“Under the common roof”. Cultural adaptation of children from Ukraine in Poland. Case study

Abstract

Russia's hostilities in Ukraine have caused a humanitarian crisis in Europe. The situation of the country's population has changed dramatically, many families with children have been forced to flee their homes, often outside the country. The article focuses on the problem of cultural adaptation of Ukrainian children in Poland. The issue raised constitutes a new area of scientific analysis. The presented text discusses the problem of research on the functioning of Ukrainian refugees in Poland. Its purpose is to determine how the process of cultural adaptation takes place in the family, peer and school environment of a Ukrainian child in Poland from the perspective of the experiences of Polish and Ukrainian families living together. A case study was used in the research. Empirical material was collected using the author's interview questionnaire. The results of the study describe the difficulties encountered by Ukrainian parents and their children in the host country. It was found that the process of cultural adaptation of refugee children from Ukraine is conditioned by various factors. The most important are the attitudes of the host society and the attitude of the local communities among which they now live. The family that has taken them under its roof is the first line of confrontation with the unknown social reality, cultural difference and mentality of Poles. It should be emphasized that this article raises an important part of the vast problem of the consequences of the war situation in Ukraine, thus it is an invitation for further discussion and research.