Education Pathways: Policy Implications for Refugee Youth in Germany and Canada

Abstract

Refugee youth are widely identified as vulnerable and dependent by public and academic discourses. This chapter highlights the link between mental health and education for refugee youth, identify the policies that influence refugee youths' access to education in two cities: Munich (Germany) and Toronto (Canada), report on key informants' assessments of how these policies help and hinder refugee youths' integration and well-being, and reflect on what can be learned by comparing the strengths and weaknesses of policies regarding refugee youth education between these two settings. Refugee youth have been exposed to prolonged adversity, including witnessing and/or experiencing violence and conflict, hazardous living conditions, poverty, family separation, and the uncertainty of displacement. The chapter refers to refugee claimants whenever it speaks about youth who are still in the process of an in-country asylum claim either in Germany or in Canada. Resettled or sponsored refugees refer to those that arrive in Canada through the humanitarian resettlement program and have permanent residence status on arrival. The chapter is based on the analysis of interviews with key informants in both countries and a literature review to identify and deepen understanding of the relevant policies in each setting. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)