Transgressive education: fostering inclusion of refugee and asylum seeker students

Winner of the BAICE Student Writing Award 2025

Transgressive education: fostering inclusion of refugee and asylum seeker students

In the last twelve years, there has been an increase in forced mobilities, and thus, in human right abuses, at a global level. Forty percent of the total forcibly displaced population are children (UNHCR, 2023), which is a concerning number. The  causes  are varied, such as conflicts, wars, natural disasters, etc., but the challenges faced by the majority of this collective remain the same.

These children, along with their families, have to endure violence, trauma, insecurity and life-threatening situations before and during these forced displacements. Not only do they leave their homes and family members behind, but they also embark on long and hazardous journeys. They struggle with difficulties related to border crossings and living in refugee camps, in which they are deprived of basic human rights that can be limited and sometimes even non-existent, such as healthcare, access to water, education, etc. (Diaków & Goforth, 2021). 

However, challenges do not disappear when refugees and asylum seekers finally arrive to their receiving countries, they materialise in different ways. They face financial strain, which limits their access to housing, health and education. Moreover, they struggle with barriers related to resettlement and the documentation procedures, which tend to be long and uncertain (Alfadhli & Drury, 2018). Furthermore, they have to deal with grief, fear of deportation and instability, while navigating a new social system in which they encounter social exclusion, discrimination and prejudice (Ballentyne & Drury, 2023).  

In the UK, this exclusion has been really present in public debate and policies, in which refugees and asylum seekers are depicted under pervasive discourses that attempt to justify the illegitimacy of their citizenship, fostering hostility and rejection from the British society (Fatoye & Fatoye, 2019). In this sense, policies regarding resettlement are focused on offering protection and guaranteeing access to rights to health, economic, accommodation and educational support for refugees (UK Government, 2021). Nevertheless, asylum seekers face greater difficulties than the refugees, since policies in the UK have been designed to limit their living conditions by restricting those rights, while being trapped in lengthy processes to grant their refugee status (Ramachandran, 2024). 

In this climate of chaos and uncertainty, education becomes central for refugee and asylum seeker children, especially after the perilous journeys and risks that they have experienced, and the structural constraints faced in their receiving countries (Dryden-Peterson & Horst, 2023). Education provides safe spaces, creates links to other services that they might need, such as psychological support, and fosters their inclusion within their wider community (Dryden-Peterson et al., 2019). In this sense, I began to be interested in studying how education in formal and non-formal settings could promote the inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers, and that is how my research started, which I will go into next. 

Transgressive spaces for refugee and asylum seekers’ education: schools of sanctuary and the case-study of a non-formal education classroom.   

In 2012, Liverpool was named City of Sanctuary, which entailed a series of initiatives and measures to foster the inclusion of forcibly displaced populations. As a consequence, a network of schools of sanctuary was created, which committed to build welcoming, understanding and respectful spaces for those forced into exile.

During my research stay in Liverpool in the academic year 2023/24, I had the opportunity to visit and study how schools with sanctuary status and/or those applying for it approached and fostered the inclusion of refugee and asylum seeker students (there are nuances in both terms: refugees are granted protection by official entities whereas asylum seekers have applied and are awaiting refugee status). I was able to visit the schools, observe and interview their teachers and headteachers (especially those responsible for applying and/or implementing the sanctuary status). This was extremely insightful, as teachers are fundamental in providing quality education and support for refugee students, as well as fostering their engagement and inclusion in the classroom (Rose, 2019).

In addition to that, I had the chance to experience first-hand, the specific case of a non-formal education programme developed in the city, and the only one of its kind in the UK. This programme focused on assisting in the enrolment of children who are asylum seekers in formal education. It originated as a response to shortcomings they identified in guaranteeing the asylum seeker students’ right to education. Since they tend to be overlooked in the British educational system, having to wait for longer periods of time to be able to access formal education (Ramachandran, 2024) .

This project acted in the social and educational aspect of this reality, by offering help to find a vacant space for asylum seeker children in mainstream schools as well as offering alternative education while these children had to wait to be enrolled in formal education. This non-formal educational setting is outstanding, since it aims to ease the transition of students who are asylum seekers into formal education. A task that is possible because the teachers from the project develop different strategies focused on language and emotional support as well as the hidden curriculum. In this case-study, I was able to visit this alternative classroom setting and interview the teachers and the manager of the project. This gave me a wholesome perspective of the social context in which it is embedded and its impact on inclusion.  

Both my experiences, in schools and in this non-formal classroom, reminded me of the concept of re-bordering education that was discussed in the latest BAICE conference in 2024. And how these different educational contexts and staff are transgressing and fighting against the power imbalances and the inequities that forcibly displaced children (refugees and asylum seekers) and their families face. This made me realise that there are examples of good practices, educational approaches and pedagogies that can be enriching and compared.

Implications for education 

In my study, I identified  a lack of networking between the formal and non-formal settings. Moreover, I realised that, although the non-formal classroom was extremely successful, it had not been implemented nationally or internationally. This lack of connectivity and communication between institutions impeded them from sharing their strengths and inclusive approaches. Hence, it prevents better quality education.

This is a sign that there should be a more unified approach which implements measures and policies that can focus on the inclusion of these students. Refugee and asylum seeker children are entitled to the right to education (United Nations General Assembly,1989), a right that they should have never lost in the first place. As one of the interviewees stated, education should not be a privilege:  ‘We might be facilitating it right now, but I want those children to feel entitled to education, because they are. I really want them to feel empowered, that they think “it belongs to me and I deserve this so I can design my own future and reach my potential”’. (E4)

Agreeing with her, I can only conclude that we have the responsibility as educators to promote, reinforce and guarantee that students receive the best quality education possible, so they can fully develop regardless of the uncertainty of their future. 

References 

Alfadhli, K. & Drury, J. (2018). A Typology of Secondary Stressors Among Refugees of Conflict in the Middle East: The Case of Syrian Refugees in Jordan. PLOS Current Disasters.http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/currents.dis.4bd3e6437bff47b33ddb9f73cb72f3d8

Ballentyne, S.C. & Drury, J. (2023). Boundaries beyond borders: The impact of institutional discourse on the identities of asylum seekers. Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology, 5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cresp.2023.100130

Diaków, D. M., & Goforth, A. N. (2021). Supporting Muslim refugee youth during displacement: Implications for international school psychologists. School Psychology International, 42(3), 238-258. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143034320987280

Dryden-Peterson, S., Adelman, E., Bellino, M. J., & Chopra, V. (2019). The Purposes of Refugee Education: Policy and Practice of Including Refugees in National Education Systems. Sociology of Education, 92(4), 346-366. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038040719863054

Dryden-Peterson, S. & Horst, C. (2023). Education for Refugees: Building Durable Futures?. Journal of Refugee Studies, 36(4), 587–603. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/fead063

Fatoye, C.T. & Fatoye, F. (2019). The Experiences of African Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Manchester, United Kingdom. Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology, 7(3). https://doi.org/10.6092/2282-1619/2019.7.2258

Ramachandran, N. (2024). The Enforced Destitution of Asylum Seekers in the UK. Journal of  Human Rights and Social Work, 9, 139–153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-024-00300-8

Rose, A. (2019). The role of teacher agency in refugee education. Australian Educational Researcher, 46, 75–91. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-018-0280-0

UK Government (2021). UK Refugee Resettlement: Policy Guidance. Home Office. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/611cd056d3bf7f63b45df0ed/Resettlement_Policy_Guidance_2021.pdf

UNHCR (2023). Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2023. UN Refugee agency. https://www.unhcr.org/global-trends-report-2023

United Nations General Assembly (1989). Convention on the Rights of the Child (resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989). United Nations. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child

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