Teaching refugee children: Challenges teachers face

Abstract

Educating refugee children is a demanding process, as teachers must have special knowledge, skills and attitudes. In Greece, many efforts have been made to educate refugee children by creating refugee reception and integration classes in schools and recruiting temporary staff. Still, teachers face various problems in language teaching and children's integration into the school environment. The purpose of this study is to identify the challenges and difficulties faced by teachers who teach refugee students and to explore their intercultural competence and readiness. Eight interviews were conducted for the research. The results show that participants face many problems due to a lack of training material, tools and resources. The characteristics of refugee children slow down the educational process, while the unpreparedness and inadequacy of teachers in intercultural education complicate the situation. However, the education of refugees can be improved, provided that the intercultural education of teachers is enriched and appropriate educational material (school books, guides, toolkits) is provided.