Education for refugee children : A case study on UNHCR´s strategy

Sammanfattning

The subject being studied is education for refugee children. Today, there are many children that are not allowed, or have the possibility to go to school and get an education which is a failure towards children's development in relation to human rights. Despite that refugees are supposed to have rights to be provided education, they are reported getting lower access to education than other children. The purpose of this study is to understand the educational contribution from an organisation’s perspective and how to understand what needs to develop to ensure all refugee children with education. The research question that this study is based on is: How can we understand the role of education at a young age for refugees in relation to children's development? The method chosen for this study is a case study through two reports of the United Nation High Commissioner (UNHCR) to collect data of their education strategy implemented in a project called Educate A Child. Theory selected to analyse and understand the strategy is Pierre Bourdieu's theory of Field, Capital, and Habitus. The conclusion of the study is that the educational sector has several factors that play different roles. Teacher’s training is of great importance and must be taken more into account in their role and responsibility towards the children, the economic capital is important to be able to develop opportunities for children to attend school, and inclusion and partnership also play a great role. Keywords that have been used are education, primary school, UNHCR, refugee children.