The Inclusion of Refugee and Asylum-Seeking Children: Exploring Educational Professionals’ Perspectives through Meta-Study and Appreciative Inquiry

Abstract

With data indicating around 126,720 refugees and 45,244 pending asylum cases in the UK, inclusion of refugee and asylum-seeking children in UK schools is highly important. The Asylum and Immigration Act 1999 has meant refugees and asylum-seekers have been dispersed around the country into the care of local authorities, some with little prior experience supporting their inclusion into communities and schools. Seeking the perspective of educational professionals, a qualitative synthesis of four research articles was undertaken using a meta-study method. The review of the literature, presented in Chapter one, revealed three key themes related to inclusion: how inclusion is conceptualised, how others are valued, and how the needs of children are conceptualised. The review concludes with a reflective framework built on the premise that conceptualisation of inclusion influences the practice of inclusion. Arising from the systematic literature review, Chapter three presents the five stage process of an Appreciative Inquiry in which a group of eight professionals from a local authority and two primary schools in the North East of England considered: their previous and current successes in inclusive practice, and their dreams and wishes for the future. Analysed using abbreviated realist grounded theory, findings revealed several factors related to supporting the structural and relational inclusion of refugee and asylum-seeking children in schools: being human, proactive working together/sharing, professional qualities which empower and enable others, and access and opportunities. Chapter one and three are linked by a bridging document outlining the philosophical and methodological stance underpinning the thesis. The hoped contribution of the thesis is to add to the understanding of factors and conditions that support the inclusion of refugee and asylum-seeking children in UK schools, and to emphasise the implications for policy. Chapters one and three are written for considered for publication in The Journal of Refugee Studies.