Education of Children with a Refugee Background in Poland in the Situation of War in Ukraine. Outline of the Problems

Abstract

In the context of the military conflict in Ukraine, since February 24, 2022, the Polish government has decided to include refugee children in the continuation and implementation of education in the Polish education system at various stages and levels of education. Educational institutions in Poland have faced the great challenge of accepting refugee children into the Polish education system. Due to the war situation, both children with a refugee background and their guardians (mothers), as well as teachers, were confronted with the reality that showed many aspects of education and the implementation of the didactic process in a situation hitherto unknown and unexpected. The article aims to provide a preliminary diagnosis of the education process of children with a refugee background from the perspective of teachers and institutional support. In addition, the analysis also attempted to assess the health and mental well-being of children with experience of war trauma. Critical reflection on the education process of refugee children in Poland is based on available reports and studies of quantitative and qualitative research carried out primarily by public institutions (Polish Ministry of Education and Science, UNHCR, Integrated Educational Platform) and the private sector (Centre for Citizenship Education 2022–2023).