All refugees below the age of eighteen are entitled to an education by international law (Schorchit, 2017). However, providing education to refugee populations is a challenging task, especially when many refugee-populated geographic areas around the world lack access to volunteers, education materials, and funding. Although advocacy efforts around the world try to push for high quality education in refugee camps and communities, there are significant populations of refugee children who are not enrolled in any kind of educational program. About half of the world’s refugee children are out of schools as access to schooling becomes very difficult during national conflict.
Refugee children with disabilities are especially vulnerable to exclusion in academic and social environments. There are approximately 83 million forcibly displaced disabled individuals around the world, of which 42% are children. Disabled children in refugee camps are vulnerable to stigmatization, exclusion, isolation, and violence. Such barriers limit their access to quality education and support. Breaking down these barriers requires a lot of effort and financial assistance. The creation of general classrooms into which children with disabilities are included is a step in the right direction. Separately teaching disabled children from other children limits their exposure to diverse learning and social opportunities (Bruni et. al, 2022).
Implementing changes in refugee education systems to increase inclusivity for disabled refugee children calls for support from refugee education donors, policymakers, and the educational volunteers and instructors (Jalbout, 2022). There are multiple questions that can be asked when addressing the issue at hand, including:
Why is refugee education more urgent than ever?
What are the key tensions in refugee education and how might they be addressed?
How can the barriers that hold back disabled children from inclusive education be broken?
How does centering refugee voices and engagement in education policy improve the situation?
A temporary classroom setting for disabled South Sudanese students in second grade at a refugee camp in Itang, Woreda of the Gambella region.
Among the many obstacles that disabled refugee children must face, transportation is one of the biggest issues that contributes to the lack of schooling. Additionally, most infrastructure is not built to accommodate disabilities. Hayam, an 8-year-old girl living in the Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan, suffers from muscular dystrophy. Her illness makes it difficult for her to walk, however, she was required to walk a quarter-mile to her school every day. While UNICEF and Mercy Corps have given wheelchairs to 100 students who have physical disabilities, there are not enough services for other children, like Hayam, around the world.
Mental disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are also common among refugee children due to witnessed trauma and conditions. Such disorders can have a great impact on the learning ability of children. As there are not enough treatments and healthcare providers, refugee children with mental disorders may have a hard time paying attention in class or may not be able to attend school at all. International Medical Corps (IMC) is a nongovernmental organization that helps refugee children receive mental healthcare, as they recognize mental illness as a huge limiting factor for education. Once again, the organization can only do so much to improve the problem of inclusivity (Neimeyer, 2019).
The biggest and most influential thing that can be done to combat the issue of exclusion in education settings for disabled refugee children is supporting organizations that can go and help out at refugee camps. It’s important to keep these children in mind in order to provide them with better learning environments. They are the future and deserve to be treated with equality, both behaviorally and opportunistically.
Works Cited
Bruni, Daniela, et al. “Inclusive education in a refugee camp for children with disabilities: How are school setting and children's behavioral functioning related? - Conflict and Health.” Conflict and Health, 13 October 2022, https://conflictandhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13031-022-00486-6#citeas. Accessed 15 May 2023.
Jalbout, Maysa, and Katy Bullard. “Key tensions in refugee education.” Brookings Institution, 16 November 2022, https://www.brookings.edu/research/key-tensions-in-refugee-education/. Accessed 15 May 2023.
Niemeyer, Isabella. “Ways the World Can Foster Special Education in Refugee Camps.” The Borgen Project, 18 February 2019, https://borgenproject.org/educating-disabled-students-in-refugee-camps/. Accessed 15 May 2023.
Schorchit, Nicolle. “Despite Inclusive Policies, Refugee Children Face Major Obstacles to Education | NEA.” National Education Association, 21 March 2017, https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/despite-inclusive-policies-refugee-children-face-major-obstacles. Accessed 15 May 2023.