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Pathways to Resilience: The Role of Education in War-Zone Immigrant and Refugee Student Success

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Handbook of Resilience in Children of War

Abstract

The past decade has seen an escalation of wars, military conflicts and civil destabilization throughout the globe. The United Nations estimates that more than 23 million people have been killed in 149 major wars throughout the world since 1945 (Sivard, 1993). This has affected and continues to affect both indigenous populations within war-zone areas and the migration of people from almost every continent across the globe. While military conflicts and wars impact all people, including both civilians and combatants, the effects on children and youth are particularly harsh. In a comprehensive review of war and children, Goldson (1996) states that in comparison to all victims, children suffer the most severe effects when exposed to conditions of war. As an exceptionally vulnerable group, children are disproportionately affected by displacement and separation from families, abduction and kidnapping, injury and death. It is estimated that in the past several decades, over two million children have been killed or died directly from conflict in war zones, many more have been injured or became disabled, and over one million were separated from families or orphaned (UNICEF, 1996). Estimates of homelessness among children in conflict zones range from 12 million to a staggering 200 million (Singer & Myers, 2011). In addition to the disruption of domicile, family composition and cohesion, schooling, health care and social services, a child’s sense of safety, security and control can be markedly altered through a war experience (Goldson, 1996).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Psychology & Human Development, Counselling Psychology Program, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Lana Stermac, Allyson K. Clarke & Lindsay Brown

Authors
  1. Lana Stermac
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  2. Allyson K. Clarke
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  3. Lindsay Brown
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Correspondence to Lana Stermac .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. OISE, Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Bloor Street West 252, Toronto, M5S 1V6, Ontario, Canada

    Chandi Fernando

  2. OISE, Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Bloor Street West 252, Toronto, M5S 1V6, Ontario, Canada

    Michel Ferrari

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Stermac, L., Clarke, A.K., Brown, L. (2013). Pathways to Resilience: The Role of Education in War-Zone Immigrant and Refugee Student Success. In: Fernando, C., Ferrari, M. (eds) Handbook of Resilience in Children of War. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6375-7_15

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