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Beyond “Integration”—Why There is More at Stake

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Refugees in Higher Education

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

Abstract

This essay critically engages with the notion of integration in the context of access to higher education for refugees. It argues that integration is a fuzzy and controversial concept and points to the risk of drawing attention away from structural issues, such as accessibility, debates on economization, notions of internationalization, and ways in which universities can be developing organisations. It argues that the debates around students with refugee backgrounds provide a chance to revisit processes of diversification and organisational change, development of and access to the educational system (e.g. beyond methodological nationalism, Western-centrism, and classism) and presents alternative perspectives of addressing the topic.

This chapter addresses initiatives, university actors, and researchers and points to questions of concepts and contexts.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Center of Competence in Research nccr—on the move funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. I would like to thank the organizing team of the symposium “Studium gleich Integration?” and editors of the book, as well as Tim Harder, Silva Lässer, and Sarah Wipfli for their support in the preparation, and Hannes Schammann for his helpful feedback.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kulturwissenschaft und Europäische Ethnologie, Universität Basel, Basel, Schweiz

    Katrin Sontag

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  1. Katrin Sontag
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Correspondence to Katrin Sontag .

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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

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Sontag, K. (2021). Beyond “Integration”—Why There is More at Stake. 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_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-33338-6_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer VS, Wiesbaden

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-658-33337-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-658-33338-6

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