Life at the camp: intercultural awareness in the community and refugee children at the forefront

  1. MSc thesis
  2. ΕΛΕΝΗ ΤΣΕΚΟΥΡΛΟΥΚΗ
  3. Γλωσσική Εκπαίδευση για πρόσφυγες και μετανάστες (LRM)
  4. 11 Φεβρουαρίου 2023
  5. Αγγλικά
  6. 81
  7. Palaiologou, Nektaria
  8. cultural identity, intercultural awareness, refugee children, arts-based method
  9. LRM64 MA Dissertation
  10. 4
  11. 52
    • Cultural identity plays an important role in refugee children’s lives as it denotes basic characteristics of their collective identity. The inclusion of cultural identity in learning environments is part of the intercultural awareness within members of the working community in a refugee camp. Thus, the main purpose of this study is dual: firstly, to identify the inclusion or not of refugee children’s cultural identities in the learning environment; secondly, to focus on working community’s practices concerning intercultural awareness. The research questions to be answered were: “Do refugee children living in a camp bring elements of their cultural identity in the learning environment?, “Do teachers working in a refugee camp include in the learning process refugee children’s cultural identities?”, “Is the community of people working in a refugee camp interculturally aware?”. Serving the purposes of the research, a qualitative study was conducted, and a narrative research approach was followed. The methods deployed were participant observation, semi-constructed interviews, and arts-based methods. Moreover, data collection tools used for the conduction of this research were field notes, semi-constructed interviews, activities from MiCreate Handbook, as well as identity texts, which were collected in Schisto refugee camp, in DRC-NGO’s non-formal education program. The participants of this study were four people working in the camp as well as 23 refugee children aged 6-17 years old. A thematic analysis was deployed for the interpretation of the findings of this study, and data were organized in 5 main themes. The findings of the study demonstrated that through arts-based activities, refugee children bring elements of their cultural identity in the learning environment, and teachers implemented inclusive activities as part of their intercultural awareness. Moreover, the working community of the camp highlighted the significance of traditional celebrations in refugee people’s lives, and mentioned interculturally aware practices that respond to refugee community’s needs.  

  12. Hellenic Open University
  13. Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Διεθνές