Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Introduction: Refugees in Higher Education—Questioning the Notion of Integration

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Refugees in Higher Education

Part of the book series: Higher Education Research and Science Studies ((HERSS))

Abstract

This edited volume shares the proceedings of a symposium that was as held in the summer of 2019 in Hanover, Germany and dedicated to exploring the notion of integration as it relates to access to higher education for students of refugee background. The symposium included presentations and discussions of access to higher education in Germany, institutional contexts, and the challenges and benefits for students of refugee background compared with other groups. Throughout the symposium, we collaboratively questioned the notion of integration within higher education from different disciplinary, methodological and theoretical perspectives. One special panel also included a group of refugee students discussing their experiences and the main challenges they face seeking higher education. Integration is still too often understood in a one-side and narrow way. Informed by those discussions, the edited volume aims to contribute to the emerging research field of higher education for refugees. To introduce the edited volume, we reflect upon the symposium, discuss the state of research on integration of refugees into higher education, briefly introduce each article, and end with implications for further research and development.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abamosa, J. Y., Hilt, L. T., & Westrheim, K. (2019). Social inclusion of refugees into higher education in Norway: A critical analysis of Norwegian higher education and integration policies. Policy Futures in Education 7(186), 147821031987832. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1478210319878327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ager, A., & Strang, A. (2008). Understanding Integration. A Conceptual Framework. Journal of Refugee Studies, 21(2), 166–191.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, T. (2019). News Media Representations of International and Refugee Postsecondary Students. The Journal of Higher Education 45(4), 1–26. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2019.1587977.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Avery, H. & Said, S. (2017). Higher Education For Refugees: The Case Of Syria. Policy & Practice: A Development Education Review (24), 104–125.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bacher, J., Fiorioli, E., Moosbrugger, R., Nnebedum, C., Prandner, D., & Shovakar, N. (2019). Integration of refugees at universities: Austria’s more initiative. Higher Education 41(6), 379. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00449-6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bajwa, J., Abai, M., Couto, S., Kidd, S., Dibavar, A., & McKenzie, K. (2019). Psychological capital and life satisfaction of refugees in Canada: Evidence from a community-based educational support program. Journal of community psychology 47(3), 504–516. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bajwa, J. K., Abai, M., Kidd, S., Couto, S., Akbari-Dibavar, A., & McKenzie, K. (2018). Examining the Intersection of Race, Gender, Class, and Age on Post-Secondary Education and Career Trajectories of Refugees. Refuge 34(2), 113–123.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bajwa, J. K., Couto, S., Kidd, S., Markoulakis, R., Abai, M., & McKenzie, K. (2017). Refugees, Higher Education, and Informational Barriers. Refuge 33(2), 56–65. doi: https://doi.org/10.7202/1043063ar.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, S., Ramsay, G., Irwin, E., & Miles, L. (2017). ‘Hot’, ‘Cold’ and ‘Warm’ supports: Towards theorising where refugee students go for assistance at university. In: Teaching in Higher Education 37(1), 1–16. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2017.1332028.

  • Baker, S., & Irwin, E. (2019). Disrupting the dominance of ‘linear pathways’: how institutional assumptions create ‘stuck places’ for refugee students’ transitions into higher education. Research Papers in Education 12(1), 1–21. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2019.1633561.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, S., Irwin, E., & Freeman, H. (2019). Wasted, manipulated and compressed time: adult refugee students’ experiences of transitioning into Australian higher education. Journal of Further and Higher Education 7(1), 1–14. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2019.1586849.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beigang, S. & Blumenthal, J. v. (2016). Institutionelle Anpassungsfähigkeit von Hochschulen. Erste Ergebnisse einer Umfrage unter allen deutschen Hochschulen bezüglich der Integration von Geflüchteten in ein Studium. Berliner Institut für empirische Integrations- und Migrationsforschung. Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beigang, S., Blumenthal, J. v., & Lambert, L. (2018). Studium für Geflüchtete. Aufgaben für Hochschulen und Politik. (eds.) v. bicc Bonn International Center for Conversion. Institut für Migrationsfroschung und Interkulturelle Studien (Policy Brief, 08b).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bellino, M. J., & Hure, M. (2018). Pursuing Higher Education in Exile: A pilot partnership in Kakuma Refugee Camp. Childhood Education 94(5), 46–51. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2018.1516472.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berg, J. (in print a). Expectations, experiences and anticipated outcomes of supporting refugee students in Germany. A systems theoretical analysis of organisational semantics. Accepted manuscript in print.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berg, J. (in print b). Support for prospective refugee students in Germany: Quo vadis? Accepted manuscript in print.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berg, J. (2018). A New Aspect of Internationalisation? Specific Challenges and Support Structures for Refugees on Their Way to German Higher Education. In A. Curaj, L. Deca & R. Pricopie (Ed.), European Higher Education Area: The Impact of Past and Future Policies, (pp. 219–235), Bd. 84., Cham: Springer International Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berg, J. (2020). Which person is presumed to fit the institution? How refugee students’ and practitioners’ discursive representations of successful applicants and students highlight transition barriers to German higher education. In A. Curaj, L. Deca & R. Pricopie (Ed.), The Future of Higher Education - Bologna Process Researchers’ Conference 2020 (online first). Heidelberg: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berg, J.; Grüttner, M., Schröder, S., (2018). Zwischen Befähigung und Stigmatisierung? Die Situation von Geflüchteten beim Hochschulzugang und im Studium. Ein internationaler Forschungsüberblick. Zeitschrift für Flüchtlingsforschung 2(1), 57–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, S., Saint, M., & Russel, C. (2017). Education in an extreme environment: A university in a refugee camp. In: Sunny Korea (Ed.), GHTC 2017, IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference. DoubleTree by Hilton San Jose, California, USA, October 19–22, 2017 : 2017 conference proceedings. Piscataway, NJ: IEEE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brücker, H., Rother, N., & Schupp, J. (Ed.) (2016). IAB-BAMF-SOEP-Befragung von Geflüchteten. Überblick und erste Ergebnisse. Berlin: DIW Berlin Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW Berlin, 116). Retrieved from: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/149124.

  • Brunton, J., Brown, M., Costello, E., Farrell, O., & Mahon, C. (2017). Giving Flexible Learners a Head Start on Higher Education: Designing and Implementing a Pre-induction Socialisation MOOC. In C. D. Kloos, P. Jermann, M. Pérez-Sanagustín, D. T. Seaton & S. White (Ed.), Digital Education: Out to the World and Back to the Campus, (pp. 10–19), Bd. 10254. Cham: Springer International Publishing (Lecture Notes in Computer Science)

    Google Scholar 

  • Cin, F. M. & Doğan, N. (2020). Navigating university spaces as refugees: Syrian students’ pathways of access to and through higher education in Turkey. International Journal of Inclusive Education 27(2), 1–15. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2019.1707309

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crea, T. M.; Sparnon, N. (2017). Democratizing education at the margins: faculty and practitioner perspectives on delivering online tertiary education for refugees. Int J Educ Technol High Educ 14(1), 3. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-017-0081-y.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dahya, N., & Dryden-Peterson, S. (2017). Tracing pathways to higher education for refugees: the role of virtual support networks and mobile phones for women in refugee camps. Comparative Education 53(2), 284–301. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/03050068.2016.1259877.

  • Dryden-Peterson, S. (2012). The politics of higher education for refugees in a global movement for primary education. Refuge: Canada’s Journal on Refugees 27(2): 10–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Earnest, J., Joyce, A., Mori, G. d., & Silvagni, G. (2010). Are Universities Responding to the Needs of Students from Refugee Backgrounds? Australian Journal of Education 54(2), 155–174. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/000494411005400204.

  • Erdoğan, A., & Erdoğan, M. M. (2018). Access, Qualifications and Social Dimension of Syrian Refugee Students in Turkish Higher Education. In: Adrian Curaj, Ligia Deca und Remus Pricopie (Ed.): European Higher Education Area: The Impact of Past and Future Policies, (pp. 259–276), Bd. 12., Cham: Springer International Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ergin, H., de Witt, H., & Leask, B. (2019). Forced Internationalisation of Higher Education: An Emerging Phenomenon. IHE (97), 7–9. doi: https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2019.97.10938.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farrell, O., Brunton, J., Costello, E., Delaney, L., Brown, M., & Foley, C. (2020). ‘This is two different worlds, you have the asylum world and you have the study world’: an exploration of refugee participation in online Irish higher education. Research in Learning Technology 28. doi: https://doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v28.2368.

  • Fourier, K., Estevez Prado, P., & Grüttner, M. (2020). Integration von Flüchtlingen an deutschen Hochschulen - Erkenntnisse aus den Hochschulprogrammen für Flüchtlinge: Information 3. Einstieg ins Fachstudium und Studienbegleitung. Bonn: DAAD, Abgerufen am 15. Mai 2020 von https://www.daad.de/de/infos-services-fuer-hochschulen/expertise-zu-themen-laendern-regionen/fluechtlinge-an-hochschulen/downloads/

  • Grüttner, M. (2019). Belonging as a Resource of Resilience: Psychological Wellbeing of International and Refugee Students in Study Preparation at German Higher Education Institutions. In: Student Success 10(3). doi: https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5204/ssj.v10.i3.1275.

  • Grüttner, M., Schröder, S., Berg, J., & Otto, C. (2018). Refugees on Their Way to German Higher Education: A Capabilities and Engagements Perspective on Aspirations, Challenges and Support. Global Education Review 5(4),

    Google Scholar 

  • Halkic, B., Arnold, P. (2019). Refugees and online education: student perspectives on need and support in the context of (online) higher education. Learning, Media and Technology 44(3), 1–20. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2019.1640739.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, V., Marlowe, J. (2011). Hard yards and high hopes: The Educational challenges of African refugee University students in Australia. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 23 (2), 186–196.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanno, Y., & Varghese, M.M. (2010). Immigrant and Refugee ESL Students’ Challenges to Accessing Four-Year College Education. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 9 (5), 310-328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karipek, Y. Z. (2017). Asylum-Seekers Experience and Acculturation: A Study of Syrian University Students in Turkey. Turkish Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 105–133.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kogan, I., & Kalter, F. (2020). An empirical-analytical approach to the study of recent refugee migrants in Germany. Soziale Welt 71(1-2), 3-23. doi https://doi.org/10.5771/0038-6073-2020-1-2-3.

  • Lambrechts, A. A. (2020). The super-disadvantaged in higher education: barriers to access for refugee background students in England. Higher Education. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00515-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lenette, C. (2016). University students from refugee backgrounds: why should we care? In: Higher Education Research & Development 35(6), 1–5. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2016.1190524.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lenette, C., Baker, S., & Hirsch, A. (2019). Systemic Policy Barriers to Meaningful Participation of Students from Refugee and Asylum Seeking Backgrounds in Australian Higher Education. In J. L. McBrien (Ed.), Educational Policies and Practices of English-Speaking Refugee Resettlement Countries: Brill | Sense.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loo, B. (2016). Recognizing Refugee Qualifications. Practical Tips for Credential Assessment. World Education Services. Retrieved February 09, 2018 from https://knowledge.wes.org/wes-research-report-recognizing-refugee-credentials.html

  • Marcu, S. (2018). Refugee Students in Spain: The Role of Universities as Sustainable Actors in Institutional Integration. Sustainability 10(6), 1–21. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su10062082.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Molla, T. (2019). Educational aspirations and experiences of refugee-background African youth in Australia: a case study. International Journal of Inclusive Education 8(3), 1–19. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2019.1588924.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morrice, L. (2013). Refugees in higher education. Boundaries of belonging and recognition, stigma and exclusion. International Journal of Lifelong Education 32(5), 652–668. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2012.761288.

  • Morris-Lange, S. (2017). Allein durch den Hochschuldschungel. Hürden zum Studienerfolg für internationale Studierende und Studierende mit Migrationshintergrund. Studie des SVR-Forschungsbereichs 2017–2. (Hrsg.), Forschungsbereich beim Sachverständigenrat deutscher Stiftungen für Integration und Migration (SVR) GmbH, Sachverständigenrat deutscher Stiftungen für Integration und Migration. Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muñoz, J. C., Colucci, E., & Smidt, H. (2018). Free digital learning for inclusion of migrants and refugees in europe: A qualitative analysis of three types of learning purposes. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning 19(2), 1–21. doi: https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v19i2.3382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, E. S. (2019). Refugee-Background Students’ Experience with College English Requirements: The Case of North Korean Students in South Korea. Journal of Language, Identity & Education 21, 1–14. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2019.1650278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramsay, G., & Baker, S. (2019). Higher Education and Students from Refugee Backgrounds: A Meta-Scoping Study. Refugee Survey Quarterly 38 (1), 55–82. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/rsq/hdy018.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reinhardt, F., Zlatkin-Troitschanskaia, O., Deribo, T., Happ, R., & Nell-Müller, S. (2018). Integrating refugees into higher education – the impact of a new online education program for policies and practices. Policy Reviews in Higher Education 2(2), 198–226. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/23322969.2018.1483738.

  • Saiti, A., & Chletsos, M. (2020). Opportunities and Barriers in Higher Education for Young Refugees in Greece. Higher Education Policy 24(2), 104–215. doi: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-020-00180-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schammann, H., & Younso, C. (2016). Studium nach der Flucht? Angebote deutscher Hochschulen für Studieninteressierte mit Fluchterfahrung. Hildesheim, Hildesheim: Universitätsverlag Hildesheim.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schröder, S., Grüttner, M., & Berg, J. (2019). Study Preparation for Refugees in German ‘Studienkollegs'. Interpretative Patterns of Access, Life-wide (Language) Learning and Performance. Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning 21(2), 67–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shakya, Y. B., Guruge, S., Hynie, M., Akbari, A., Malik, M., Htoo, S., Khogali, A., Mona, S. A., Murtaza, R., & Alley, S. (2012). Aspirations for Higher Education among Newcomer Refugee Youth in Toronto: Expectations, Challenges, and Strategies. Refuge: Canada’s Journal on Refugees 27(2), 65–78. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.34723

  • Sontag, K. (2018). Highly skilled asylum seekers: case studies of refugee students at a swiss university. Migration Letters 15(4), 533–544.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, J. & Willott, J. (2007). The aspiration and access to higher education of teenage refugees in the UK. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education 37(5), 671–687. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/03057920701582624.

  • Streitwieser, B., Duffy Jaeger, K., Roche, J. (2020). Included yet Excluded: The Higher Education Paradox for Resettled Refugees in the USA. Higher Education Policy 33(2), 203–221. doi: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-020-00183-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Streitwieser, B., Loo, B., Ohorodnik, M., & Jeong, J. (2019). Access for refugees into higher education: A review of interventions in North America and Europe. Journal of Studies in International Education 23(4), 473-496.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Streitwieser, B., Schmidt, A., Gläsener, K., Brück, L. (2018a). Not a Crisis But a Coping Challenge: How Berlin Universities Responded to the Refugee Influx. In K. Arar, K. Haj-Yehida, D. Ross & Y. Kondakci (Ed.), Refugees and Global Challenges in Higher Education. Frankfurt: Peter-Lang (Equity in Higher Education Theory, Policy, and Praxis).

    Google Scholar 

  • Streitwieser, Bernhard (2019): International Education for Enlightenment, for Opportunity and for Survival: Where Students, Migrants and Refugees Diverge. Journal of Comparative and Higher Education (11), 3–8. doi: https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2019.97.10939.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Streitwieser, B., Brück, L. (2018. Competing Motivations in Germany’s Higher Education Response to the “Refugee Crisis”. Refuge 34(2), 38–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Streitwieser, B., Schmidt, M. A., Gläsener, K. M., & Brück, L. (2018b): Needs, Barriers, and Support Systems for Refugee Students in Germany. Global Education Review 5(4), 136–157.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tzoraki, O. (2019). A Descriptive Study of the Schooling and Higher Education Reforms in Response to the Refugees’ Influx into Greece. Social Sciences 8(3), S. 72. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8030072.

  • Unangst, L., & Crea, T. M. (2020). Higher Education for Refugees: A Need for Intersectional Research. Comparative Education Review 64(2), 228-248, doi: https://doi.org/10.1086/708190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Unangst, L.; Streitwieser, B. (2018): Inclusive practices in response to the German refugee influx: support structures and rationales described by university administrators. In A. Curaj, L. Deca & R. Pricopie (Ed.), European Higher Education Area: The Impact of Past and Future Policies, ( pp. 287–300), Cham: Springer International Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Unangst, L. (2019). Refugees in the German higher education system: implications and recommendations for policy change. Policy Reviews in Higher Education 3(2), 144–166. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/23322969.2019.1643254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Unger-Ullmann, D. (2017): Sprachorientierte Maßnahmen für AsylwerberInnen im universitären Kontext. Magazin Erwachsenenbildung.at 11(31). Retrieved from https://www.pedocs.de/volltexte/2017/14623/pdf/Erwachsenenbildung_31_2017_Unger_Ullmann_Sprachorientierte_Massnahmen_fuer_AsyslbewerberInnen.pdf.

  • Yesufu, L., & Alajlani, S. (2019). Measuring Social Innovation for Education and Resource Development in Refugee Camps: A Conceptual Study. International Journal of Higher Education 8(4), 208-220. doi: https://doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v8n4p208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zlatkin-Troitschanskaia, O., Happ, R., Nell-Müller, S., Deribo, T., Reinhardt, F., Toepper, M. (2018). Successful Integration of Refugee Students in Higher Education: Insights from Entry Diagnostics in an Online Study Program. Global Education Review 5(4), 158–181.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Deutsches Zentrum für Hochschul-und Wissenschaftsforschung (DZHW), Bildungsverläufe und Beschäftigung, Hannover, Germany

    Jana Berg & Michael Grüttner

  2. George Washington University, Graduate School of Education and Human Development, Washington D.C., USA

    Bernhard Streitwieser

Authors
  1. Jana Berg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Michael Grüttner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Bernhard Streitwieser
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jana Berg .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. DZHW, Hannover, Germany

    Jana Berg

  2. DZHW, Seelze, Germany

    Michael Grüttner

  3. Department of Educational Leadership, George Washington University, Washington, DC, WA, USA

    Bernhard Streitwieser

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Berg, J., Grüttner, M., Streitwieser, B. (2021). Introduction: Refugees in Higher Education—Questioning the Notion of Integration. In: Berg, J., Grüttner, M., Streitwieser, B. (eds) Refugees in Higher Education. Higher Education Research and Science Studies. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-33338-6_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-33338-6_1

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer VS, Wiesbaden

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-658-33337-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-658-33338-6

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation