To mark Refugee Week 2026, the British Educational Research Association has published a special blog series entitled “Refugee Education: Challenging Stereotypes and Deficiency Approaches.” The collection challenges deficit-based perspectives that often define refugee learners primarily through trauma, language barriers, or perceived shortcomings, and instead advocates for recognising their strengths, resilience, and potential.
The special issue brings together seven contributions examining the educational experiences of refugee-background learners across Europe and the United Kingdom. The authors discuss how schools can create environments that foster belonging, trust, and participation, while also responding to the complex realities faced by young people seeking sanctuary. Topics include trauma-informed education, arts-based learning, multilingualism, social inclusion, and whole-school approaches that value diversity and student strengths.
A central message across the collection is the need to move away from viewing refugee learners as problems to be managed and towards recognising them as capable individuals with valuable experiences and aspirations. The articles argue that inclusive educational practices benefit not only refugee students but also wider school communities.
A special contribution to the blog series comes from Dr Lucy Hunt, a member of the ProSkills2Work team. An experienced researcher in refugee and inclusive education, Dr Hunt authored and co-authored two of the contributions included in the special issue. Her work focuses on trauma-informed educational practices and on the role of arts-based approaches in fostering expression, participation, and belonging among refugee-background learners.
The themes explored in this series resonate strongly with the objectives of ProSkills2Work, particularly its focus on skills development, educational inclusion, and the creation of supportive pathways that enable individuals from diverse backgrounds to thrive in education and employment.