward immigrants are empirically justified. Multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA) is applied to estimate the measurement model of the concept and test its measurement invariance across fourteen European countries.ResultsIn line with prior research, our findings show that cross-cultural comparability can be achieved with some modifications. Results of measurement invariance analysis point to the achievement of full scalar invariance with the implication that average scores can be validly compared across the European educational systems under investigation. These findings are largely corroborated by robustness analyses.ConclusionsWe conclude by providing information on further scale refinement and improvement. Limitations and implications for further research are outlined and discussed.

This Special Issue (SI) provides a nuanced understanding of the root causes of radicalisation among European youth with both nativist and religious affiliations. The contributions challenge the civilisational paradigm and the reductionist interpretations that often conflate it with extremism, terrorism, and violence. Our contributors contend that the rise of populist rhetoric across Europe, alongside the notable strengthening of grassroots resistance, has led to a pronounced polarisation of public opinion. Drawing on the literature in Social Movement Studies, each contributor provides an analysis of various processes of youth radicalisation across different European nations. They illuminate that both nativist and Islamist forms of radicalisation among European youth function as frames for justification and alternative political expressions – almost akin to a form of anti-politics. This serves as a means for them to protect themselves from the destabilising effects of deindustrialisation, discrimination, alienation, humiliation, and stigmatisation. The findings underscore that radicalised youth tend to employ unconventional forms of political expression to articulate their knowledge and garner public attention to their marginalised status. This stems from their lack of trust in political centers, which they perceive as failing to provide remedies for disenfranchised youths experiencing socio-economic, political, spatial, and nostalgic deprivation in the era of globalisation.

EPA-0855 – Educational trajectory of adults with experience of institutional and family care in childhood

European Union countries are participatory and representative democracies. Therefore, active citizenship in the EU and trust in EU institutions are paramount for the continuation and the strengthening of the EU project. Young Europeans who hold the future in their hands need to be actively engaged not only in the social and political life within their national communities, but also in the wider European community. The papers in this special issue examine whether and how European youth identify with the EU, trust EU institutions and engage in EU issues, and which societal and proximal-level contexts and/or individual-level attributes promote or hinder young people’s active citizenship in European context. They are based on results from the Horizon 2020 CATCH-EyoU project, standing for Constructing AcTive CitizensHip with European Youth: Policies, Practices, Challenges and Solutions. Scientists represent different disciplines (Psychology, Political Science, Sociology, Media and Communications, Education) and from eight European countries (Sweden, Estonia, U.K., Germany, Czech Republic, Greece, Portugal, Italy). Together, the papers contribute to the development of a new, cutting-edge conceptualization of youth active citizenship in the EU, and to a better understanding of the factors promoting or inhibiting young EU citizens’ engagement, participation and active citizenship at the European level.

This systematic review aims to explore refugees' educational access, experiences and outcomes in Europe since 2015. The review follows a systematic process of reviewing and synthesising texts compiled in the Hub for Education for Refugees in Europe (HERE) Knowledge Base to fill gaps in knowledge about the educational trajectories of learners of refugee and forced migrant backgrounds who have arrived in Europe. The review includes studies that focus on all forms of educational provision and services for refugees and forced migrants in Europe: formal, non‐formal and informal. The review also takes a meta‐ethnographic approach to data analysis and synthesis. Key findings highlight the interconnectedness of safety, belonging and success in education for learners with refugee and forced migrant backgrounds and the necessity of economic redistribution, cultural recognition and political participation for achieving these goals.

The paper discusses issues of reforming the system of higher professional education in Russia. The authors state that the main goals of organizing the European zone of higher education were alien to the Russian educational tradition and were not implemented in Russia over the past two decades. Moreover, these efforts have led to the destruction of the unified educational space of the country, a decline in the quality and accessibility of education, and the loss of value-based worldviews. Analyzing the situation, the authors of the article reveal the underlying causes of failure in the fundamental incompatibility of the socio-cultural paradigms of European and Russian education. A comparative analysis of the activities of European and Russian universities formed the basis for the statement about the necessary and reasonable formation of a national education system capable of a productive dialogue with the Euro-American civilization. The authors speak in favor of the approach would meet the Russian national features and ensure the sustainable development of the Russian educational system.

This research identified the presence and severity of salient risk factors for violence and assessed the predictive validity of the Structured Assessment of Violent Risk in Youth (SAVRY) for an Australian young male offender cohort held in detention. As the bulk of previous research has focused on European and North American Caucasian youth, comparisons were made between participants from Australian ethnic subgroups: English-Speaking Background (ESB), Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD), and Indigenous and Torres Strait Islanders (IND). The study found the instrument to moderately predict general and violent recidivism across the larger cohort and the SAVRY Risk Rating was able to differentiate between times to reoffense. However, the predictive validity differed significantly across ethnic subgroups with moderate to strong predictive accuracy for the ESB group, poor predictive accuracy for the CALD group, and only particular SAVRY scores attained significant accuracy for the IND group. Findings on subgroup risk factors were considered in light of contemporary understandings of the unique experiences and trajectories of minority youth. Future investigation is necessary to differentiate and characterize the risk factors and offending patterns of the ethnicities within the CALD classification.

This short paper serves as an introduction to the collection of papers in this special issue of The South African Journal of Higher Education. First, the editors set the scene by commenting on access and throughtput in South African higher education, showing how these continue to be racially skewed, and linked to an inequitable education system. It is then observed that some of the intervention programmes that are offered at tertiary level do not always achieve their intended goals, and that interventions are increasingly being sought at secondary school level. Second, the editors introduce and briefly comment on the seven papers selected for this special issue, noting the particular contribution each makes to an understanding of the theme of promoting access to higher education in an unequal society. Third and in conclusion, the editors point to three issues that they believe emerge from the papers, and which are argued to be important in mapping the way forward. These are: the need to acknowledge that injections of finance may secure access, but do not necessarily secure success; a concern about the proliferation and fragmentation of interventions which do not ultimately have systemic impact; and the need for multi-site, multi-method and longitudinal studies that track the experiences of students through university and beyond.