Breaking Barriers: Literature Review on Educational Strategies to Promote the Inclusion of Children with Migrant and Refugee Backgrounds
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7346/-fei-XXIII-01-25_23Keywords:
Educational inequalities, Educational co-creation, Intercultural pedagogy, Migrant and refugee children, Educational inclusionAbstract
This study offers a systematic review of the literature on effective educational solutions for the inclusion of migrant and refugee children. Through the analysis of 40 articles selected from academic databases such as Web of Science, Scopus and ERIC, the research explores innovative strategies and successful practices at international and national level. The results highlight the importance of inclusive approaches that use educational technologies, co-creation strategies, language support programs and interventions aimed at gender and well-being specificities. Particular attention is given to the role of schools, teachers and communities in overcoming educational inequalities. The study highlights the need for integrated policies and multi-agency collaborations to foster the inclusion and academic success of students from vulnerable backgrounds.
References
Akinlar, A., Ugurel-Kamisli, M., Yildiz, H. S., & Bozkurt, A. (2023). Bridging the digital divide in migrant education: Critical pedagogy and inclusive education approach. Journal of Qualitative Research in Education, 36, 30–53. https://doi.org/10.14689/enad.36.1646.
Artero, M. (2022). Teaching Italian and reconfiguring citizenship: The case of language volunteers in migrant education. Partecipazione e Conflitto, 15(3), 898–915. https://doi.org/10.1285/i20356609v15i3p898.
Autiero, G., & Nese, A. (2023). Cultural persistence or change? Gender differences in educational expectations of first and second-generation immigrants in Italy. Genus, 79(1), 22–30. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41118-023-00202-z.
Boit, R., Conlin, D., Barnes, A. C., & Hestenes, L. (2020). Supporting refugee preschoolers’ early learning: Combined capitals and strengths of refugee families, an agency, and a community preschool program. Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies, 19(2), 199–212. https://doi.org/10.1080/15562948.2020.1795775.
Carlana, M., La Ferrara, E., & Pinotti, P. (2022). Goals and gaps: Educational careers of immigrant children. Econometrica, 90(1), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA17458.
Concina, E., Frate, S., & Biasutti, M. (2023). Migrant and refugee students: Teaching experiences and teachers’ needs. Form@re - Open Journal per la Formazione in Rete, 23(3), 94–107. https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/formare/article/view/15078.
Cucio, M. R. R., & Roldan, M. D. G. Z. (2020). Inclusive education for ethnic minorities in the developing world: The case of alternative learning system for indigenous peoples in the Philippines. European Journal of Sustainable Development, 9(4), 409–418. https://doi.org/10.14207/ejsd.2020.v9n4p409.
Daly, N., & Limbrick, L. (2020). The joy of having a book in your own language: Home language books in a refugee education centre. Education Sciences, 10(9), Article 250. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10090250.
Daniel, M., Ottemöller, F. G., Katisi, M., Hollekim, R., & Tesfazghi, Z. Z. (2020). Intergenerational perspectives on refugee children and youth’s adaptation to life in Norway. Population, Space and Place, 26(6), e2321. https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.2321.
De Carolis, B., Palestra, G., Della Penna, C., Cianciotta, M., & Cervelione, A. (2019). Social robots supporting the inclusion of unaccompanied migrant children: Teaching the meaning of culture-related gestures. Journal of E-Learning and Knowledge Society, 15(2), 43–57. https://doi.org/10.20368/1971-8829/1636.
Dovigo, F. (2021). Beyond the vulnerability paradigm: Fostering inter-professional and multi-agency cooperation in refugee education in Italy. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 25(2), 166–180. EJ1282804.
Fassetta, G. (2015). Communicating attitudes: Ghanaian children’s expectations and experiences of Italian educational institutions. Childhood, 22(1), 23–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568213512.
Gabrielli, G., & Impicciatore, R. (2022). Breaking down the barriers: Educational paths, labour market outcomes and wellbeing of children of immigrants. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 48(10), 2305–2323. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2021.1935655.
Gaywood, D., Bertram, T., & Pascal, C. (2024). Building a pedagogy of welcome in practice: Ways to support refugee children in early childhood education and care through examination of professional positionality. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2024.2378357.
Guetto, R., Zanasi, F., & Carella, M. (2022). Non-intact families and children’s educational outcomes: Comparing native and migrant pupils. European Journal of Population, 38(5), 1065–1094. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-022-09638-z.
Hanna, H. (2020). Crossing the border from ‘migrant’ to ‘expert’: Exploring migrant learners’ perspectives on inclusion in a primary school in England. Children’s Geographies, 18(5), 544–556. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2018.1548693.
Harju, A., & Åkerblom, A. (2020). Opening up new spaces for languaging practice in early childhood education for migrant children. International Journal of Early Years Education, 28(2), 151–161. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2020.1765087.
Harju, A., Balldin, J., Ekman Ladru, D., & Gustafson, K. (2020). Children’s education in ‘good’ nature: Perceptions of activities in nature spaces in mobile preschools. Global Studies of Childhood, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1177/2043610619900.
Honen-Delmar, M., & Rega, I. (2023). Intercultural competence for peaceful communities: The role of blended learning higher education in refugee camps. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2023.101891.
Hu, B. Y., Wu, H., Winsler, A., Fan, X., & Song, Z. (2020). Parent migration and rural preschool children’s early academic and social skill trajectories in China: Are ‘left-behind’ children really left behind? Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 51, 317–328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2019.12.011.
Kim, H., Shon, S., & Shin, H. (2020). Exploring the unmet needs for creating an enabling environment for nurturing care to promote migrant child health in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan: A theory-guided community-based participatory action research. Evaluation and Program Planning, 80, 101802. 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2020.101802.
Kostoulas-Makrakis, N., & Makrakis, V. (2020). Developing student-driven learning activities to promote refugee quality education through the CARE methodology. International Journal of Early Years Education, 28(2), 176–188. EJ1258307.
Laxton, D., Cooper, L., Shrestha, P., & Younie, S. (2020). Translational research to support early childhood education in crisis settings: A case study of collaborative working with Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar. Education 3–13, 49(8), 901–919. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2020.1813186
Lo, P., & Stark, A. (2020). Examining the relationship between social inclusion and mobile libraries in the age of Internet connectivity: A qualitative study of mobile librarians around the globe. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 53(2), 245–270. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000620935476
MacIsaac, D., Genz, F., & Resvoll, M. (2021). Learning physics with refugee children in Germany. The Physics Teacher, 59(1), 51–56. https://doi.org/10.1119/10.0006937STEM Ecosystems
MacLeod, A. A. N., Meziane, R. S., & Pesco, D. (2020). Language abilities of children with refugee backgrounds: Insights from case studies. Applied Psycholinguistics, 41(6), 1329–1349. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716420000405
Mehmeti, T., & Zittoun, T. (2019). Using symbolic resources to overcome institutional barriers: A case study of an Albanian-speaking young woman in Switzerland. In Culture in Education and Education in Culture: Tensioned Dialogues and Creative Constructions (pp. 177–198). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28412-1_11
Monastyrskaya, T. I., Mikidenko, N. L., Toropchin, G. V., & Storozheva, S. P. (2020). Migrant children at school: How gender influences adaptation. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(7), 3213–3223. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2020.080750
Neubauer, A. (2023). Políticas contra el abandono escolar de la infancia inmigrante: Un estudio comparado. Revista Fuentes, 25(3), 355–366. https://doi.org/10.12795/revistafuentes.2023.v25.i3.12
Norozi, S. A. (2023). The important building blocks of newcomer immigrant students’ education in the Norwegian context. Frontiers in Education, 7, Article 1084053. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.1084053
Parra-González, M. E., Parejo-Jiménez, N., Conde-Lacárcel, A., & Olmedo-Moreno, E. M. (2021). Relationship between the personal learning environment and the educational level of unaccompanied foreign minors. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 80, 17–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2020.10.009
Palacios, N., & Paulick, J. (2024). Supporting Latinx immigrant children and families in the transition to elementary school. Child Development Perspectives, 18(3), 105–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12512
Ritterfeld, U., & Lüke, T. (2020). Audio stories as incidental language teachers: A compensatory approach for migrant and low-SES children in Germany. Journal of Media Psychology, 33(2), 60–71. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000266
Santini, S., Finco, M., & Galassi, F. (2022). Education and employment of refugees and migrants in the formal elderly healthcare sector: Results from an online survey in Italy. Sustainability, 14(6), 3540. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063540
Schmitt, A. M., Horner, S. L., & Lavery, M. R. (2020). The impact of summer programs on the English language scores of migrant children. Literacy Research and Instruction, 59(1), 78–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/19388071.2019.1698320
Skoglund, E., & Bretthauer, A. (2019). Starting early with language learning: Enhancing human capital and improving the integration of migrant families in the Danube region. Examples from Bavaria. Südosteuropa, 67(2), 234–263. https://doi.org/10.1515/soeu-2019-0016
Szlyk, H. S., Berger Cardoso, J., Barros Lane, L., & Evans, K. (2020). “Me perdía en la escuela”: Latino newcomer youths in the U.S. school system. Social Work, 65(2), 131–139. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swaa001
Trentin, G. (2013). Il Progetto Wise e il supporto all’inclusione socio-educativa. Italian Journal of Educational Technology, 21(2), 68–74.
Vandenbroeck, M., & Lazzari, A. (2014). Accessibility of early childhood education and care: A state of affairs. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 22(3), 327–335. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2014.912895
Weine, S., Brahmbatt, Z., Cardeli, E., & Ellis, H. (2020). Rapid review to inform the rehabilitation and reintegration of child returnees from the Islamic State. Annals of Global Health, 86(1), Article 64, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.5334/aogh.2812
Yosso, T. J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 69–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/1361332052000341006
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Tiziana Chiappelli, Sabina Leoncini

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Formazione & insegnamento is distributed under Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
For further details, please refer to our Repository & Archiving Policy, as well as our Copyright & Licensing Terms.