This paper presents the results of the dialogic co-creation of the educational needs assessment of refugee and migrant children in Spain conducted under the framework of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research project REFUGE-ED: Effective Practices in Education, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support for the integration of Refugee Children. REFUGE-ED carries out 3 multisite pilot actions across 6 European countries, developing a first phase that consists of a dialogic co-creation and consultation with end-users (children, families, communities, teachers, practitioners) and stakeholders (NGOs, policymakers) to identify needs and how these can be successfully met by for piloting evidence-based practices. This paper presents the educational needs of refugee and migrant children identified in 6 Primary Spanish schools and the dialogic co-creation process that has allowed the engagement of all actors.

Data from January-September 2021 shows that more than 23% of refugees and migrants hosted by European countries in reception centers or other accommodation arrangements were children (UNICEF, 2022). Since the start of the war in Ukraine, two million refugee children have fled the country. According to Save the Children (2022), a child from Ukraine has become a refugee every single second of the war. The UNHCR estimates that the average period that refugee people spend in exile is approximately 20 years (SIRIUS, 2015).

Recent available data regarding the schooling of forcibly displaced children presents a disturbing situation. According to worldwide data from the UNHCR, 37% of primary school-age and 76% of secondary education age refugee children are out of school. Further, only 3% of refugees attend university compared to 37% globally (UNHCR, 2019). There is limited official data regarding schooling in different parts of Europe due to the complexity of the phenomenon.

Since 2013 the EU has granted children of asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors' access to the education systems of the member states in similar conditions as the nationals of the respective countries, with the Directive 2013/33/EU, or the Council Directive 2011/95/EU concerning minors who have refugee or subsidiary protection status. In Europe, despite the legislation regarding the right to education for all children, there are demographic, psychological, economic, legal and sociological constraints that prevent the materialization of this right, particularly affecting children from refugee families (Essomba, 2017).

The barriers to education faced by refugee children are multifaceted, interlinked and complex and, according to UNESCO, can be summarized into three categories: household (actual capacities to afford education, how relevant they consider it to be, and how accessible education is for them), systemic (characteristics of the education system that can prevent migrant/refugee/asylum- seeking children from receiving a quality provision) and functional (how the system works for these children and what outcomes they get from it) (UNESCO, 2019). The Joint Working Group seminar on the integration of migrants points out some of the most important challenges faced by policymakers and practitioners in the integration of newly arrived migrants and refugees in the educational system: (1) the need to coordinate different levels of government, types of actors and policy areas; (2) the insufficient training for educators in the skills and competencies needed for the integration of newly-arrived migrants (e.g. to deal with diversity, mental health and psychosocial problems and language barriers); (3) the difficulties in assessing and recognizing the prior learning of migrants as well as of giving an adequate response to previous educational deficits; and, (4) the need to tailor general approaches to individual cases and specific needs, and to engage with the groups furthest away from education and employment (European Commission, 2017).

REFUGE-ED is identifying, implementing, and testing effective practices in education and MHPSS that promote the educational success, well-being and sense of belonging of children (0-18 years old- ISCED 0-3) from recent migration cohorts, refugees and asylum seekers, and unaccompanied minors. The methodology used in the project is the communicative methodology (Gómez, Puigvert, & Flecha, 2011), which adds the dialogic dimension to the co-creation pillar of the project. For this communication we will present the development of the first phase of the project and, specifically, the results of the analysis of the needs identified in Spanish Primary schools that are part of the project pilots. We collected information about the needs experienced by end-users (considering both those professionals working in the pilot settings, e.g. teachers, educators, psychologists, volunteers etc.), and those to whom the actions will be directed, e.g. families, children, unaccompanied minors) and stakeholders (those with decision-making capacity in the planning and management of actions (policy makers, NGOs). Six primary schools were selected from different geographical areas of Spain with a diversity of students and high percentages of refugee, migrant or asylum-seeking students. For each center, five communicative life stories with end-users (minors and families), five interviews with end-users (professionals, families and minors), five interviews with stakeholders (volunteers, NGOs, public workers, policymakers), and two focus group discussions have been held. In most centers an informal presentation to teachers, professionals, and the whole community has also taken place. The data collected has been analyzed using a bottom-up approach, meaning that the knowledge has been built looking through the eyes of the interviewed people, summing up their own analysis. In this process, shared mental health and psychosocial support and educational challenges and needs, in the light of the main guiding thematic issues of the project (academic achievement, well-being and sense of belonging), have been identified. The primary schools are small centers (from 450 to 700 students and 30 to 50 teachers). They are Learning Communities or implement Successful Educational Actions identified in the FP6 Integrated Project: INCLUD-ED (2006-2011) such as Interactive Groups or Dialogic Literary Gatherings. They are in particularly disadvantaged economic and socio-cultural backgrounds and in high migration zones, specially from Morocco, South American countries, and Roma families. The pilot sites are outstandingly participative schools and are conscious of the inclusive potential of opening schools for families and volunteers.

Regarding integration, representation and visibilization of all cultures, teachers, families and stakeholders identify a lack of comprehension and integration of diversity in society. Language is one of the first barriers to communication and, therefore, for integration, for wellbeing and for academic achievement. The challenge, however, manifests especially in parents or legal guardians, as children have higher abilities in retaining new words and language structures. Connected to communication problems, families find there is a lack of information about services and tools for attending to mental health and other needs. The professional’s view on new-comers affects their projections, which translates into low expectations of their life’s development: their goal finishes to be restricted to finding a job, worthy or not, and so their interaction and integration in the host community reduce to this. One of the main gaps in schools is the MHPPS approach and attention to emotional issues. Most teachers feel they don’t have enough training to address some problems their students might have, that they cannot give convenient advice or appropriate actions. Some families feel that not all teachers are and act the same way: some of them put effort in their job, and others do just the minimum it is expected from them. There are certain barriers for migrant families to actively participate in the schools. These are related to work, transportation, and communication (or lack of information about these activities). One of the main challenges at the stakeholders/surrounding community/policy makers’ level is the need for flexibilization of integration protocols and curriculums without decreasing educational quality standards. Likewise, over bureaucratization of administrative processes hinders users’ ability to successfully navigate socio-educational systems. The administration should facilitate the integration through non-bureaucratical processes, by giving basic life services as residence or working licenses easily.

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