Note: please note that this issue overview should (a) contain links to additional information on this topic that is focused either the local, state, national, or global level, and (b) be neutrally presented, based on facts, and include footnotes for each of the items.  See the Research Guide and Information Sources to assist you. 

Background   one sentence that further defines the topic 

• More and more refugees in the U.S.
  • The number of refugees admitted is limited by presidential determination; with the cap of refugees set at 70,000 in 2009, 60,192 refugees came to the U.S, which is a twenty-five-percent increase than in 2007 [1]. Indeed, “since 1975, the United States has resettled more than 2 million refugees” [2].

• U.S. Policy on refugees
  
  • As a participant of admitting international refugees into the country, the U.S. made a policy on refugees residing within its country; the Refugee Act, designed to help refugees adjust to a new country, supports developing education programs and funding education [3]. 

  • According to the Office of Refugee Resettlement of the United States, “the Refugee Act of 1980 created the Federal Refugee Resettlement Program to provide for the effective resettlement of refugees and to assist them to achieve economic self-sufficiency as quickly as possible after arrival in the United States” [4].

     

     

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    [1] “Migration and Refugee Assistance: Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance: Fiscal Year 2010: Congressional Presentation Document.” 2009. 53. United States Department of State. 17. Wed. 2010 <http://www.state.gov/g/prm/rls/index.htm>.

    [2] McBrien, J. Lynn. "Educational Needs and Barriers for Refugee Students in the United States: A Review of the Literature." Review of Educational Research. 75. 3 (2005): 329.

    [3] “The Refugee Act.”

     

    [4] “The Refugee Act.” Office of Refugee Resettlement: Policy Guidance and Reporting Forms. US Department of Health and Human Services: Administration for Children and Families. 17 Wed. 2010 <http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/policy/refact1.htm>.  

Problem Definition   one sentence that further defines the topic 

• The need of special attention for refugees

  • Psychological trauma

    • The special need of attention for the education of refugee children comes from their psychological trauma, derived from their experience prior to coming to the U.S.

    • Children experience numerous traumatic situations when their lives are disrupted by the refugee experience. Some suffer from family separation as they flee from persecution alone or become separated form their families during flight. Refugee children are at high risk for rape, abduction, and trafficking. Some children are forced to become soldiers… They lose social stability and access to education through many of these experiences [1].

  • Different from other immigrants
    • Refugees need more attention and help from society in order to succeed in the U.S. because they are a different kind of immigrants than other recent arrivals – a distinction between voluntary and involuntary immigrants [2]. Refugees are immigrants, who are less voluntarily in adjusting to a new culture, whereas voluntary immigrants would be more willful to do so [3].
       
      Education as the means of overcoming psychological trauma

  • • At the center of overcoming the refugee children’s tremendous psychological trauma lays their education. According to the UNHCR, education is essential for their psychological adjustment, and other researchers “have indicated that education is crucial for restoring social and emotional healing… Educators and the school environment are key in facilitating socialization and acculturation of refugee and immigrant children” [2]. Hence, their psychological trauma makes refugee education a particular issue

      
      

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      [1] McBrien. 329-330.

       

       

       

       

      [2] McBrien 331.

      [3] c.f. McBrien. 330-332.

       

       

      [2] McBrien. 330.

       

Causes and Consequences   specific policies or program models, grouped by type, that are profiled 

Local/State/National Information    additional information on this topic at the local, state, national, global level

Glossary of Terms   key words or phrases that the layperson needs to know to understand this issue 

• Refugee:  a person who has fled his/her country of nationality (or habitual residence) and who is unable or unwilling to return to that country because of a “well-founded” fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. This definition of a “refugee” excludes those who have left their homes only to seek a more prosperous life (defined by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and reflected in the U.S. Refugee Act). [1]

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  [1] Szente, Judit, James Hoot, and Dorothy Taylor. "Responding to the Special Needs of Refugee Children: Practical Ideas for Teachers." Early Childhood Education Journal. 34. 1 (2006): 15. 

Bibliography    

• Elkin, Sam, Bret Barden, and Mike Mueller. "The Evaluation of the Refugee Social Services (RSS) and Targeted Assistance Formula Grant (TAG) Programs: Sacramento Case Study." March 2008. The Lewin Group. <www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/resources>.

• McBrien, J. Lynn. "Educational Needs and Barriers for Refugee Students in the United States: A Review of the Literature." Review of Educational Research. 75. 3 (2005): 329-364.

• “Migration and Refugee Assistance: Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance: Fiscal Year 2010: Congressional Presentation Document.” 2009. 53. United States Department of State. 17. Wed. 2010 <http://www.state.gov/g/prm/rls/index.htm>.

• Pindus, Nancy, Bret Barden, Everett Henderson, and Mike Mueller. "The Evaluation of the Refugee Social Services (RSS) and Targeted Assistance Formula Grant (TAG) Programs: Miami Case Study." March 2008. The Lewin Group. <www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/resources>.

• “The Refugee Act.” Office of Refugee Resettlement: Policy Guidance and Reporting Forms. US Department of Health and Human Services: Administration for Children and Families. 17 Wed. 2010 <http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/policy/refact1.htm>.

• Szente, Judit, James Hoot, and Dorothy Taylor. "Responding to the Special Needs of Refugee Children: Practical Ideas for Teachers." Early Childhood Education Journal. 34. 1 (2006): 15-20.

• Tollefson, James W. "Research on Refugee Resettlement: Implications for Instructional Programs." TESOL Quarterly. 19. 4 (1985): 753-764.

Further Reading    

• Cooper, Mary H. "Global Refugee Crisis." CQ Researcher 9.25 (1999): 569-592. CQ Researcher. Web. 2 Mar. 2010. <http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre1999070900>.

• Masci, David. "Assisting Refugees." CQ Researcher 7.5 (1997): 97-120. CQ Researcher. Web. 2 Mar. 2010. <http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre1997020700>.

• Mosselson, Jacqueline. "Where Am I? Refugee Youth Living in the United States." The Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth. 2. 3 (2009): 453-469.