Refugees and school engagement: A scoping review

Abstract

With the global increase in forcibly displaced populations, understanding and improving educational opportunities and outcomes for refugee youth is of paramount importance. This scoping review focuses on understanding the extent and nature of evidence related to school engagement among refugee parents and students. The review’s scope was limited to peer-reviewed articles published in English between 2015 and 2023. The review reveals insights into research contexts, methodological and theoretical approaches, empirical interests, and key findings on enablers of and barriers to school engagement. Additionally, the paper identifies three significant themes requiring attention in future research: inconsistent framing of central themes, the prevalence of deficit accounts regarding refugee parents and students, and omissions concerning critical aspects of school engagement.