Periodic Reporting for period 2 - REFUGE-ED (Effective practices in education, mental health and psychosocial support for the integration of refugee children)
Reporting period: 2022-01-01 to 2023-12-31
The number of forcibly displaced people is increasing every year, and about half of them are under the age of 18. These children face many dangers that could be better prevented if the struggle for quality education were fully met. Promoting learning environments that respond to mental health needs while providing high quality education is an urgent issue to ensure the right to education for migrant and refugee children. Therefore, the overall objective of REFUGE-ED is to create the Brokering Knowledge Platform, to promote high quality innovative solutions tailored to the dynamic integration of migrant children in educational settings and, more broadly, in society.
REFUGE-ED has identified, implemented and evaluated existing evidence-based practices in education and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) that have been shown to promote educational success, well-being and sense of belonging.
REFUGE-ED has identified, implemented and evaluated existing evidence-based practices in education and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) that have been shown to promote educational success, well-being and sense of belonging.
The first product developed by REFUGE-ED was a selection of effective practices for the dynamic integration of migrant and refugee children addressing the areas of education and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) that are evidence-based and have demonstrated social impact. In addition, the fieldwork was conducted in schools that, despite being located in low socio-economic areas and being considered highly complex schools, proved to be successful models in promoting the integration of migrant children, demonstrating improved academic outcomes. Therefore, effective practices to address migrant children's integration challenges were selected from both fields, the Successful Educational Actions (SEAs) and a set of MHPSS approaches. As a result, a catalogue of existing effective practices in education and mental health aimed at promoting integration, and more specifically: (a) academic success and inclusion, (b) well-being, and (c) social belonging of migrant children was developed. It is worth mentioning that this catalogue of practices is part of the Brokering Knowledge Platform.
Subsequently, based on the communicative methodology, a process of dialogic co-creation was designed and carried out with children and families, communities, civil society organisations and local service providers, schools/centres and teaching staff in each pilot centre to identify needs and how these can be successfully met by piloting the selected practices. To this end, preliminary meetings were organised with policy makers and others responsible for the potential pilot sites, as well as consultations in each pilot site to decide whether or not they wanted to participate in the project. As a result, the actors implementing the actions co-created knowledge from their practice. In this way, work is being done to ensure the sustainability and replicability of the project. An example of this is the project that has been developed to expand SEAs in other contexts beyond Europe.
In addition, the development of the training of trainers and the organisation of the curriculum has been launched. Throughout this process, the design, preparation and implementation of the monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for the pilot actions were developed. This involved the development of the Compendium of measures, tools and interview guides for assessing MHPSS and children's education outcomes, the Guidelines on how to implement the SPICE cycle approach and the Central Data Repository for outcome and process data collected in all pilot sites. In this way, training, implementation and subsequent evaluation of effective practices were carried out in each of the pilot centres.
As a final stage of the project, the Brokering Knowledge Platform was developed during the last year of the project through a process of dialogic co-creation. This means that all actors were involved in the process. The BKP thus houses a repository of practical and evidence-based resources in both fields (education and mental health) that have proven their effectiveness in various contexts. In addition, it offers inspiring success stories from the REFUGE-ED pilot centres, i.e. testimonials from beneficiaries showing how their lives improved thanks to the practices. The exploitation plan has included: a) a series of official launches of the BKP both in the EU (on-site and online) and at national policy seminars; b) a social media campaign including some promotional videos of the BKP through the official channels of the project as well as partner organisations; c) the individual partners' own promotion of the BKP among their national and international contacts, e.g. teacher training spaces, among others.
Subsequently, based on the communicative methodology, a process of dialogic co-creation was designed and carried out with children and families, communities, civil society organisations and local service providers, schools/centres and teaching staff in each pilot centre to identify needs and how these can be successfully met by piloting the selected practices. To this end, preliminary meetings were organised with policy makers and others responsible for the potential pilot sites, as well as consultations in each pilot site to decide whether or not they wanted to participate in the project. As a result, the actors implementing the actions co-created knowledge from their practice. In this way, work is being done to ensure the sustainability and replicability of the project. An example of this is the project that has been developed to expand SEAs in other contexts beyond Europe.
In addition, the development of the training of trainers and the organisation of the curriculum has been launched. Throughout this process, the design, preparation and implementation of the monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for the pilot actions were developed. This involved the development of the Compendium of measures, tools and interview guides for assessing MHPSS and children's education outcomes, the Guidelines on how to implement the SPICE cycle approach and the Central Data Repository for outcome and process data collected in all pilot sites. In this way, training, implementation and subsequent evaluation of effective practices were carried out in each of the pilot centres.
As a final stage of the project, the Brokering Knowledge Platform was developed during the last year of the project through a process of dialogic co-creation. This means that all actors were involved in the process. The BKP thus houses a repository of practical and evidence-based resources in both fields (education and mental health) that have proven their effectiveness in various contexts. In addition, it offers inspiring success stories from the REFUGE-ED pilot centres, i.e. testimonials from beneficiaries showing how their lives improved thanks to the practices. The exploitation plan has included: a) a series of official launches of the BKP both in the EU (on-site and online) and at national policy seminars; b) a social media campaign including some promotional videos of the BKP through the official channels of the project as well as partner organisations; c) the individual partners' own promotion of the BKP among their national and international contacts, e.g. teacher training spaces, among others.
The impact across all the pilots can be summarised in the following points: 1) improvement of academic outcomes, 2) transforming places into safe spaces, 3) transformation of relationships (due to community involvement), 4) boosting higher expectations, 5) promoting a sense of community and, 6) promoting friendship and positive school climate. The overall results of the project showed a positive contribution to the three main pillars: academic success, sense of belonging and well-being, among other aspects. These elements are not only essential to all children’s development, but they are also especially important for the successful dynamic integration in new homelands and communities. At the same time, the outcomes highlighted the interconnectedness of these pillars which altogether, can impact refugee and migrant children's integration with their environment. The enhancement of a sense of belonging promoted children’s wellbeing which in turn supported their academic success. This means, that when children feel emotionally supported, they are better equipped to handle academic challenges and perform their potential. Considering the involvement of different actors in the SEAs and MHPSS approaches, the sense of belonging and well-being has in many cases been expanded beyond those directly involved in the centres to the whole community. Likewise, results have been shown that active participation and social interaction further enhanced children’s engagement and academic motivation. In this regard, SEAs and MHPSS practices can horizontally support the development of a broader climate of inclusive education that promotes solidarity and active participation, inside and outside the classrooms. Furthermore, the principles of egalitarian dialogue and equality of differences, promoted have laid the foundation for children in vulnerable situations, like migratory and refugee backgrounds and learning difficulties, and their families to take a leading role, share their ideas and opinions, and improve academically. The impact achieved by the project was also demonstrated through the change of narrative in the sense it is possible to provide high-quality educational opportunities with special attention to wellbeing in any context a migrant or refugee children might be found. Thus, a culture of possibility has been promoted even in those contexts with the most barriers. This change of narrative has also been promoted showing that schools that are located in low socio-economic status areas and face many different challenges can turn around the trend of school failure, promoting educational success, if they start implementing those practices that showed to have social impact in other settings, like the SEAs.