Refugee Children Research Articles

Exploring factors that influence vaccination uptake for children with refugee backgrounds: An interpretive description study of primary healthcare providers’ perspectives

BackgroundChildren with refugee backgrounds are at high risk of acquiring vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) due to a complex set of factors, one being under-immunisation. In Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ), reported age-appropriate vaccination rates are suboptimal among children with refugee backgrounds. MethodsA qualitative interpretive description study was undertaken to explore factors associated with access and uptake of immunisations and develop strategies to improve age-appropriate vaccinations among refugee children post-resettlement in NZ. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with healthcare providers (nurses and doctors) (N = 14) across seven resettlement locations in NZ. Collected data was transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. ResultsFive themes were derived from the data that demonstrate the interrelated factors that influence vaccination uptake across the refugee caregiver, health provider and system levels. Providers discussed how caregivers’ competing resettlement priorities and challenges early in the resettlement phase influenced their knowledge and access of vaccines and health services in NZ. Providers’ knowledge of refugee caregivers’ concerns was seen as a driver for positive change in forming therapeutic relationships with, and delivering health services to, former refugees. They discussed system level factors that influence access to and provision of immunisation services, such as resourcing, resettlement policies, system inefficiencies and missed opportunities. Emphasis was placed on communication between patients and providers to facilitate positive immunisation experiences. Overwhelming, providers displayed high motivation to improve immunisation services. Strategies were suggested to overcome identified barriers and included the provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate resources, education campaigns, reducing access barriers (e.g., after-hours clinics), and improving system efficiencies. ConclusionsThese findings highlight root factors that impact immunisation uptake and experiences among children with refugee backgrounds. To reduce the burden of VPDs, broad system level changes are required to address the barriers to vaccine uptake faced by both families of refugee backgrounds and health providers.

Immunisation coverage and its determinants among Rohingya refugee children in Malaysia.

The displacement of populations due to humanitarian emergencies has an adverse impact on the global elimination of vaccine-preventable diseases. However, the level of immunisation coverage among Rohingya refugee children remains unknown. Therefore, thisstudy investigated immunisation coverage and its determinants among Rohingya refugee children in Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was conducted from September to November 2020 among the guardians of 243 Rohingya refugee children studying under the sponsorship of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, Malaysia. Among the 243 children, 90 (37%) were unimmunised, 147 (60.5%) were partially immunised and only 6 (2.5%) were fully immunised. The country of child's birth, the child's age and access to healthcare services were significantly associated with unimmunisation (all P<0.05). This study found low immunisation coverage among Rohingya refugee children in Malaysia. Given the low level of coverage, a public health intervention, such as a vaccination program, for this refugee population is necessary.

Book Review: &lt;em&gt;Children of the Greek Civil War: Refugees and the Politics of Memory&lt;/em&gt;

The book ‘Children of the Greek Civil War’ makes several key steps forward in analyzing the politics and emotions surrounding the 47,000 child refugees of the Greek Civil War. Although the war was between the right-wing Greek Government and the left-wing Greek Communist Party, it drew in a large portion of the ethnic Macedonian population of northern Greece who had been promised greater freedom and ethnic recognition by the communists. Among the book’s key steps forward are its side-by-side and even-handed analysis of how the war affected both the Greek and Macedonian children, its discussion and comparison of the government-backed orphanages set up by Queen Frederica and the evacuation program to Eastern bloc countries and children’s homes by the Greek Communist Party, the reliability of its statistics about the children from both sides of the conflict, and the comparison of the education, training, and lifestyle of the children in both sets of institutions. There is also a ground breaking discussion of the claims of genocide by organizations representing both sides of the war. This review also highlights areas where more work is needed to investigate potential acts of genocide by the Greek Government against the Macedonian children.

Mülteci çocukların renal sağlığı: süregelen bir zorluk

Aim: Its geographical proximity to Syria makes Turkey an important destination and transit country for refugees from various countries. The aim of this study is to determine the kidney and urological disease profile and to reveal the ongoing problems of refugee children who applied to a single center in Adana, home to a dense refugee population. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the largest single center experience with the refugee pediatric patient population in this field.&#x0D; Methods: Medical records of 614 refugee children admitted to the pediatric nephrology and urology departments between February 2020 and May 2022 evaluated retrospectively. A total of 530 patients were included in the study.&#x0D; Results: Median age of the 530 patients (301 male/229 female) was 72 months. The median follow-up time was 7 months (IQR 14 months). Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract with 181 patients (34.2%) is the most common diagnosis. The frequency of chronic kidney disease (CKD) of the patients was determined as 25% with 132 patients. 64 (12%) of the patients required surgical intervention. It was observed that 322 (61%) of the patients did not come to their regular follow-ups and delayed their follow-up.&#x0D; Conclusion: Irregular follow-up and delaying the treatment can lead to sad consequences in patients with CKD in the long term. We believe that regular patient follow-up will have a positive impact on the long-term follow-up results of the patients and on the health costs of the country hosting the refugee patient profile.

Evaluation of the Administration of Primary Schools Where Refugee Children Attend from the Perspective of School Administrators

Abstract&#x0D; &#x0D; The aim of this research is to evaluate the management structure of primary schools from the perspectives of school administrators where refugee children are educated in Turkey. The research was designed as a case study from qualitative research approaches. While determining the study group, criterion sampling method from purposive sampling was used and school administrators of the four most crowded primary schools in ..... province were determined in terms of the number of refugee children. A total of seven school administrators were interviewed. Semi-structured interview forms developed by the researchers were used as data collection tool in the research. While forming the interview questions, expert opinion was taken and was tested with pilot applications. The data were analyzed by descriptive analysis and content analysis. Categories and codes were determined in line with the answers of the school administrators. In order to ensure the reliability of the research findings, quotations from the participants' opinions are included. With the research, it has been concluded that in addition to the problems such as language problems of refugee children, there are also problems such as cultural incompatibility, registration, attendance, resource, cleanliness, parental indifference, adaptation in school management.&#x0D; Keywords: Refugee child, Migration, School administration, School administrator

A systematic review on Syrian refugee children with disabilities in Türkiye

ABSTRACT School-age children constitute a significant portion of the Syrian refugee population in Türkiye. However, the number of studies examining the Syrian refugee children with disabilities (SRCwDs) is very limited. This paper examines intersections of race, disability, and refugee status by providing a systematic review of the available research focusing on SRCwDs residing in Türkiye. After giving contextual information regarding the status of Syrian refugees and presenting research on Syrian refugee children in Türkiye, this paper analyses existing studies on SRCwDs within the theoretical framework of DisCrit. This analysis reveals that research focusing on SRCwDs living in Türkiye is very limited and reliable and comprehensive data is necessary to identify their number in the country. There are also numerous problems regarding their access to services and schooling. Finally, this paper offers recommendations for practice and further research.

1931–1933 жылдардағы қазақ балаларының ашығуы

The situation of children affected by famine in Qazaqstan in 1931-1933, who lost their parents, became increasingly difficult. Orphaned, homeless children seeking food and shelter would move to other regions. Along the way, the bones of dead children remained unburied and became prey for dogs and birds. The death toll from infectious diseases was also incalculable. In the early days of the famine, the Government seemed to ignore the deaths of starving and devastated children, and the fate of orphaned children, and didn’t take needed measures. Instead, they tried to hide this situation. The cases when children ended up in orphanages were especially difficult. Every day the number of the dead increased, and on winter days, when the relatives were unable to bury them, their bodies lay in the barn until spring. The number of dying children on the city streets and village roads was incalculable. Based on archival documents and eyewitness memoirs, the article examines the fate of Qazaq children who became victims of famine in the 1930s, and clarifies the measures taken by the Government to accommodate the starving and homeless children in orphanages, communes, and factory training schools. The work of the children's commission established by the Government and its results are analyzed. The process of return of refugee children to their native places is also described in the article.

A Review on the Opinions of Teachers on Refugee Children’s Social Skills

This research aims to analyze the opinions of classroom teachers on the social skills of refugee students. The qualitative method linked to case study design was used in the research. Within the scope of the research, interviews were conducted with 22 classroom teachers who have knowledge about the concept of social skills; who work in Sivas which was selected with regard to the method of convenience sampling; and who have refugee students in their classes which were selected with regard to the method of criteria sampling. Data were collected by using semi-structured interview and observation forms. Descriptive analysis method was used in the analysis of the data. As a result of the research, it was observed that refugee students have language problems, and they are shy and introvert. It was determined that communication and social skills of the students are weak; yet, they obey school and classroom rules. The number of teachers who stated that refugee students’ ability to solve the problems they face is sufficient and the number of teachers who stated that refugee students’ ability to solve the problems they face is not sufficient are very close to each other. While the teachers state that they do not do any extra exercise in the classes to increase social skills of refugee students and they do not find themselves competent as they do not have knowledge on this subject, they also suggest that students should learn Turkish before they attend school. A variety of suggestions were made in the light of the research findings.

Tensions of Difference in Integrating Refugee Children in Norwegian ECEC Centers

This article explores the tensions that arise in the integration process of refugee children in Norwegian ECEC centres. For many refugee children, ECEC centres form the first public institution where they learn about the norms and values outside of their homes. Using institutional ethnography as a method of inquiry, data was gathered using semi-structured interviews with ECEC professionals, focusing on how they interact with refugee children and how they do everyday integration work. The article adopts the concept of the "civilizing process" by Norbert Elias as the overarching analytical concept. The findings reveal that integration of refugee children involves tensions in negotiating language, civilising children into Norwegian ideals of childhood, and civilising parents into the Norwegian cultural ideal of parenting.

Recognizing Relational Interactions with Social Institutions in Refugee Children's Experiences of Intertwining Vulnerability and Agency.

In this paper, we examine relational interactions between refugee children and social institutions, building the case for the recognition of the co-occurrence and intertwining of vulnerability and agency in children's experiences in diverse refugee situations. This developmental relational approach offers refinement of a general relational worldview by specifying how vulnerable and agentic experiences are co-constructed by children and adult individuals and institutions. We analyze the conceptual roots of vulnerable and agentic experiences, and use the concept of co-construction to specify the processes and outcomes of interactive relational experiences. Evidence from example studies of the intertwining of vulnerability and agency in specific refugee situations demonstrates how refugee children contribute to power-oriented experiences. Due recognition of the relational co-construction of intertwining vulnerable and agentic experiences provides a basis for refining generalized relational observations, and a fine-grained basis for developing policies and procedures to dispel ambivalence to refugee children and to change inequitable policies and practices.

Political economy of refugees: How responsibility shapes the politics of education

In this theory generating article, we take up the question of what shapes the role of host governments in social service provision for refugees, using the case of education. We consider the ways in which traditional theories relevant to the political economy of education vary under a responsibility sharing model of refugee education that has developed in recent years. Under a traditional development approach, in which refugees are integrated into national systems over the long-run, like in the United States or Canada, we would expect the political economy of education to operate similarly to national or other migrant populations. Under a humanitarian model, we would expect responsibility for service provision to align clearly with humanitarian actors, with demands, purposes, and incentives distinct from and minimally entangled with those of hosting states. Under new responsibility sharing models, lines of responsibility become opaque and the political economy of education, including ideas about the purposes of education, actors and the nature of demand, and incentives for its provision become more complex.We argue that the political economy of refugees can be understood as distinct from the political economy for citizens as it requires addressing fundamental questions of responsibility and assumptions about time horizons. Our proposed conceptualization of the political economy of refugees draws on theories from political science, economics, sociology, education, and refugee studies. As host countries and the global community grapple with decisions about services for refugees across sectors, it is critical to understand ways in which factors shaping the political economy may be distinct from national citizens to ensure that approaches are equitable and effective for refugees and host communities.

Inequalities in the home learning environment during the pandemic: a closer look at Syrian refugee children’s home learning environment in Türkiye prior to COVID-19

ABSTRACT The home learning environment of children became critical during the COVID-19 school closures, and already-existing deprivations of children increased inequalities in access to education during the COVID crisis. This study documents the home learning environment for the Turkish host community and Syrian refugee children in the pre-pandemic year. In order to ac hieve this end, a composite home learning environment (HLEQI) is calculated using the Demographic Health Survey (DHS) in Türkiye, which includes a sample of Syrian children. This study reveals that Syrian children were already burdened with disadvantages regarding their home learning environment quality, with the average HLEQI calculated for Turkish children as 61.7% and Syrian children at 36.5%. Moreover, when examining the individual components of this composite index, our study reveals substantial gaps in the supportive home learning environment for both Turkish and Syrian children, with the latter facing even greater challenges. These gaps span across various dimensions of the composite index, encompassing aspects such as access to remote learning infrastructure, adequate study space at home, and quality interaction with adults. The study underscores the need for targeted interventions to address these disparities and ensure an equitable learning environment for all children, regardless of their background or circumstances.

Surviving their journey: A trauma-informed approach to migrant children’s experiences of violence on the Western Balkan route

Year after year, millions of children cross international borders for many different reasons. In order to support the further strengthening of the system of protection in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in terms of responsiveness to new vulnerabilities arising from the context of migration, in-depth interviews were undertaken in 2021 with a sample of 48 youths (N=38 boys and N=10 girls), both unaccompanied and traveling with families, currently residing in camps in BiH, about their experience of violence and its impacts on their wellbeing using a trauma-informed and children’s-rights approach. All children experienced a range of traumatic experiences on the journey, including severe violence. Even though the concept of emotional violence is unclear to them, most children plainly describe traumatic experiences, while their tendency to normalize violence is noticeable. Many of them showed symptoms of trauma responses or identified them in their siblings, younger children, and peers. Nevertheless, many children have developed various help-seeking, help-using, and self-help strategies, including joining other adults or peers, mutual help and support, the analysis of risk situations, elaboration of exit strategies, self-efficiency assessment, and a range of self-regulation and resilience-building techniques, in addition to avoidance, denial, and self-harm. Research findings point to the diversity of children’s responses to violence and prolonged traumatic events. They also raise a lot of questions regarding the impact on children’s current and future development and well-being and the availability of trauma-informed responses and care. The results contribute to the scarce resources concerning the scientific understanding of children’s experiences of violence and the understanding of traumatic experiences among migrant and refugee children.

School integration of Syrian refugee children in Turkey

There is little evidence based on large-scale representative data on the school integration of refugee children—many of whom live in low- or middle-income countries. This study focuses on Syrian refugee children in Turkey and examines the underlying causes of native–refugee differences in school enrollment using the 2018 Turkey Demographic and Health Survey. Accounting for a rich set of socioeconomic variables, we find that the native–refugee gap in school enrollment drops by half for boys and two-thirds for girls, but a gap persists for both genders. When we restrict the sample to refugees who arrived in Turkey at or before age eight and account for socioeconomic differences, the native–refugee gap completely vanishes for both boys and girls, indicating that school integration of refugee children (at least up to the ages we observe them in the data) has been possible for early arrivers. We also find that the timing of boys’ school dropouts coincides with their entry into the labor market, whereas girls’ dropouts mostly occur before marriage age. Finally, after accounting for socioeconomic differences, refugee children are likelier never to start school, less likely to progress grade levels, and have a lower grade for age.

Social Exclusion and Ethnic Segregation in Schools: The Role of Teachers' Ethnic Prejudice

Abstract Using data on primary school children and their teachers, we show that teachers who hold prejudicial attitudes towards an ethnic group create socially and spatially segregated classrooms. Leveraging a natural experiment where newly arrived refugee children are randomly assigned to teachers within schools, we find that teachers' ethnic prejudice, measured by an implicit association test, significantly lowers the prevalence of interethnic social links, increases homophilic ties among host children, and puts refugee children at a higher risk of peer violence. Our results highlight the role of teachers in achieving integrated schools in a world of increasing ethnic diversity.

Social Emotional Learning with Refugees in East Africa

Social emotional learning (SEL) has become a popular trend in the field of Education in Emergencies (EiE). Many SEL programs targeting refugee learners aim to help individuals develop skills that are necessary for learning and development, as well as mitigate the adverse impacts of crisis and displacement. While nearly half a billion USD has been invested in SEL initiatives for refugee and crisis contexts world-wide, little evidence exists about the impacts of SEL interventions with refugee communities. As 20% of all refugees globally reside in East Africa, and it is estimated that over 152 million African children live in active conflict zones, this study set out to qualitatively examine understandings, implementation, and implications of SEL interventions across actors engaging refugee communities in the region. The results expose tensions, challenges, and complex dynamics related to culture, power, and the complicated reality of implementing refugee education initiatives in East Africa. While further research into this area of inquiry is needed and proposed, these study findings provide a stronger understanding of the refugee education landscape in East Africa and its current insufficiencies through the example of SEL, and serve to inform other topical EiE interventions and the broader uptake of SEL by education systems globally.

Effects of war exposure on pubertal development in refugee children.

Increasing research shows pubertal development accelerates following threats while it decelerates following deprivation. Yet, these environmental stressors are unlikely to occur in isolation. We investigated how war exposure and energetic stress impact pubertal development using data from the longitudinal Biological Pathways of Risk and Resilience in Syrian Refugee Children study. Our sample included 1,600 male and female Syrian refugee children and their caregivers who lived in temporary settlements in Lebanon. We hypothesized that (a) energetic stress suppresses pubertal development; (b) war exposure accelerates pubertal timing in boys and increases risk of menarche in girls, but only when energetic stress is low; and (c) when energetic stress is elevated, effects of war exposure on pubertal development will be attenuated. Among boys, we did not find support for Hypothesis 1, but Hypotheses 2 and 3 were supported. Exposure to morbidity/mortality threats accelerated pubertal timing; this effect was attenuated under conditions of elevated energetic stress. Among girls, we found support for Hypothesis 1, but not for Hypotheses 2 and 3. Elevated energetic stress decreased the risk of menarche in girls. Neither war exposure, nor any interactions with energetic stress, predicted risk of menarche. Sensitivity analyses revealed a significant interaction between bombing exposure and the amount of time since leaving Syria. Bombing decreased the risk of menarche, but only for girls who had left Syria four or more years prior to data collection. We discuss implications for translational efforts advocating for puberty screening in medical and mental health settings to identify trauma-exposed youth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

(Not So) Minor Encounters: Little Amal from The Jungle to The Walk

Abstract: How do we comprehend the scale of contemporary Syrian child displacement, much less represent it theatrically—and ethically? In this essay, I explore how the Good Chance Theatre has continued to try, through the evolving figure of Little Amal, an unaccompanied Syrian girl who appears in two transnational performances, The Jungle (2017) and The Walk (2021). Drawing on interviews with directors, actors, and puppeteers, I argue that both productions renegotiate the adoptive gaze Western European and North American audiences usually impose upon Syrian refugee children. The eight locally cast child actors that played Little Amal across The Jungle ’s original tour produced a Brechtian doubling of performances that complicated violent spectatorial relations, while The Walk ’s twelve-foot-tall puppet of Little Amal resists adoptive logics’ reliance on humanitarian tropes of liminality and minority. Complicating hegemonic binaries of insider/outsider, seeing/being seen, and even life/death, The Jungle and The Walk invite Euro-American onlookers to reconsider their relation to the refugee ‘crisis,’ undercut the individual logic of adoption, and call for a collective response. Little Amal’s (not so) minor encounters, I find, lay bare the inherent theatricality of the current refugee rights paradigm as applied to displaced peoples of all ages. Reclaiming the figurative and embodied potential of the Syrian child refugee, Amal reveals mass displacement to be a shared human phenomenon: already lived by so many, and looming for all.

Development of a refugee education competency framework: Turkish context with Syrian refugee students

ABSTRACT This study was based on the current Turkish education system, which attempts to integrate nearly one million school-age refugee children into regular schools. Although the activities carried out in Turkey point to positive developments regarding the integration of refugee students, some of the problems observed in refugee education still exist. The current research, which aims to develop a ‘framework of teacher competencies in refugee education', was designed as a mixed method in explanatory design, which includes both qualitative and quantitative aspects. Firstly, the expert interviews and literature reviews were conducted to determine the themes ‘instructions', ‘motivation', ‘culture', ‘language', ‘being a refugee', ‘communication', and ‘social adaptation'. Then, by using the measurement tool including these themes, the opinions of primary and secondary teachers (N = 1219) who teach refugee children about teacher competence were collected. The findings obtained from the opinions of the participant groups were presented in the form of research questions in line with the themes. Teachers’ perspectives, on how and why the relevant competence framework is important, have been revealed.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and education for Rohingya refugees in Malaysia

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and education for Rohingya refugees in Malaysia are examined in this paper. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) serve as a blueprint for achieving a better and more sustainable future for all. Its fourth goal is to improve educational quality and enable socioeconomic mobility to help people escape poverty. The problem for Rohingya refugees in Malaysia is that they are not officially recognized by the host government. This study has been conducted using a qualitative approach. Purposive sampling has been chosen to identify respondents like United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) personnel, Rohingya refugees, and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). A semi-structured interview question was used to collect the information from the respondents. As a result, one of the consequences is that their children are not permitted to attend government-run schools for formal education. This situation has left them dissatisfied and concerned about their future in Malaysia. Nonetheless, in order to leverage the SDGs’ goal and achieve its motto of “leaving no one behind”, the UNHCR, as an international UN body, made an effort to provide access to the education sector. These efforts aim not only to improve educational quality, but also to strengthen ties between the refugee community and the host society. The local NGOs also collaborate with UNHCR in terms of financial support to further their secondary and even tertiary study. Despite those challenges, it still strives to achieve the SDG No. 4 target to reach the quality of education for Rohingya refugees. As a result, efforts to improve education for Rohingyas in Malaysia are ongoing, and all stakeholders must work together to make it a reality.