Integration into the host community at schools: a study on Afghan refugee students’ interactions with the Iranian community

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper is based on the results of an ethnography conducted in the context of several junior high schools in the host community of Iran. It draws on the data collected via observations and forty sessions of in-depth semi-structured interviews with school staff, domestic (Iranian) and refugee (Afghan) students, and their parents. The paper aims to explore the probable impacts of some particular elements on the absorption of refugee students in the host community. These elements included interactions between refugee and domestic students, the role of their parents, and the role of multicultural aspects of pedagogy.