The Politics of Refugee Education in Germany by Lin Zhao and Desi Manova
Migration and Refugee Policy Background
Since
2012, the dramatic increase in the number of refugees arriving in Europe makes for
a significant humanitarian challenge. Refugees made their way through Turkey in
order to enter Europe. This crisis has shaken the social stability of European
continent. In European refugee receiving nations, Germany’s policy reflects the
central role in the European refugee crisis. In 2015, 1.1 million refugees crossed the German border; Berlin received nearly 10,000 refugees in November alone, the peak month of that year. The responsibilities of the refugee
receiving cities and municipalities are tremendous. For example, they are
facing the problem of how to settle, educate, and integrate each refugee from
different cultural backgrounds with different education levels. Also, refugees need
health care, special services and suitable jobs.
In 2014 and 2015 combined, refugee
receiving nations in Europe received the highest number of first-time asylum
applications in absolute terms—614,745—and accounted for over one-third of
total applications. Figure one shows Germany had the highest number of asylum
application submissions.
Historically, the first migration event
occurred in Germany between 1955 and 1973. During this period, there were
approximately 2.6 million “guest workers” and their families who were invited
to participate in developing Germany. The majority of these migrants were from
Turkey, Greece, Spain, and Italy. The second migration occurred around 1990. As
you can see in the second figure, the applications of asylum seekers in 1992 are
similar in quantity to applications from 2015. During the same year, 390,000“resettlers” (i.e., ethnic Germans who had immigrated to former Soviet states since the 18th century) also returned to Germany. These enormous
immigration pressures doubled the economic and social challenges in Germany. After
1992, the Asylum Compromise denied asylum applications from nationals of
so-called “safe third countries.” As a result, there was a sharp decrease in
the number of asylum applications.
Refugee resettlement
The process of refugee resettlement has
been well developed during recent years. Refugees are sent to the closest
emergency reception center after registration, and then they are accommodated
in different states, communities or cities. They are also free to move out from
the reception centers to other places. After they settle down, they can apply
for jobs with their registration at a job center. Resettlement of refugee is an
instant work for all refugee receiving nations, therefore, these countries will
learn from each other to make the refugee resettlement program operates
smoothly.
Germans visit Boise to
study refugee resettlement
Education Policies
Quickly integrating refugee children into the public
education system is critical for long-term outcomes. In addition to the
challenge of large-scale, mid-year additions to public schools, administrators
must place children from very different educational backgrounds, some of whom
have little formal classroom education.
There are several kinds of schools
for refugees to choose from in Germany.
- Primary schools, where children spend four to six years. It is a phase of particular promotion, supervision, and orientation with regard to the pupil's future educational path and its particular direction.
- Secondary schools from fifth grade to ninth or tenth grade. The refugee students will learn the German language, mathematics, natural and social sciences, foreign language and lessons in practical work.
- Intermediate schools for students from fifth grade to tenth grade. Students can enroll in higher technical schools or vocational schools after they graduate.
- Grammar schools for students from fifth or seventh grade to twelfth grade.
- Comprehensive schools for students from tenth grade to thirteenth grade. In these schools students can voluntarily choose from their performance which certificate they want to obtain.
- Vocational schools for students who decide to learn a profession instead of enrolling in university.
Children and young adult who don’t
speak German will initially be in a separate class. They will study German and
learn about the German culture in this class. These are so-called welcome classes (Willkommensklassen) or transition classes designed to make the start at a German school easier. After that the children are transferred to the
appropriate regular classes for their age and their level in German language.
They continue in school, according to grades and stages, which were listed
previously.
Funding will be spent
on language courses, tutorials and mentoring initiatives. Germany does not have
a teacher training program for educating refugee but their regular teacher
training program already includes inclusive teaching. There are some universities voluntarily offer free education for refugee.
Curriculum
The German government has prepared a few ways in which to educate
refugees. First, refugees are allocated to both urban and rural areas as to be
included in all parts of society without only locating them in a certain part
and isolating them from the rest of the people in the host-country. Then,
through different activities refugees are taught about the life in Germany, the
German language and the usual education they would get both in high school and
in university. The university curriculum and the conditions for applying are the same for both refugees and German citizens. However, this may occur as a problem due to the cultural differences between both ethnic groups. Moreover, most classes are in German, which is hard to understand for refugees, while those in English are much more expensive since they are not offered in public universities.
The curriculum prepared by the government for children are different than those of German children as many of the refugees are not used to the typical classroom environment, thus creating a barrier between the two ethnic groups and forcing them to study separately. Of highest importance is to teach the refugee children the language, and then everything else. Moreover, the government can’t rush the children into studying as regular children in Germany would due to the stress caused by the migration: they are taking it slower because they want to maintain the situation as close to normal as possible.
The curriculum prepared by the government for children are different than those of German children as many of the refugees are not used to the typical classroom environment, thus creating a barrier between the two ethnic groups and forcing them to study separately. Of highest importance is to teach the refugee children the language, and then everything else. Moreover, the government can’t rush the children into studying as regular children in Germany would due to the stress caused by the migration: they are taking it slower because they want to maintain the situation as close to normal as possible.
Language
German classes are offered to refugees of all ages who have migrated to the European country since the integration in the society will be much easier and more effective rather than if refugees were taught English. Unfortunately, due to the traumatic situation refugees were forced in, they are forced to live in a country where the language is incomprehensible. Few of the refugees know English, and even less can speak or understand German. In an article talking about two different schools in Germany who have decided to integrate refugees, a woman talks about teaching young children German through various class activities. She describes an activity in which there was a model of a house and the children had to use verbs to describe actions performed in the different rooms of the house. The problem occurred when there was a difference between who sleeps where: according to the refugees, it was normal not to have a bedroom, but rather sleep in the living room.
The cultural differences and the rapidness of their situation make learning the language harder for refugees, but there is a variety of programs trying to help them out. The government provides introductory classes, sports and leisure programs, joint civic commitment, which is German volunteers and refugees interacting and discussing life in Germany, and many other options through which refugees of all ages, sexes and nationalities can learn the language outside of an academic environment.
The cultural differences and the rapidness of their situation make learning the language harder for refugees, but there is a variety of programs trying to help them out. The government provides introductory classes, sports and leisure programs, joint civic commitment, which is German volunteers and refugees interacting and discussing life in Germany, and many other options through which refugees of all ages, sexes and nationalities can learn the language outside of an academic environment.
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