TRAUMATISED REFUGEE CHILDREN AND YOUTH AT SCHOOL: RESOURCES AND CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS

Abstract

"Refugee children and youth have been exposed to stressors that cause trauma. Research in the migration context assumes that complex trauma is the result of consistent or repeated traumatic exposure over a period. Many children and youth are exposed to different stressors over a long period and they are still exposed in the host country. The trauma symptoms have a broad spectrum, from impairment in school functioning and increased absence from school to decreased intellectual functioning and academic performance or lower rates of graduation. In the present study, refugee children and youth, a widely neglected group within school-related research, were considered from the perspective of school and teachers. A model based on Flanagan’s critical incident technique revealed the main challenges of schools with traumatised students. To identify such critical incidents, focus group discussions were conducted. The total sample included 55 teachers, 32 of whom were working in primary schools and 23 in lower secondary education in Germany. The critical incident analysis showed challenges and conditions on different levels of the school, influencing traumatised students’ education, integration and self-concept. In the incidents, the teachers referred to circumstances they knew about their students’ traumatisation related to experiences in the country of origin, during flight and in the host country. Furthermore, they reported how trauma became visible at school. Beyond the findings on trauma sequelae in general, topics specific to the school context were revealed (e.g., the role of language and the legal framework), which should be considered with regard to their implications. The excessive demands of an unknown school environment were depicted as refusal to attend class, running away, crying for a long time or sitting under the table during the whole school day. Under these circumstances, teaching, learning and acceptance from the peer group could hardly succeed. Such behaviours decrease students’ opportunities to socialise and integrate. These results implicate that successful resources and conditions should be aimed from a systemic perspective. Mixed models of teaching in and outside the classroom enable both social contacts and options for withdrawing. Multi-professional teams would bring together the expertise and perspectives of different professions, raising awareness of trauma sequelae and symptoms in the classroom context. Moreover, the role of extracurricular support should be considered."