Equity, Diversity and Inclusion – Challenges in the Integration Process of Young Refugees Within School Settings in Sweden

Abstract

Cultural and ethnic diversity has become an increasing phenomenon in recent decades in many contemporary societies. That ethnocultural diversity is visible within school contexts in many countries in Europe and North America. One example of this is Sweden, a place that received more than 35,000 unaccompanied children and young refugees in 2015. This article presents reflections and results from a doctoral study developed in a Swedish municipality between 2016 – 2018. Analyzing current integration strategies for newcomer young refugees within school settings was the purpose of the research. Observations and interviews were made to gather the necessary information to answer the research questions of the study. Educational programs for young immigrants as a part of national strategies include Swedish language learning and the active participation of those young individuals in programs that encourage their integration into Swedish society. At the same time, their active involvement in school activities is assumed as a solution to solving challenges in the Swedish labor market. Some of the results found in the investigation were the lack of well-planned local strategies for social inclusion of newcomer unaccompanied young refugees, lack of dialogue between personnel and stakeholders who worked around the young refugees, xenophobic attitudes, and other obstacles which meant a hindrance for sociocultural integration of young refugees into Swedish society.



Author Information
Junior Gómez Manresa, Erik Dahlbergsgymnasiet, Sweden

Paper Information
Conference: IICE2024
Stream: Education

This paper is part of the IICE2024 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Manresa J. (2024) Equity, Diversity and Inclusion – Challenges in the Integration Process of Young Refugees Within School Settings in Sweden ISSN: 2189-1036 – The IAFOR International Conference on Education – Hawaii 2024 Official Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2189-1036.2024.45
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2189-1036.2024.45


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Posted by James Alexander Gordon