Implementing the ways through which refugees can be supported in their higher education in the host countries considering psychological and psychosocial elements and
intercessions for their mental health
University of Eastern Finland Philosophical Faculty Department of Educational Science and Psychology Master Degree Program in Education Master Thesis 10/ 2019 Danial Getmiri
Abstract
Refugee is a person who has to flee his or her country due to the dangers threatening his or her life. The percentage of refugees, who have been forced to abandon their country in search of a better life, is being increased. As a result of hardships they have been coping with during their immigration, they might suffer from psychological and psychosocial problems, which might prevent them from being included in the society or even in the process of pursuing their study in the higher education. On the other hand, there have been some countries including Canada, Sweden, Belgium, and Germany, whcih have been so far succeessful in helping refugees overcome their barriers and paving the way for their access to higher education. Hence this research is aimed to discuss two important issues; the psychosocial barriers and plans for refugee’s mental health to be included both in the society and higher educational system, and also investigate what has been done for refugees’ access to higher education in the abovementioned countries. The method is based on the literature review of the previous researches in those domains. The results show that by planing the suitable intercession for their well-being and also its extension, the psychosocial barriers can be faded away, and through introducing functional requirements for entry, qualifications recognition, suitable reactions to the refugee’s crisis, and even establishing online platforms to educate the refugees, the process of accessing to the higher education will be improved. To sum up, by using the experiences of the countries, which have already proved their capability in coping with refugees’ crisis, the inclusion problems both in society and higher education might become weaker.
1- Introduction ... 4
1.1.Who is a refugee and what can be done for them? ... 6
1.2. Research task, main Sources, and methodological approach ... 9
2. Refugees and inclusion ... 11
2.1. Barriers to refugees’ inclusion ... 12
2.2.Inclusive integration policies ... 14
2.3. Psychological and psychosocial factors for the well being of the refugees ... 18
2.4. The intercessions and plans for coping with the refugees who are involved in mental health problems; ... 19
2.5.Expanding mental health intercessions for refugees ... 20
2.6. Inclusion through higher education ... 21
3. Canada; welcoming the educated ... 23
3.1. Social and political perspectives; ... 23
3.2. Policy reactions to the refugees crisis; ... 24
3.3. Higher education reactions to the crisis; ... 25
4. Belgium (Flanders) ... 29
4.1.The general situation regarding refugees in Belgium ... 29
4.2. Requirements for entry into the Belgium higher education system ... 30
4.3. The process of qualifications recognition ... 31
5. Sweden; one of the most welcoming hosts ... 33
5.1. Policy reactions to refugee crisis; ... 33
5. 2. Higher education reactions to the refugees crisis; ... 34
5.3. The process of qualifications recognition ... 34
6. Germany; Multiple paths to higher education ... 37
6.1.DAAD program ... 39
6.2. Kiron Website: Open University based in Germany ... 42
7- Discussion ... 47
8- Conclusion ... 57
References ... 62
1- Introduction
As some countries are being faced with a number of wars and conflicts, the percentage of refugees are increasing more and more. The refugees have been mostly welcomed to settle down in some countries (especially European countries, Canada, America, and so forth), and due to this, a huge number of people were survived from being killed in their own countries (European Union, 2017).
This kind of support has to be rewarded, though, after being settled down, the refugees need to be protected from different aspects, and this is somehow the responsibility of the countries, which let them in. Apart from the children, who form the major populations of refugee, there are also a great number of young people fled to the host countries, who need to benefit from social security, jobs, and also education, especially those, who have already educated, and now want to enter into the higher education (UNHCR, 2018).
On the other hand, in UK, for instance, according to Morrice (2009), one of the ways that refugees with well-educated backgrounds can renew their lives and identities is higher education. Morrice (2013) also believes that higher education, apart from the fact that it can make the educated refugees renew their lives, it also contributes to becoming employed. Here the importance of entering to the higher education can be clearly seen.
Furthermore, being resettled in a new country gives the opportunity to the refugee to experience a well balanced life and motivate him or her to attempt for the new future, moreover, it gives him the chance to acquire a sense of belonging to the new country of resettlement. In fact, creating a sense of belonging during the early stages of resettlements is quite essential for refugees’ wellbeing and mental health (Beirens, Hughes, Hek, & Spicer, 2007; Hek, 2005; Kia-Keating & Ellis, 2007; O’Sullivan &
Olliff, 2006).
In order to achieve well being, several psychosocial factors are needed to be met.
Although, the resettlement in the third country can give the opportunity to the refugee to benefit from their full human potential, it can also pose a danger. There is evidence
showing that in this context, for refugees, the consequences of the resettlement can be as traumatic as the pre-immigration experiences (Porter & Haslam, 2005).
According to Pumariega, Rothe and Pumariega, (2005), for the youth refugees, there is always a risk of developing dysfunctional behavior and also chronic psychopathology regarding both disturbing experience of pre-immigration, and also the need for resettlements.
Fazel, Wheeler and Danesh (2005) mentioned that the rate of the traumatic situation occurring after immigration and resettlements among refugee children and adults are between 7% and 17%.
On the other hand, the mental health condition differs from immigrants group, and also the resettled countries have different legal frames in which accessibility to psychosocial care facilities is defined. This access has been established through the pre-patterns of immigrants’ help-seeking demand, and also the laws of the host countries (Lindert, et al., 2009). It can be mentioned that in some European countries refugees are deprived of the existing social and health services, especially those who are seeking asylum status or undocumented immigrants (World Health Organisation, 2018).
Apart from psychosocial contexts, higher education can be taken into account as an essential contribution to the inclusion of refugees. According to Cassity and Gow (2005), and Christie and Sidhu (2002) the schools play a crucial role in the resettlement of the young refugees, and contribute to the process of becoming a citizenship of the host countries and more importantly, to establish a sense of belonging.
Therefore, one important recommendation is to provide functional education and higher education for refugees to facilitate them with the policies through which they can be included suitably in different parts of society. Additionally, the educational plans for refugees, which have been put into practice by the host countries like, Canada, Belgium, Sweden, Germany and so forth, would be better to be utilized by other host countries, in order to achieve the results that those above-mentioned countries have previously achieved.
Although preparing the well-educated refugees for higher education is one of the best ways to provide future opportunities for them, it has also brought about a variety of hardships, for the host countries. This essay is intended to show the challenges and strategies, and also to investigate what has been done, is being done, and also will be done in order to pave the way for the professional refugees to enter into the higher educational systems, and benefit from them. In addition, due to the fact that the psychosocial situation of refugees must be taken into account when they settle down in the host countries, their mental well being will be discussed to lay the foundation to recognize some obstacles in the process of inclusion and integration.
Consequently, the research aims to show the ways through which refugees could be supported to access higher education, and to improve their mental wellbeing will be also considered. The focus will be on those refugees, who have already had some educational background in their home country, and who have been already equipped with the required knowledge to enter the higher levels or they might be qualified through some training.
1.1.Who is a refugee and what can be done for them?
A refugee is a person who has been obliged to abandon one’s own country due to the hardships, and who tries to resettle in a safe country, which is actually quite unfamiliar for the person and he or she needs to create a new life and also future there. The refugee has already been excluded from the society, where all his belongings were at risk (UNHCR, 2018). Hence, the point that is important to be taken into consideration is, what we mean by immigrants and what are the different types of them.
According to Travis (2015), there are some differences between the concept of asylum seeker, refugee, and immigrant. A migrant or an immigrant is the one who moves from one country to the other, and who stays there for more than one year. Here, people, who are looking for jobs, or also international students can be included. However, asylum seekers are people who are in need of international protection, as it will be dangerous for them to risk coming back to their country. People recognized as refugees are provided with housing, and social welfare, and they receive help to find a job and take part in the social life.
Mitchell (2006) puts the distinction between asylum seekers and refugees. He mentions that an asylum seeker is the one fleeing his country and he applies to live in the other country, which may accept his application. Refugee is an asylum seeker, whose application is approved, his case is confirmed, and ultimately he receives the permission to live in the applied country.
Although the refugee crisis is serious, there is not that much research representing what has been done to support refugees and asylum seekers to continue their studies in higher education, even though, this kind of information is desperately needed.
One research project was carried out in the University of Sussex in 2004, particularly for the refugees with professional and educated backgrounds. This project was designed to make the refugees access either to higher education or employment, based on their background and qualifications, which can be also applied in our case. (See Morrice 2009) A 60 hours course was designed under the title of “The Ways Into Learning and Work course” (WILAW), and it was divided into three main components. The first one was associated to CV writing, guidance for career research, interview skills; it also had some topics regarding the UK educational system and work. The second one had to do with the support of English language in higher level, and also preparation for the International English Language Test Systems (IELTS), which is one of the most important criteria for universities entry. The third component, which was somehow new and innovative, was the significant allocation of time to non-authorized learning activities, consisting of networking chances using advisors and meeting speakers. (Morrice 2009)
The purpose was to help students make decisions about their future career chances, and how they can achieve this through their professions and qualifications. The fourth component was aimed to pave the way for informal learning occurring through social interactions and also discuss matters with people who live in a different environment to student’s own. The students were given time to express their topics and issues for discussion, also debate about the experience they have gained after living in the UK
(Coffield 2000; Field 2005). Later Morrice (2009) brings the interviewees evidence in her research and proves that this system was useful, and gradually paid off.
Consequently this research is aimed to discuss the educational interventions through which the refugees can be supported to access higher education, and psychosocial factors that would support their mental wellbeing, and also the plans for its further implementation.
1.2. Research task, main Sources, and methodological approach
The topic of my study is to investigate arrangements through which refugees can be supported to access higher education in the host countries, including its benefits for their mental health ’’. Refugees and their problems in the host countries have always been my center of attention, and entering to Finland, provided me the opportunity to get to know them better. It brought me a motivation to focus my thesis to their problems, that one day it can be used for thier benefits.
Although there are some previous studies about refugees inclusion and their higher education in the host countries, they are mostly based on one specific country. Hence, I decided to have a comparative analysis of some countries, which have been successful in providing opportunities for refugees’ inclusion and entry to the higher education. The chosen method to create this comparative analysis is based on the literature review of the previous studies, to find practical solutions and also bring about some recommendations, which can be used in the future studies.
This research is fallen into different catagories, which are briefly explained in the following. In the introduction, the main sources, research topic and also methodological approach has been presented.
In the chapter 2, the barriers for refugees’ inclusion, integration policies, their adaptation to the host countries, cultural differences, psycosocial factors for mental wellbeing of the refugees are presented. Then, plans for dealing with refugees involved in mental health problems, extension plans for the refugees’mental health and also the ways through which the refugees can be brought and included to the educational system have been discussed.
This research is a comparative analysis among some countries. Hence, in Chapter 3, I have described the situation in Canada, and respectively, situation in Belgium (Chapter 4), in Sweden (Chapter 5), and the last in Germany (Chapter 6) are presented. The emphasise has been focused to Germany, due to the fact that it has always been prominent in dealing with refugees’ issues, and providing solutions for their problems.
Since Germany has allowed refugees to be settled down. That is, emphasise is moving
from Canada, which serves the simple method, to Germany as it has numorous methods for dealing with refugees.
The research questions for this study will fall in two different parts:
1- What are the psycosocial factors for wellbeing of the refugees, considering the plans helping them to access higher education?
2- What has been done so far for refugees’ access into the higher education? A comparative analysis among the host countries including Canada, Belgium, Sweden, Germany.
Through the different parts of this research these questions will be discussed and in the discussion part, the findings will be presented, and in the conclusion part, all parts again will be discussed more carefully. What has been found is based on the literature review of the related sources, which hopefully will be used in the future studies.
2. Refugees and inclusion
According to Women’s Refugee Commission (2009), refugees with high-qualified educational backgrounds have tendency to enter the university. However, Dryden- Peterson (2011) assumed that chances for refugees to enter into higher education have been limited so far. UNHCR (United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees) has designed the DAFI program by which they have been able to support refugees in their higher education.
On the other hand, De Wit and Altbach (2016) introduce some ways through which refugees can be brought to the educational system. They believe that this process can be accomplished through the increase of scholarships, acceleration of evaluating the background and qualifications, language training, and also offering facilities such as accommodation and housing. They also believe that the universities are the centers of attention. They can provide higher education for refugees by suspending some obstacles including the process of admissions, they can also provide the learning spaces for refugees, moreover, equip them with counseling and guidance.
On the other hand, the university should be required to have some testing or the other options, due to the fact that most of the refugees lack the required qualification. In this case, they can easily recognize the suitable placement for students, like Training and Further Education (TAFE) colleges in Australia. TAFE colleges, in this case, offer the students and applicants to participate in a test, they might also be requested to present a portfolio concerning what they had done in the past. For university students, they may be demanded to take an oath. After the evaluation and acceptance, the candidate will be invited to have an interview, take part in an examination, or at least deliver a presentation of his work. (Hannah, 1999)
Another issue, which is nowadays seen important in the U.S, and UK and also the other countries, is to require the universities to find the ways to ensure that the presence of the students in that university is just for the purpose of studying and they will not turn to security risks (Manning, 2018).
2.1. Barriers to refugees’ inclusion
International treaties and national-policy frames have offered valuable guides of the opportunities and boundaries for the inclusion of refugees. The countries, through the usage of The UN Refugee Convention and also putting into practice a justly slight definition of what represents a refugee, enable to find out who is a sincere refugee (United Nations, 2019).
According to Lui (2004), there is a fundamental lack of capability to integrate refugees with the society, and offer them economic, political and social rights, which have been introduced by the organizations of human rights, and also citizenship. Some countries, which are led by the liberal democratic governments such as the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America, are performers of different human rights resolutions. However, there is a difference between their adopted human rights principles and the immigration rules and practices that they have anticipated for refugees.
Moreover, due to the fact that they have welcomed neoliberal governments, these primitive powerful welfare countries have been cut out. Hence, whilst these countries prepare official admission to citizenship by accepting a portion of refugees for immigration, their rules and practices generate the circumstances that will marginalize the refugees or even in the worst situation lead the to the underclass category of the society.
Refugees also have to cope with racism and behavioral barriers, which hamper their full integration and inclusion in society (Devere, McDermott, and Verbitsky 2006).
All over the world, there is a lack of principles, which would protect the rights of children to access to the education, and which would be free of any discrimination (“The Education Deficit”, 2017).
The 1949 UN Declaration on Human Rights, the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Dakar Education for All principle confirm the rights of all children to access to education, which is sensitive towards diversity and also does not differentiate in regard to “gender”, “disability”, the origin or the political associations of their family.
Still, these and other declarations of rights have had restricted effect on educational practices and seem to have only a figurative function (Christie and Sidhu 2002).
Through investigation of different supportive models, which have been set by the assistance agencies including the UNHCR and governmental donations, the shortage of different human rights principles to ensure the social rights of the refugees, can be clearly seen. According to Goetz (2006), their focus is mostly on short-term back-up assistance instead of long-term improvement. That is, the human rights, which have been relocated internally, are preserved and protected. Though this context, the distribution of education to the children in the camps is legally precedence (Oh and Van der Stouwe 2008; Wrigley 2006).
In the countries of origin and the countries of first asylum, which have been supported by given development assistance, it can be obviously seen that many refugees have not been entitled full citizenship rights and have been on the margins of those countries (EU.
2017)
Consequently, the educational drawback of displaced children in some countries can lead to their exclusion and/or marginalization from the educational systems. The small number of refugees who are lucky enough to be settled in asylum countries also undergo educational shortcomings due to the fact that the time, which is spent in the camps of refugees, is been prolonged (Stevenson & Baker 2018).
The refugees are sometimes obliged to stay in camps 5 to 10 years, which might have destructive consequences on educational growth and accomplishment (Oh & Van der Stouwe 2008).
On the other hand, according to Rutter, there are three doctrines that control the ‘good practice’ literature: the significance of a friendly atmosphere which is quite free of discrimination and racism; the necessity to fulfill psycho-social demands, predominantly if there are previous involvements of pain and trauma; and also linguistic requirements.
For instance in the UK, local intercessions were supporting refugee children’s educational advancement and also their well-being. Rutter assumed that effective intercessions, have just pointed to specific groups, rather than to refugee students generally, and viewing children holistically, and attempting to fulfill psychological, social and learning demands. If schools were obliged to play a main role in the refugee settlement projects, there would be positive and openhearted outlooks to refugee students.
But this process requires guidance, and it should be assisted and financed by education specialists. Additionally, as the refugee system has been designed in a way to protect short-term resolutions until perpetual results to the compulsory dislocation has been discovered, refugees are normally not provided with the required means for long-term resettlement (Rutter, 2006).
Therefore, limitations on access to housing and accommodation , work and services might remain while temporary provision of different types is provided (Bloch &
Schuster, 2002). In fact, the highest limitations can be found in the refugee camps. The camps are designed and organized to prolong the emergency conditons and to ease the allocation of goods and supervision of a large and inconsistent population for short duration of time (Jaspars & Young, 1995).
Additionally, both formal and informal camps are typically located in rustic areas. In 2016, less than a third of refugees had lived in officially managed camps, while about 60 percent of the refugees were living in private houses in urban areas (UNHCR, 2017). Besides, the exemplary of short-term refugee appears progressively less applicable. Permanent resolutions are realized for very few numbers of refugees, and as Hyndman and Giles (2016) believed, most of them end up in what defined as “extended exile.”
2.2.Inclusive integration policies
There are three promising permanent resolutions for refugees. The most favored resolution bestowing to many countries, and also the UNHCR, is voluntary return to the original country. For instance, in 2016, the total number of refugees who had returned to the country of origin increased in comparison to the preceding years, but was still just
552,200 of the 22.5 million refugees around the world. The second permanent resolution is naturalization, that is, long-lasting inclusion and integration into the country in which the refugees have resettled. In total of 23 countries in 2016, there were only 23,000 naturalizations reported, and in terms of numbers, Canada, with the number of 16,300, had been considered as the leader The third final resolution is resettlement, where refugees are assessed and selected while being in the country of asylum, selected refugees are then immigrated into a third country, the enormous majority of them over programs with UNHCR. Consequently, in 2016, 189,300 refugees were relocated, and the United States, Canada, and Australia could manage to receive the greatest numbers of the refugees (UNHCR, 2017).
Therefore, while much of the work in this particular subject concentrates on integration and inclusion for those refugees whose applications for asylum have been accepted, the way in which long-term refugees are included and integrated into their countries of asylum is a crucial issue that is also addressed (Carvalho & Pinto, 2018).
Effective integration and inclusion has direct impacts on wellbeing but may also intermediate the influences of earlier trauma and suffering (Hynie, 2017; Li et al., 2016;
Miller & Rasmussen, 2017). Refugees’ capability to assimilate, however, is powerfully restricted by rules that form their communal and material context.
According to most theories, the effective integration and inclusion for newcomers can be defined as fair access to opportunities and means, and also taking part in the common issues, also feeling of safety and fitting into their new countries are important factors (Ager & Strang, 2008; Hynie, Korn, & Tao, 2016; Phillimore & Goodson, 2008; Smith, 2008).
Several examples of integration and inclusion exist which offer a frame for reflecting how policy influences the process of integration and inclusion. For instance, Ager and Strang (2008) designed an effective and inclusive model of integration including four levels:
- Indications and means (accommodating, health, job, education), which replicate what they call practical features of inclusion and integration;
- Communal associations (social unions, social bonds, social relations), which reflect several kinds of social relations;
- Facilitators (language and traditional understanding, security and constancy);
- And the last one, foundation (rights and residency).
These variety levels of integration and inclusion have an impact on each other, that is, a change in one of them can result changes in the other ones. While the research regarding the integration and inclusion mostly concentrates on changes in newcomers themselves, integration is a procedure where both the accepting country and the newcomers change, and additionally can change each other as well (Castles et al., 2002; Omidvar &
Richmond, 2003; Strang & Ager, 2010).
The holistic integration model (HIM: Hynie et al., 2016) can be added to Ager and Strang’s (2008) model to reinforce the focus on variations within the society framework and also on the interrelationships of the different levels.
The HIM focuses on society frameworks, including the kinds of the relationships between refugees and other participants of their societies (communal pledges within their countries and social bonds to other participants of the community): It includes overall societies, approaches and views regarding the refugees (welcoming society), which can form daily experiences and communications. Also official adjustment is important, that is, the capacity to identify and adjust to new demands, such as helping refugees to get formal credentials from their original countries, or the necessity for interpretation and translation services. Additionally, the HIM adds the individual characteristics of sense of belonging and safety (cf.Strang & Ager, 2010).
The interrelationships of the more practical features of integration and inclusion, is not unexpected. Refugees with more restricted language proficiencies might have a superior
hardship when it comes to finding a job or accessing education in any level. Those with insufficient housing risk, minor physical and mental health. And small quantities of income and language skills foresee approachability of educational chances, though, these influential levels of integration and inclusion also affect, and are affected by, the society framework that refugees inhabit, and the more mental facets of integration. For instance, work, education, and language proficiencies have been assumed to have a two-sided relationship with the power of communal relations, particularly connections with those from other ethnic societies (Hynie et al., 2016; Kearns & Whitley, 2015). Those with a poor mental health have regularly been allied with shortage of language proficiencies, weak housing, and joblessness (Bogic, Njoku, & Priebe, 2015; Hynie, 2017; Li et al., 2016).
Ager and Strang (2008) believed that settlement policies and regulations at different levels impact on variables associated with “functional markers of refugee integration”, such as work, health care, and accommodation. Nevertheless, settlement regulations and rules also form public attitude and so might have influences on several features of the society framework.
Regulations can also impact on public approaches and insights through media and communication operators, and by forming how members of society cooperate with newcomers, or by putting refugees in conditions that provoke manners or features that then affect on how these newcomers are observed (Casati, 2017; Castles et al., 2002;
Mulvey, 2010).
More comprehensive integration regulations and rules have been discovered to link with more positive outlooks toward refugees, a conclusion which has been accredited to their influence on how immigrants are observed (Callens & Meuleman, 2017).
Communal thoughts concerning refugees and asylum seekers can directly impact on refugees’ capabilities to shape new communal interactions with other groups in the society. They might similarly impact on the eagerness of organizations to apply regulations and rules that fulfill refugees’ unique demands. Communal thoughts also
form rules and political dispute, resultant in a cycle of joint impact (Bansak, Hainmu- eller, & Hangartner, 2016). Hence, immigration regulations and rules at multiple levels may impact on refugee inclusion and integration both directly, by improving or restraining their accessibility to the more effective characteristics of integration, and also indirectly by affecting communal surroundings to be relatively friendly.
2.3. Psychological and psychosocial factors for the well being of the refugees
Refugees represent high pervasiveness rates of traumatic mental scatters. In spite of their mental hindrance, they are required to fulfill high practical prerequisites as far as social reconciliation and budgetary autonomy (Schick et al. 2016).
According to Craig, Jajua, and Warfa, (2009), the most widely recognized disorders among refugees are “Posttraumatic Stress disorder (PTSD)”, and significant depression, trauma and also loss. Mental reviews of these displaced people demonstrated that 9% of grown-ups were determined to have PTSD, 4% with comprehensive anxiety ailment and 5% with significant depression, and also 11% of children having PTSD.
Haasen, Demiralay, and Reimer (2008) also assumed that there is a connection between difficulties in cultural assimilation and mental misery and consequently avoidance of future mental health issues among migrants and refugees need to concentrate on facilitating the procedure of integration and inclusion into the host society.
Additionally, Heerena, et al (2014), also believed that the mental health outcomes is directly linked to the differences in resident status. Hence, 54% of asylum seekers and 41.4% of refugees accomplished criteria of PTSD often, while depression and anxiety were stated by asylum seekers (84.6% and 63.1%, respectively), and also illegal migrants.
Pervasiveness rates of depression and nervousness among refugees and immigrants differ and might be connected to financial pressure in the host country. An assessment of the relationship between the Gross National Product (GNP) of the host country as a directing element for depression, tension, anxiety and PTSD demonstrated that the rates for depression were 20% among work labor immigrants versus 44% among refugees and for nervousness 21% among migrants versus 40% among refugees and higher GNP in the
host country was identified with lower depression and additionally uneasiness in migrants yet not in refugees (Lindert,et al., 2009).
Schick et al. (2016) analyzed the relationship of psychological well-being issues, post- migration living troubles, and social inclusion in Switzerland and realized that in spite of an average time of living more than 10 years, the applicants indicated poor integration and a high number of hardships. Inclusion and integration challenges were associated with psychological indications, however not with education or visa status. Therefore, psychological and psychosocial hindrance in treatment-seeking damaged refugees is linked to the poor integration and inclusion.
2.4. The intercessions and plans for coping with the refugees who are involved in mental health problems;
The intercession models for dealing with refugees with mental health struggles consist of improving safety, developing the trust, and also stabilization, offering particular therapies and support with inclusion and also integration in the new community (Chang-Muy, &
Congress, 2015; Valtonen, 2008). However, protect through integration might be a long- term process, and requires support from the other organizations. Watters and Ingleby (2004) suggested that the social care and also mental health of the refugees should consist of an “integrated approach”, “cultural sensitivity”, “political awareness” and also availability.
Craig, Jajua and Warfa (2009) believed that the mental health of the refugees needs to be assessed and this assessment is still required to be done during the asylum process, and it is also better to include translators and interpreted materials. In addition, it would be better that the refugees and asylum seekers are consulted about the services, which they might find them useful and practical. Due to the fact that the refugees take journeys individually, there has always been an increased occurrence of the mental disorders related to the stress, hence, the mental health counselor and practitioners ought to be informed about the issues regarding the culture and also the stigma related to the mental sickness and trauma.
On the one hand, Palic and Elklit (2011) assumed that in order to guide the practitioners, the efficiency of different therapeutic methods and refugees’ treatments must be examined. For instance, Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) is influential in curing refugees and asylum seekers’ PTSD, which they have obtained through the experiences of war or the torture. In this case, these patients are assisted to build a sequential narrative of the stories of their lives through “active listening” and “empathic understanding”
(Stenmark, et al., 2013).
“Trauma-focused” and “cognitive-behavioral” therapy (CBT) tactics also indicated effectiveness in curing PTSD in refugees and asylum seekers (Nickerson et. al. 2011;
Palic, & Elklit, 2011).
2.5.Expanding mental health intercessions for refugees
According to World Health Organization (WHO) (2012), significant clashes test wellbeing systems' ability to satisfactorily react to the necessities of powerless people and societies influenced by these occasions. That’s why versatile mental intercessions have been produced in various countries (Sijbrandij, et. al. 2017).
In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) propelled the “mental health Gap Action Program” (mhGAP) to give compelling mental health medications through essential and society care (WHO, 2018). An explicit proposal of WHO was to actualize ‘task shifting’, implying that a task, which is initially performed by a specialist is exchanged to a less professional master with less capabilities.
As a major aspect of its mhGAP program, WHO created versatile mental intercessions for use in settings influenced by affliction, for instance, Problem Management Plus (PM+), which is accessible as an individual and group variants and was assessed in a few countries (e.g., Pakistan (Rahman et al., 2016); Kenya (Bryant et al., 2017) (Dawson et al., 2015).
According to Ruzek, Kuhn, Jaworski, Owen, and Ramsey (2016), these intercessions are short, conveyed more than five weekly sessions, address a few psychological wellness side effects, and are conveyed by nonprofessional assistants or by peer-refuges, who have already been trained, to instruct clients diverse procedures to oversee pressure and stress,
take care of issues, utilize positive manner and reinforce social protect. Another scaling- up psychological well-being and psychosocial mediation with the population of refugee is
“e-mental health applications interventions” through smart phones which could be accessible for the clients who would not have accessibility to psychological well-being treatment .
2.6. Inclusion through higher education
One of the integral means of refugees’ inclusion in the host societies, is to provide them with access to higher education, which has been done recently in some countries.
According to UNHCR, although, the population of the refugees can be estimated as 22.5 million worldwide, only 1 percent of them would consequently access to higher education (2017).
When it comes to understanding immigrants’ adjustment to the new community, Berry’s (1997) theoretical context of immigrants’ inclusion to the host country can be investigated through. It falls in four different categories and strategies including; 1- Assimilation – when immigrants demand to preserve their original identity and also search for daily integration with the other cultures. 2- Separation – in this case, immigrants wish to stick to their originality and avoid being integrated with the other cultures. 3-Marginalization - when there is tiny original preservation or having relations with others, so they are quite marginalized from the whole society. 4- Integration – in this situation, immigrants preserve their original provision while getting engaged in daily integrations with other cultures.
Having been considered to be one of the best approaches in refuges’ inclusion and integration, hence, integration can be reflected as a two-way process and can merely be effectively followed by migrants, providing that the host country is open and inclusive in its coordination regarding cultural variety (Berry, 1997). In fact, inclusiveness means that refugees should be behaved like the original citizens of the host countries, and they ought to be provided equally with having the same access to education, housing, training, health care, and also work. Refugees’ level of integration and inclusiveness is depending on a variety of qualities, containing pre- immigration experiences they had, the way through
which they have departure their country and also its process, and the last one is the post- arrival experiences and atmosphere.
Many number of refugees and asylum seekers have already witnessed strict pre-migration suffering, containing psychological and corporeal torture, mass violence and massacre, endorsing the murdering of friends and their family members, being abused sexually, kidnap of their children, annihilation and robbing their private belongings, hunger and shortage of water and accommodation (Craig, Jajua, & Warfa, 2009).
Furthermore, the departure is a complicated struggle, many times linked to the risks ,which threaten their lives. While arriving in a safe destination provides preliminary support, the post-consequences including the separation of the family, understanding the language, legal status, and lacking an accommodation, and also not having granted the access to education and healthcare, will appear later (Craig, Jajua, & Warfa, 2009).
The results of compulsory immigration will have intense impacts on refugees’ health and inclusion into the host country. Those who have abandoned from armed battles and pursuit in their home countries reportedly are suffering more from post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and also depression (Stenmark et al, 2013).
This part of the essay will briefly investigate four countries including Canada, Belgium ,Sweden and Germany, which have already proved that they are wealthy in financial and social supports of refugees, and also originating most of the current intercessions in order to help them, and additionally, accommodating a remarkable portion of the worldwide refugee population, which looks for access to educational institutions.
Furthermore, some of the social and political perspectives of each country alongside their policy reactions to the refugees crisis will be discussed separately, and also there will be a remarkable look on how higher educational system of these countries has so far reacted to the groups of asylum seekers and refugees, and what has been done to change the 1%
(UNHCR, 2015).
3. Canada; welcoming the educated
In 2002, with the representation of the “Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA)”, Canada made secure promises to support refugees essentially on humanitarian scales and expelled limitations on acceptability standards based on restorative, financial, instructive, and language skills which are frequently put into practice for economic migrants. The data collected from Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) reveal that a large and growing percentage of refugees immigrating in Canada lack the higher education, the level of their education is approximately less than high school, and actually their English or French language proficiency is close to zero.
Entry information from 2000 to 2009 demonstrate that those refugees who are fifteen years old or older are almost four times more probable than economic immigrants (32.3 per cent vs. 8.43 percent) to have already passed nine years or less of schooling (Chrstie and Sidhu, 2002).
Since 2005, the percentage of refugees who are fifteen years or older, with the background of schooling for nine years or less, has been progressively growing “from 27.7 per cent in 2005 to 38.3 per cent in 2009”. Correspondingly, the percentage of refugees with no English or French language proficiency upon entry in Canada amplified
“from 32.6 per cent in 2005 to 44.4 percent in 2009 “. Comparatively, merely 21.1 percentage of financial migrants in 2009 had no English or French language proficiency upon entry in Canada (“CIC”, 2009). However; literature on previous education of refugees is scarce. In Canada, data on educational paths for refugees is especially bony since the education part has not collected or measured data regarding pre-immigration incidents or entry immigration status. Although, subdivision level records on educational experiences have a tendency to protuberance refugees into a sole grouping of “foreign-born” or “immigrants.” (Sweet, et al, 2010).
3.1. Social and political perspectives;
Among the Western nations, Canada has always been welcoming the refugees and it has been mostly successful in integrating the refugees into the society. According to the Government of Canada (”Canada.co”, 2018), this country has well-known background of accepting a great many of refugees from the whole world. That’s why Erna Paris (2016)
component of Canadian Multiculturalism. This perspective even turned to a law named Canadian Multiculturalism Act of 1985.
The system of resettlement of refugees in Canada, precisely, addresses its commitment to the multiculturalism. Although the government sponsors the refugees’ resettlement, the newest feature, which has been put into practice recently, is that there are also “ private sponsorship program for refugees.” Interestingly, through this program, Canadian organization such as businesses, non-profit organizations, even civil society organizations like churches, can sponsor one or more refugees or refugee families (”Canada.co”,2018).
Moreover, there is a group including 5 Canadian citizens known as a Group of Five (G5), whom might sponsor a refugee of a family of him. These mentioned organizations and groups accept to support the refugees at least for 12 months or until the day that the refugee are independent, and during this time, they would provide all of their needs accordingly (”Ccrweb”, 2019). Jodi Kantor and Catrin Einhorn (2016) assumed that this extraordinary plan has given the chance to the ordinary Canadian citizens to help refugees integrate and be included in the society, after resettlement.
3.2. Policy reactions to the refugees crisis;
According to CBC News (2015), Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised that the Liberal Party would rise Syrian refugees resettlement. Additionally, when it came to his election, he also promised to welcome and resettle approximately 25000 Syrian refugees till the following February.
According to the government statistics (”Canada.ca”, 2017), at the same time, Canada actually could manage to resettle more than 25000 of refugees, which most of them have been sponsored privately. At the end of January 2017, more than 40,000 Syrian refugees have resettled in Canada. The Syrian crisis has especially stimulated a great many number of Canadians to get involved. All in All, more than 14,000 of the 40,000 Syrian refugees, who have already been resettled to Canada, are sponsored privately, and usually, those refugees who have become sponsored by the private segments, are normally more highly educated.
The data analysis from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), indicates that the 25 percent of the Syrian refugees who have been sponsored privately, have at least, some university education, while, only 2 percent of those who have been supported by the government achieve some university education. (”Canada.ca”, 2017)
3.3. Higher education reactions to the crisis;
World University of Canada (WUSC), which is a non-profit organization, has been in existence since 1920s. This apparatus has been established to help refugees access to the Canadian higher education. Student Refugee Program (SPR) of WUSC has brought lots of refugees from all over the world to the Canada universities, since 1978. As WUSC is a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH), it can give the permission to refugee students to resettle in Canada permanently, which is a part of the private sponsorship program (”Srp.wusc.ca”, 2019).
On the behalf of WUSC, the universities are involved, then provide services of resettlement for refugees and also provide work for them to integrate students on campus.
They also agree upon funding the refugee students for the duration of their studies. But two important factors must be mentioned here. First, in this kind of program, students are involved heavily, particularly as local committees, through which they can rise the funding or secure it for the refugees. Second, students can be funded by the universities through different ways. But the most considerable one is through student and also sometimes faculty levies, which are hear meant the small amount of fees added to the bills of student tuition, which of course, the students can have the possibility to refuse to pay if they are not satisfied (”Srp.wusc.ca”, 2019).
According to the recent statistics uploaded by Srp.wusc.ca, “particularly, in September of 2015, with the contribution of Universities Canada and Colleges and Institutes Canada, they could manage to record more than 200 post-secondary academic institutions across the whole country. They have also been challenging the universities intensify their support of the Student Refugee Program on their campuses. They admitted that due to the commitment of students, faculty and staff working in these universities and institutions, the feedback was magnificent.” Till today, arrangements of providing higher education
for refugees are closely associated with WUSC and also SRP program. For instance, in 1986, and through a voting system, students of University of Calgary, agreed upon receiving a levy to fund refugee students program. This movement gradually cause that nowadays it can be seen the university annually sponsors two students through the program, and has already supported 32 students to this date. If the students becomes eligible to be sponsored, he or she will receive approximately CA$56,000 in tuition and also other helps for the whole four-year program. Presently, there are 65 different institutions cooperating with WUSC listed in their site, are among them: some famous universities including University of British Columbia, the University of Toronto, McGill University, and so forth, which are universally highly ranked (”Srp.wusc.ca”, 2019).
In addition to this successful program, there have also been some infrequent attempts among some institutions, but they mostly work for services, rather than directing to universities and colleges. One of the examples of these institutions, which is helping in the process of refugees’ resettlement, and also directing to higher education access is Ryerson University in Toronto. This university with the help of Lifeline Syria (which is a community helping refugees resettle and integrate in Canada, and has been established on 2015), formed the Ryerson University Lifeline Syria Challenge, in order to collect money to support ten Syrian families. Interestingly, in November 2017, they could obtain CA$4 million and contributed to the resettlement of 15 refugees families. Later, OCAD University, the University of Toronto, and York University have also begun cooperating with them (”Ryerson.ca”, 2019).
As (WUSC) has been recently very successful in supporting refugees in their higher education, it is a good idea to deeply investigate through it, and discover what they have done so far to accomplish this achievement. According to Relich (2014), since 1978, WUSC has helped 1300 students from 35 countries across the globe, who were seeking for their goal of higher education. Through the usage of SPR created by WUSC, students are able to immigrate to Canada, and be admitted in one of 61 participating colleges and universities. In fact, this scholarship and support allow the refugees to flee their countries
as asylum seeker, and enter Canada as permanent residents in order to follow their higher education, with the help of SPR (”Srp.wusc.ca”, 2019).
According to Relich (2014), annually WUSC accepts only 70 to 75 candidates. In order to be admitted to the SPR, the candidates are evaluated severely. They need to gain outstanding academic status in high school, perfectly complete an English proficiency test, and also interview process. After passing these requirements, they are allowed to enter to Canada, and upon arrival, they are settled down in the refugee camps, and this is the place where they begin their one-year orientation process. The purpose of orientation is to strengthen student’s masteries and also prepare them for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam, which along with a large-scale research paper, plays a vital role in determining their sponsorship. Teachers are also there to help the students learn research methods and computer skills. Interestingly, there are also chances for students, who have settled in the camps, to work there, for instance, they can be the teachers themselves, and teach some subject inside of the camps. There is also one introductory course about how to live in Canada. The SPR could not survive without the contributions of dedicated students and administration that run each local committee and ensure the authorization for sponsorship. If the local committees agree upon sponsoring a student, it means that they take the responsibility to accommodate a residence, and also provide fund for him or her. All these happen before the arrival of the student, and when the refugee comes, his basic necessities has been already shopped, and his room also has been already set up.
In the first year of studying, all of the costs, and fees are paid completely by the WUSC levy, and also local committees, and in this year, the students are seldom associated with these committees. The amazing part happens in the second year of studying. In this year, OSAP (Ontario Student Assistance Program) take the responsibility to sponsor the students, but this time the difference is that the students are not fully supported financially. Hence, in order to provide the expenses that OSAP does not cover, students have to take care of them. In doing so, they try to find a job in campus or somewhere else to full this gap. At first they might be worried about how they are going to manage this situation, but then it becomes normal for them, as they look at the previous students, who
have survived, and try to do the same thing that they have done. In this case, they are learning both theoretically, and practically, although there are some organizations, where might support students financially in every four years, most of the students are reluctant to them, as they believe, the opportunity must be dedicated every one year that all the students can benefit from that (”Srp.wusc.ca”, 2019).
4. Belgium (Flanders)
In Belgium, there have been two major decision-making communities for higher education called, Flanders and Wallonia since the late 1980s. Herewith, the focus will be on the report about these two communities, which are also currently taking action for higher education for refugees, and what has been done by them since then (Vaesen, Joost,
& Benjamin, 2014).
Since the late 1980s, decision-making competencies concerning higher education in Belgium have been in the hands of the two communities, Flanders and Wallonia.
Effectively this means that at present, there are two higher education systems in Belgium - the Walloon and the Flemish one. Thus, this report focuses on existing and planned initiatives concerning the provision of higher education to refugees in Flanders The report revolves around an overview of the general situation regarding refugees in Flanders, including data on the process of seeking asylum, as well as basic information about the Flemish higher education system. Hence, it is preceded by the explanation of different initiatives happening, systematically, the recognition of qualifications is also taken into account. The significant findings will be discussed in the conclusion, and the focus will be on the extent to which promising aspects may be transferable to the other higher educational systems (Vukasovic, 2017).
4.1.The general situation regarding refugees in Belgium
In the process of registering a refugee in the higher education in Belgium, there are several agencies cooperating together. The first step is taken by the immigration office (IBZ, federal agency); they register the identification of the asylum applicant through their documentations as well as their fingerprinting records. The second step is to check if the same person has already been registered in another European country or the same person has entered the EU in another country other than Belgium. After this is done, Fedasil (federal agency) takes the responsibility for providing the accommodation in one of the approximately 50 reception centers (Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission in Belgium, 2016).
According to Vukasovic (2017), they are also given material guidance, as well as, social, legal or medical help, and interpreters. These centers also provide support for the children of the asylum seekers for attending schools in the neighborhood. The capacity allocated by Fedasil for accommodation is currently over 30000 people, including 1/3 living in individual households, and 2/3 in the reception centers. After the accommodation is set up, the applicants are invited to participate in an interview held by the Commission General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS), at least once. At this stage the decision is made by CGRS, which if positive, a refugee status can be granted to the asylum seeker, or subsidiary protection status can be granted to him or her. The latter occurs when all required information for refugee status is not available. Being this the case, there is even a chance for the applicant to return to the country of origin. In some cases, CGRS can also refuse to make a decision if, for instance, the applicant is from a member state country, or he or she is from a country considered safe, or whether the refugee has already taken action in another EU country.
4.2. Requirements for entry into the Belgium higher education system
The Flemish higher education system consists of five universities providing study programs in all three cycles, that is bachelor, master and PhD, and 15 university colleges, which are more concerned on higher education in bachelor and master degree. According to Huisman and Mampaey (2017) the 2003 edict on higher education required university colleges to associate with a university to form ‘academixation’ of professional higher education. Five associations have been shaped around the universities of Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent, Hasselt and Leuven (Vukasovic, 2017).
The study programs are offered in three different categories. First, a diploma contract, which is based on the class based attendance of courses leading to a master or bachelor degree. Second, a credit contract, which is linked to class based attendance of individual courses, not intending to lead to any specific bachelor or master degree. Third an examination contract which just focuses on the exams in order to gain a full degree or credits for individual courses. The diploma contract can be made through a full-time, half time or part-time one, but for non-EEA students, only the full-time diploma contract is
applied. Refugees, who decide to continue their education in higher levels, are considered non-EEA students and, officially speaking, are enrolled as international students. To receive a full-time diploma contract, a student needs to possess sufficient secondary or higher education qualifications, and also he or she is required to accomplish language requirements. If the students are considered refugees, their qualifications regarding their secondary education are mostly subject to a recognition process, which will be discussed in below. Primarily, the language requirements are associated with efficient knowledge of Dutch, due to the fact that almost all bachelor programs, and also the majority of master programs, are presented only in the Dutch language. In the following part, there are some initiatives by the universities, which are particularly addressing the requirement of the language (Vukasovic, 2017).
4.3. The process of qualifications recognition
If refugees are interested in being enrolled in higher education, they are not necessarily required to have their educational certifications recognized by Belgium authorities (i.e.
NARIC). Being this the case, the universities and university colleges have the responsibility to decide which certifications are required for being admitted to the desired programs. Belgium has already approved the Lisbon Recognition Convention (LRC) in 2009 and, therefore, the legislation regulating the recognition of all cycle degrees in Belgium is in line with the principles of the LRC. Still, in 2013, a number of changes to the regulation were applied, in order to facilitate recognition of degrees for refugees (Equivalence of diplomas, 2017).
These changes include rejecting the normal fee for the recognition process for asylum seekers, refugees and persons under subsidiary protection. The fees for usual applicants who are looking for an official statement on correspondence of qualification levels is 90 EUR, for the recognition of Associate, Bachelor, or Master degree 180 EUR, and for the recognition in the doctoral level is 300 EUR. In order to be released from the fee, the refugee students have needed to prove that they have been registered asylum seekers, or they have already had their formal refugee status, or status regarding subsidiary protection approved (Vukasovic, 2017).
Additionally, Belgium authorities also allocate adaptations of the process to facilitate recognition of qualifications in those cases. At first, an expert is chosen to have an interview with the refugee, then he or she will issue an advisory statement about that interview, and after this, the authorities of recognition can decide to equip their recognition decision. In the second level, if the applicants are not capable of providing their full documentations, an adapted procedure is suggested. This adopted procedure, which was actually a pilot project, launched in September 2016 by the Belgium NARIC and also the association of Flemish universities (VLIR). This project gives the permission to the refugees, who are unable to provide their full documentations, to take an alternative path in order to be recognized (UNESCO, 2017).
This path consists of two main parts. First, the applicants are required to participate in a limited number of courses, which are all held in English master discipline and also related to their field of study. Second, they need to attend a seminar or practical training sessions, or they need to write a paper. When these requirements are fulfilled, the academic staff will present their advice regarding the recognition to NARIC, it might be also consisting of advice on how to follow a Belgium degree according to the educational rules of Belgium. Currently, this alternative path is accessible for the refugee students applying for recognition of their master degrees in natural sciences, engineering, economy and business studies. Partly, this is a reflection based on demand – presumably the majority of recognition applications of refugee students are associated with these areas. On the other hand, this is due to the demand of English-language study programs, which, in the Belgium case, are mostly available on the Master level, and just in a limited number of fields (Vukasovic, 2017).
5. Sweden; one of the most welcoming hosts
When it comes to accepting and welcoming refugees, Sweden has always proved that among other European countries, it is considered one of the best. According to the UNHCR, Sweden is the prevalent contributor of “un-earmarked” funds. For instance, in 2016 Sweden gave 815 million SEK, which is equal to US$97 million, to the UNHCR to utilize it at its preferences. It shows that Swedish voters are not anymore alarmed about the possibility of increased terrorism than the other citizens of other EU countries are (”Wenr.wes.org”, 2019).
According to Wike, Stokes and Simmons (2016), 57% sensed that refugees would rise the probability of terrorism, and 46% felt refugees were more inclined to crime than any other group. Swedes also consider the increase of diversity within their society more positively than other Europeans, with 36% approving that Sweden will be made a better place to live by the presence of the newcomers, and also 88% condemning the EU refugee policy.
5.1. Policy reactions to refugee crisis;
According to the Swedish Migration Agency, in 2015, over 160,000 refugees looked for asylum in Sweden. It was precisely twice the number of asylum seekers who came during the previous migration wave, caused by the Balkan crisis during 1990s. It was in the same year that the Swedish Migration Agency approved to rise the number of resettled refugees to 5000, though, the guaranteeing refugee wave directed to a fivefold growth in asylum claims amongst January and December. By the end of 2015, when the Syrian Civil War worsend, 10000 refugees did enter to Sweden per week, meaning that approximately the equivalent of 2% to its population of 9.9 million was added (Mohdin, 2016).
Hofverberg and Elin (2016), believed that this sudden increase of the number of refugees would cause Sweden to implement policy changes, including stricter border checking, and worse services to make Sweden less eye-catching in the eyes of refugees, but on the contrary, Sweden did increase support for those refugees and asylum seekers who had already been settled in the country and helped integrate them faster.
In 2015 Germany received the largest number of refugees in exact numbers, however, Sweden accepted the largest amount: almost 5.3 migrants per 1000 persons. According to the Swedish Migration Agency, the number of asylum seekers soon reduced and by 2017 were closely near to 20,000. In Sweden, 18.3% of the population are now people who have been born outside of Sweden. However, the country’s traditional ingenuousness to migrants has started to change. It has led to tougher immigration regulations, while, the Swedish Social Democratic party altered its conventional left-leaning attitude more toward the center-right. This policy change is caused by the rise of the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats party, which currently would appeal over one fifth (23.9%) of Swedish votes if an election were held today, at least according to recent polls (”Migrationsverket.se”, 2019).
5. 2. Higher education reactions to the refugees crisis;
There is a possibility for an asylum seeker to study at higher education in Sweden, provided that he or she can meet the entry requirements. It must be noted that if the refugee has not been granted a residence permit yet, he or she is required to pay tuition and also application fees. Principally, in order to study the university courses at the bachelor's level, a refugee has to have already completed an upper secondary, that is, high school program, which is also required in the universities of his or her home country.
Accordingly, for studies at the master's level, a refugee has to have completed bachelor's degree. For the courses, which are presented in the English language, they need to be equipped with a particular level of English. For those studies, which have been completed after 31 December 2009, the mathematics is also a requirement (“Studera.nu”, 2019).
5.3. The process of qualifications recognition
Foreign qualifications are evaluated through the Swedish Council for Higher Education (UHR). The purpose of evaluation is to provide assistance for people who are looking for work in Sweden, or who are wishing to start studying, or for employers wishing to hire someone with foreign qualifications. The evaluation is done through submitting the documents in UHR website. If the refugee has a university degree, he or she can gain a document describing the equivalent of their education in the Swedish education system.
After a refugee has got this document, they can show it to potential employers, or if they
