Living with difference: Refugee education and school segregation processes in Greece

Abstract

Global challenges and recent changes in conflict areas in the Middle East, Asia and Africa are reasons for the contemporary forced migration into European countries, which have become places of destination or transit posts for a great number of refugees. Cities have become the focus of the socio-spatial debate, as the main units for receiving refugees, either in state camps or in social housing in city centres. In this article, the focus is on the social-spatial configuration of refugee accommodation in local communities and the way these formations generate urban and school segregation. We argue that the placement of urban refugees in large, camp-like structures with low housing standards, mainly in areas outside cities or in rural areas, provides ground not only for social exclusion and ‘territorial stigmatisation’ but also for de facto school segregation. Furthermore, the attempts to house refugees in small cities, through United Nations and NGO-supplied houses, may also raise concerns about the way dispersal policies are implemented, with the distribution of refugee children in specific schools as a result of territorial social-spatial segregation. In both cases, the school segregation of refugees is connected not only with the implications of immigration and education policies but also with the social practices of local communities and the social-spatial characteristics that determine school education. The empirical material of this study is based on information on the socio-economic profiles of neighbourhoods at the census tract level and on qualitative research, through in-depth semi-structured interviews in two different cities in Greece.

Refugee Mobilities and Institutional Changes: Local Housing Policies and Segregation Processes in Greek Cities

“…In methodological terms, the article draws upon the experiences of three small and medium-sized Greek cities (Katerini, Larisa, and Volos) to identify the different institutional and policy responses to refugee accommodation, giving rise to different paths and forms of social mobilisation, solidarity, and urban transformation. Since data concerning the location of individual refugee households are not available, the study employs school enrolment data, assuming, along with other studies Vergou, 2019), that there is a strong correlation between school segregation and socio-residential segregation. Such an assumption is validated by the fact that the system of school catchment areas in Greece obligatorily allocates children to schools that are near their residence.…”

“…Refugee children, in the beginning, had non-formal education but attended language courses given by trained personnel inside the camp. After the refusal of the nearby village to accept them in their school, enrolment took place in an area near a Roma settlement in the working-class area of Nea Ionia, Volos (Vergou, 2019).…”

“…have exhibited. In some cases, innovative ways of social inclusion and acts of solidarity were made prevalent, whereas, in others, instances of social exclusion and marginality have been documented (Arvanitidis, Vergou, Manetos, & Grigoriou, 2020;Vergou, 2019). Overall, the different needs of the refugees were treated in varied ways based on the local context and social dynamics, sometimes in coordination and others in disengagement with the state and national directives (which mainly follow the EU policies and the framework set by the Common European Asylum System).…”

Bordered Trajectories: The Impact of Institutional Bordering Practices on Young Refugees’ (Re-)Engagement with Post-15 Education in Greece

“…Various reports have attributed these figures to challenges such as delays with implementing secondary-level reception classes; a lack of support with complicated enrolment procedures; a lack of capacity, coordination, and sustainability; fragmented responses; and insufficient teacher recruitment, skills, training, and working hours (Leivaditi et al 2020;MoERR 2018;Papapostolou et al 2020;Tzoraki 2019;Vergou 2019). There have also been reports of local parents' loud objections to young refugees' enrolment, particularly in primary schools, due to unfounded fears of insecurity and health issues-mostly associated with their residence in camps (Nagy 2018;Vergou 2019). This has led to fear and mistrust among refugees and their families, which reduces the likelihood of participation (OECD 2020).…”

“…While there is therefore some understanding of how macro-level, structural issues prevent educational access, only rarely are the impacts of state responses beyond the education system discussed. Few studies have drawn a line between practices such as encampment (Vergou 2019;Vergou et al 2021) and legal uncertainty and young refugees' education, especially at the post-compulsory (15+) level. Even less research has explored the 'nontypical' educational routes refugee youth may choose to take instead, such as in non-formal settings (Palaiologou et al 2019), from the perspective of youth themselves.…”