Schooling of Refugee Students from Ukraine in Austria and Its Risk for Creating Educational Inequity

TLDR

Access to education became an immediate priority for refugee children and youth following the unexpected outbreak of war in Ukraine and the resulting forced migration. The study aims to highlight school models for Ukrainian students and examine how school resources are distributed. It uses data from 14 problem‑centered interviews with school personnel. Findings reveal diverse implementation of education for Ukrainian students, highlight challenges such as motivation, social inclusion, and double schooling, and suggest that increased staff and mainstream placement are needed to mitigate educational inequity in Austria.

Abstract

Due to the unexpected outbreak of war in Ukraine and the resulting forced migration, access to education became an immediate priority for refugee children and youth. Against this backdrop, this study highlights school models of Ukrainian students and sheds light on the associated distribution of school resources using data from 14 problem-centered interviews with school personnel. Results indicate great diversity in the implementation of education for students from Ukraine. In addition, participants cited students’ motivation to learn, their social inclusion, and the double burden of attending two schools as the biggest challenges. The findings also suggest that more staff are needed to ensure that teachers can provide quality instruction to all learners. Moreover, must be encouraged in their belief that the placement of newly arrived students in mainstream classes needs to be promoted. The results are discussed in terms of their potential impact on educational inequity in Austria as well as policy and practical implications.