Integrating Refugee and Asylum-seeking Children - Center for the ...

comparative report: educational integration of refugee and asylum-seeking 47
The term ‘politics’ refers to the instrumentalisation
of immigration by political actors and the role
of (anti-)immigration discourse for the political
identity and strategy of a number of parties in
various countries. This dimension remains beyond
the scope of the present study, but is crucial
for making sense of public policies. The political
discourse defines the priorities and opens or
restricts policy-makers’ horizons. In Norway and
Denmark right-wing parties have strengthened
their positions. 36 In Sweden the party ‘Sweden
Democrats’ entered the Parliament (2010) with a
very conservative agenda to dramatically revise
the migration policy, which they qualified as “too
permissive and generous.” 37
The securitisation of immigration policy in the last
decade also strongly influences the modalities,
forms and funding of integration. The UK clearly
illustrates this trend. The drive of the previous British
government for a comprehensive refugee integration
policy led in 2004 to the issuing of “Aiming High:
Guidance on Supporting the Education of Asylum-
Seeking and Refugee Children.” “The change of
government in 2010 led to the archiving of national
good practice guidelines and their removal from
the website of the Department for Education.
These good practice guidelines are no longer
being promoted.” 38 In several countries the reports
identify two opposite trends: the societies have
become more diverse in terms of demography,
workforce and cultural practices, yet politicians are
increasingly hostile to multiculturalism. Hopefully,
the INTEGRACE project will introduce a more
reasonable note into this discourse by showcasing
good practices of openness and inclusion.
the term ‘policies’ refers to a variety of public
policies, some of which are specifically educational
and concern the inclusion and integration of
migrant and refugee children. The State has primary
responsibility for the realisation of the right to
education. It has the obligation to fulfil this right by
“ensuring that education is available for all children
and positive measures are taken to enable children
to benefit from it.” 39 Governmental agencies should
be held accountable for the access and quality of
education. UNESCO sets the standards for a good
policy of educational integration: transparency,
accountability, access to justice and stakeholder
participation. 40 Norway provides an original example
of institutionalisation of governmental accountability
by employing an Ombudsman for children.
Although the Ombudsman is administratively under
the jurisdiction of the Ministry for Children and
Family Affairs, neither the Norwegian Parliament
nor the Government have the power to instruct the
Ombudsman. The duties of the Ombudsman are
to promote the interests of children vis-à-vis public
and private authorities. 41
Our analysis emphasises three groups of political
factors which have an impact on educational
integration, and measures their degree of relevance.
The first group of factors concerns the issue of
integration and the way it is articulated in political
discourse. The second sheds light on the political
interest in strategies and programmes guiding public
policies. The third asks the question how the
centralisation or decentralisation of education and
integration practices influences their effectiveness.
The concept of integration has different political
visibility in the countries which have been analysed.
In some, it enjoys clear legal and political definitions
and is articulated in activities, assigned responsibilities,
and timetables in strategies and programmes. In
others, such as Malta, no integration plan has been
developed.
Therefore, two opposite cases can be identified.
The Maltese one illustrates the first, a negative
36 However, the September 2011 elections in Denmark seem to have called a halt to this shift. The mass murders by Anders Breivik
in Norway in July 2011 also led to a backlash against extreme right-wing politicians.
37 Country Report: Sweden.
38 Country Report: United Kingdom.
39 UNICEF and UNESCO (2007), A Human Rights-Based Approach to Education for All – A Framework for the Realization of Children’s
Right to Education and Rights within Education. UNICEF/UNESCO, 2007, p. 39. Available at: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/
0015/001548/154861e.pdf
40 UNICEF and UNESCO (2007), A Human Rights-Based Approach to Education for All – A Framework for the Realization of Children’s
Right to Education and Rights within Education. UNICEF/UNESCO, 2007, p. 122. Available at: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/
001548/154861e.pdf
41 Country Report: Norway.