Refugee youth’s access to formal and non-formal education provisions in times of crisis plays an important role in achieving normality and a feeling of safety for all but especially young children. In 2022, in a very short period of time, millions of people needed to move out from Ukraine and crossed the border to EU countries. In this paper, we rely on data collected through mapping and accompanying interviews with youth residing in Austria. By using the Journey Maps method (Howard, 2014), the aim is to compare the response given to the acute need for education of refugees who arrived from Middle Eastern or African countries in 2015 and experiences of those arriving during the Ukraine conflict. At least two maps from the two periods will be initially analyzed using thematic analyses. Thus four participants have been invited to map their educational journeys and comment on these in the course of accompanying interviews, either in a current or retrospect perspective. How EU- level and national Austrian policy responded to accommodate students affected by the biggest conflicts in the last decade is analyzed by relying on refugee students’ visualisation of their journey to school after arriving in Austria. Language-related barriers, public acceptance, recognition of previous education, involvement of parents as well as non-formal education provisions are the experiences to be compared. The preliminary results show that the educational response was in line with the solidarity and quick response given to the Ukrainian crisis in Europe. However, this approach illustrates a politicized humanitarian approach that perpetuates the historically-rooted oppression against marginalized groups in Europe (Esposito, 2022). The continuation of national education in Ukraine remotely, the quick recruitment of Ukrainian teachers and the lack of identification of Ukrainian children who are school age were some of the challenging areas identified. On the other hand, the interviews revealed that the inclusion of Ukrainian children in the Austrian school system has been more smoothly compared to that of peers from Syria, Afghanistan or other Middle Eastern or African countries. The high level of othering, racial prejudice, and negative media coverage against refugees who arrived in Austria upon conflict in the Middle East starting in 2015 have not been experienced in the context of Ukrainian children.

Esposito, A. (2022). The limitations of humanity: differential refugee treatment in the EU. Retrieved from https://hir.harvard.edu/the-limitations-of-humanity-differential-refugee-treatment-in-the-eu/ [accessed 28.01.23]. Howard, T. (2014). Journey mapping: A brief overview. Communication Design Quarterly Review, 2(3), 10-13. UNHCR. (2022). Education in emergencies. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/education/emergencies [accessed 28.01.23].