From the Camps to the Campus: Refugees’ Experiences in Higher Education through Their Narratives
Keywords:
Higher education, integration, refugees, resilience, youth experiences
Abstract
This study explores eight refugee students’ experiences in higher education, more specifically, in a private American College in Greece. The qualitative methodology was followed by using narratives based on the students’ personal stories and in-depth semi-structured interviews. Using a thematic analysis, main themes are identified and discussed in the findings, such as stability and citizenship, financial and language barriers, racism, biases and discrimination, and sense of belonging or exclusion. Thus, this study focuses not only on the difficult route towards a better life and the struggles of their individual unique stories to give another perspective and challenge existing stereotypes that apply to refugees, focusing more on their remarkable resilience to learn and evolve and setting them as an example of strength.
References
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Mupenzi, A. (2018). Narratives of displacement, resilience and education: Experiences of African students with a refugee background in Australian Tertiary education. Western Sydney University.
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Saiti, A., & Chletsos, M. (2020). Opportunities and Barriers in Higher Education for Young Refugees in Greece. Higher Education Policy, 33, 287–304. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-020-00180-3
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Shakya, Y. B., Guruge, S., Hynie, M., Akbari, A., Malik, M., Htoo, S., Khogali, A., Mona, S. A., Murtaza, R., & Alley, S. (2012). Aspirations for higher education among newcomer refugee youth in Toronto: Expectations, challenges, and strategies. Refugee: Canada’s Journal on Refugees, 27(2), 65–78. https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.34723
Stevenson, J., & Baker, S. (2018). Refugees in higher education: debate, discourse and practice. Great debates in Higher Education Series. Emerald Publishing.
Stevenson, J., & Willott, J. (2007). The aspiration and access to higher education of teenage refugees in the UK. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 37(5), 671-687. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/03057920701582624
Tzoraki, O. (2019). A descriptive study of the schooling and higher education reforms in response to the refugees’ influx into Greece. Social Sciences, 8(3), 72. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/socsci8030072
UNHCR. (2019). Stepping up: Refugee education in crisis. https://www.unhcr
Vassilopoulos, A., & Ioannidis, G. (2020). European policies for the inclusion of refugees in higher education: the case of Greece. Open Journal for Anthropological Studies, 4, 61-74. https://doi.org/10.32591/coas.ojas.0402.03061v
Zapata-Barrero, R. (2017). Interculturalism in the Post-Multicultural Debate: A Defense. Comparative Migration Studies, 5, 14. https://doi:10.1186/s40878-017-0057-z
Anderson, C., & Kirkpatrick. (2016). Narrative interviewing. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, 38, 631-634. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-015-0222-0.
Arar, K., Kondakci, Y., & Streitwieser, B. (2020). Higher education for forcibly displaced migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. Higher Education Policy, 33, 195-202. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-020-00184-z
Auerbach, S. (2007). From moral supporters to struggling advocates: Reconceptualizing parent roles in education through experience of working-class families of color. Urban Education, 42(3), 250-283
Bachtsiavanou, M., Karanikola, Z., & Palaiologou, N. (2023). Perceptions of ZEP teachers towards parental involvement of culturally and linguistically diverse families: Promoting school-family cooperation. Societies MDPI, 13, 159. https://doi.org/10.3390/ soc13070159.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Bryman, A. (2016). Social Research Methods. Oxford University Press.
Collings, R., Swanson, V., & Watkins, R. (2014). The impact of peer mentoring on levels of student wellbeing, integration and retention: a controlled comparative evaluation of residential students in UK higher education. Higher Education, 68, 927–942. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-014-9752-y
Crea, T. M. (2016). Refugee higher education: Contextual challenges and implications for program design, delivery, and accompaniment. International Journal of Educational Development, 46, 12-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2015.11.005
Creswell, J. W. (2016). Educational research: planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. ION Publishing.
Crul, M., Lelie, F., Biner, Ö, Bunar, N., Keskiner, E., Kokkali, I., Schneider, J., & Shuayb, M. (2019). How the different policies and school systems affect the inclusion of Syrian refugee children in Sweden, Germany, Greece, Lebanon and Turkey. CMS 7, 10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40878-018-0110-6
Dereli, B. (2022). Belonging through higher education: The case of Syrian youth in Turkey. Journal of Refugee Studies, 35(1), 195-219. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feab055
Dryden-Peterson, S., & Giles, W. (2012). Higher Education for Refugees. Refugee: Canada’s Journal on Refugees, 27(2), 3-9. https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.34717
Earnest, J., Joyce, A., de Mori, G., & Silvagni, G. (2010). Are Universities Responding to the Needs of Students from Refugee Backgrounds? Australian Journal of Education, 54(2), 155–174. https://doi.org/10.1177/000494411005400204
Gay, L. R., Mills, G. E., & Airasian, P. W. (2012). Educational research: competencies for analysis and applications. Pearson Publishing.
Greece Immigration Statistics. (2022). https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/GRC/greece/immigrationstatistics
Greece-UNHCR Data Portal: See and land arrivals. (2024). https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/mediterranean/location/5179
Harrell-Bond, B., & Voutira, E. (2007). In Search of ‘Invisible’ Actors: Barriers to Access in Refugee Research. Journal of Refugee Studies, 20(2), 281–298.
Joyce, A., Dantas, J., Mori, G., & Silvagni, G. (2010). The Experiences of Students from Refugee Backgrounds at Universities in Australia: Reflections on the Social, Emotional and Practical Challenges. Journal of Refugee Studies, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feq001
Karanikola, Z. (2024). Interculturalism in contemporary multicultural educational environments. In G. Panagiotopoulos (Ed.), Human Resources: special issues and contemporary approaches in education (pp. 232-242). Grigoris Publishing.
Karanikola, Z., & Palaiologou, N. (2021). Refugees and adult education: A thematic analysis on UNESCO’s latest recommendations. Andragoske studije, 57-74. https://doi.org/10.5937/AndStud2101057K
Karanikola, Z., & Panagiotopoulos, G. (2023). Adult Education and Globally Engaged Trainers: The Case of Vocational Training Institutes. Education Sciences, 13, 362. https:// doi.org/10.3390/educsci13040362
Karanikola Z., & Pitsou, Ch. (2015). Assessment of the actions of the Ministry of Education regarding the protection of cultural diversity in the field of Primary and Secondary Education". A qualitative thematic analysis study of the Ministry of Education's annual reports to the National Commission for Human Rights. Hellenic Journal of Research in Education, 4, 128-151.
Lambrechts, A. (2020). The super-disadvantaged in higher education: Barriers to access for refugee background students in England. Higher Education, 80, 803-822. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00515-4
Mangan, D., & Winter, L. A. (2017). (In)validation and (mis)recognition in higher education: the experiences of students from refugee backgrounds. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 36(4), 486-502. https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2017.1287131
Molla, T. (2021). Educational aspirations and experiences of refugee-background African youth in Australia: a case study. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 25(8), 877-895. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2019.1588924
Morrice, L. (2013). Refugees in higher education: Boundaries of belonging and recognition, stigma and exclusion. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 32. https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2012.761288
Mupenzi, A. (2018). Narratives of displacement, resilience and education: Experiences of African students with a refugee background in Australian Tertiary education. Western Sydney University.
Naidoo, L. (2015). Educating refugee-background students in Australian schools and universities. Intercultural Education, 26(3), 210-217. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/14675986.2015.1048079
Saiti, A., & Chletsos, M. (2020). Opportunities and Barriers in Higher Education for Young Refugees in Greece. Higher Education Policy, 33, 287–304. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-020-00180-3
Sealy, T. (2018). Multiculturalism, interculturalism, ‘multiculture’ and super-diversity: of zombies, shadows and other ways of being. Ethnicities, 18(5), 692-716. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468796817751575
Sen, A. (2002). Rationality and freedom. Harvard University Press.
Shakya, Y. B., Guruge, S., Hynie, M., Akbari, A., Malik, M., Htoo, S., Khogali, A., Mona, S. A., Murtaza, R., & Alley, S. (2012). Aspirations for higher education among newcomer refugee youth in Toronto: Expectations, challenges, and strategies. Refugee: Canada’s Journal on Refugees, 27(2), 65–78. https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.34723
Stevenson, J., & Baker, S. (2018). Refugees in higher education: debate, discourse and practice. Great debates in Higher Education Series. Emerald Publishing.
Stevenson, J., & Willott, J. (2007). The aspiration and access to higher education of teenage refugees in the UK. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 37(5), 671-687. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/03057920701582624
Tzoraki, O. (2019). A descriptive study of the schooling and higher education reforms in response to the refugees’ influx into Greece. Social Sciences, 8(3), 72. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/socsci8030072
UNHCR. (2019). Stepping up: Refugee education in crisis. https://www.unhcr
Vassilopoulos, A., & Ioannidis, G. (2020). European policies for the inclusion of refugees in higher education: the case of Greece. Open Journal for Anthropological Studies, 4, 61-74. https://doi.org/10.32591/coas.ojas.0402.03061v
Zapata-Barrero, R. (2017). Interculturalism in the Post-Multicultural Debate: A Defense. Comparative Migration Studies, 5, 14. https://doi:10.1186/s40878-017-0057-z
Published
2024-12-20
How to Cite
Karanikola, Z., & Daratzi, F. (2024). From the Camps to the Campus: Refugees’ Experiences in Higher Education through Their Narratives. Dinamika Ilmu, 24(2), 221-233. https://doi.org/10.21093/di.v24i2.9168
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