Since 24 February 2022, following Russia's aggression against Ukraine, Poland, whose eastern border is also the EU border, has experienced an unprecedented influx of war refugees, the majority of whom are children and women. Poland has become one of the most important countries on the front line in solidarity to provide refugees from Ukraine with shelter and access to services, including care and education, and thus human and child rights. As a result, the number of migrant students has increased significantly. They are from both economic and forced migrant families. Data from November 2023 shows that 286,000 refugee-children, mainly Ukrainian and Belarusian, attend Polish schools. The scale and changing nature of refugeeism and migration present new challenges and opportunities for Polish education and schools unprepared to accommodate such large numbers of foreign students (Markowska-Manista 2023). This has deconstructed the way hitherto mono-cultural schools operate and opened up the search for solutions directed at rights to and rights in education in a situation of intercultural diversity (Górak-Sosnowska, Markowska-Manista 2022). In order to provide access to education for Ukrainian children, a number of legislative changes have been introduced concerning their rights to and in education. Despite the efforts made, school principals and teachers are still struggling with the difficult problems that arise when integrating such a large group of children and adolescents into the existing educational system. The situation is not helped by the sense of temporariness with which some Ukrainian families treat their stay in Poland. Research indicates that more than 53% of school-age refugee children registered in Poland are still outside the Polish education system, including 112.8 thousand children of primary school age (Chrostowska 2023). Empowering the teaching staff involved in working with students with migration experience, improving teachers' competences, creating good teaching practices, as well as working with Polish students and their parents, who are often critical of diversity in the school and classroom environment, are the most important challenges in this area today. The presence of students with migration background in the Polish educational system is not a temporary situation, and schools are undoubtedly those social institutions that have a key impact on the integration and support of migrant children. In order to support the socio-educational integration processes of children with migration background and to strengthen their well-being and sense of belonging to the school community, it is necessary to identify the factors for these actions at individual and institutional levels and to analyse the strategies and methods for putting them into practice in educational situations.

In this presentation, we share the results of participatory-oriented research on the situation of children and their rights in education in school intercultural diversity resulting from refugeeism and migration. The context includes analyses of solidarity policies with refugees in Poland (Digidiki et al. 2024) and the legal basis of education and rights in education in a situation of cultural-national diversity in a frontline host country. We also explore an interculturally oriented, participatory, child-centred(Arun et al. 2023), child-potential centered(Gilliam, Gulløv 2022) experimental education programme for primary school students implemented since 2023 in collaboration with researchers and practitioners. Among the most important research questions in the study were:

- how do refugee-children experience the daily life of Polish schools based on respect for their rights to education and in education?

 - what factors enhance their well-being, sense of belonging, the processes of social, educational integration (rights in education) in culturally diverse classrooms, how can these be supported at institutional and individual level?

- which solutions, methodologies are used to support students, teachers, parents in improving their intercultural and social knowledge and competences?

The point of reference for the study is a humanising methodology(Reyes et al. 2021), based on relationships and transformational approaches in education (Martens 2021). Transformation is possible when we reflect, draw conclusions and take action in relationships (Freire 1970). Accordingly, our aim is not only to present the research results, but also to provide theoretical input in the field of children's rights in education and in the field of intercultural education (CohenMiller, Boivin 2022). The study was qualitative and incorporated participatory, transformative, dialogical and inclusive approaches by building students' affiliation to the classroom and school environment. In the research we use the terms 'participation' and empowerment of children's voices. The term participation is used to describe the diverse situations and processes concerning relationships in education in adult and child activities in a situation of increased refugeeism to Poland due to the war in Ukraine. Participation refers here to activities in which not only adults but also children express their opinions and share their experiences, and their participation and voices are important and taken into account. Participation is also understood as an approach that gradually involves children in systemic activities that affect them. These are activities in education in which children participate as co-researchers, experts or co-organisers of activities (Markowska-Manista 2021). The empowerment of voice results from the right to speak(CRC) and refers to activities developed on the basis of Lundy's(2011) model in which children participate and through which their voices are heard, made active and incorporated into the discourse of the classroom and school. The research is a continuous process (2023-2025) and is implemented in the space of collaborative, interculturally oriented, participatory activities of students, their parents, teachers and researchers in an experimental intercultural classroom and the surrounding environment of a public primary school in Warsaw. Intercultural activities and research are carried out with art-based methods and counter-stories embedded in artistic activities. They are introduced gradually and accompany the experimental programme as a response to current challenges faced by Polish schools. The results we will present are from 2023/2024 participant observation, semi-structured interviews with parents and teachers, counter-narratives from Polish and Ukrainian students, parents and teachers, gathered using the project method based on Lundy's participatory model. Accompanying these findings, conclusions from the analysis of solidarity policies with refugees in Poland as well as the legislative basis for education were produced on the basis of interviews and desk research.

The results present the main aspects of students' and adults' understanding of participation and perspective on rights in education in an intercultural environment at school in the host country. The study also shows how important it is to include Polish children and children with refugee and migration background in activities and joint participation to build a safe space for verbal and non-verbal (through art) communication between children and children as well as children and adults. The conducted research allowed the identification of factors that influence the experience of belonging of students with migration background. These include educational support in the language of the host country, students' relationships with teachers and all school staff, as well as selected programmes, activities and teaching methods that allow students to develop competences such as individual resilience, reflexivity or self-confidence (resilience, self-recognition, self-concept) and therefore reflect the practice of the solidarity policy mechanism. It is important that these activities support not only students with migrant or refugee background rights, but also Polish students, serving the construction of a coherent cultural identity in the individual and community dimension. It is noteworthy that in the intercultural class studied, foreign students make up half of the group, while the other - equal - part is made up of Polish students with no previous intercultural experience. The activities implemented in cooperation with a large, non-public Ukrainian school in Warsaw, among other activities within the project, enable students with migration and refugee background to develop a sense of belonging also to the nation and language of origin, providing them with a doubly valuable tool and a strong foundation for further development. These are important activities for building social justice and strengthening rights through education.

Arun, S., Badwan, K., Taibi, H., and Batool, F.(eds.) (2023). Global Migration and Diversity of Educational Experiences in the Global South and North: A Child-Centred Approach. London: Routledge. CohenMiller, A., Boivin, N. (2022). Questions in qualitative social justice research in multicultural contexts. London & New York: Routledge. Chrostowska, P. (2023). Uczniowie uchodźczy z Ukrainy w polskim systemie edukacji. Warszawa: Centrum Edukacji Obywatelskiej. Devine, D. (2013). ‘Value’ing children differently? Migrant children in education. Children & Society, 27(4): 282-294. Digidiki, V., Bhabha, J., Markowska-Manista, U. & Dobkowska, J.(2024). Building Inclusion, Sustaining Solidarity towards migrants in frontline local communities: The case of Poland during the Ukrainian Refugee Crisis. Boston: Harvard FXB Center for Health and Human Rights. Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed (MB Ramos,Trans.). New York: Continuum, 2007. Gilliam, L., Gulløv, E. (2022). Children as potential–a window to cultural ideals, anxieties and conflicts. Children’s Geographie. 20(3): 311–323. Górak-Sosnowska, K., Markowska-Manista, U. (2022). Living up to the intercultural education in a monocultural school. The case of Poland. Edukacja Międzykulturowa. 4(19): 139–152. Kościółek, J. (2020). Children with migration backgrounds in polish schools – problems and challenges. Ann. Istrian Mediterranean Stud. Ser. Historia et Sociologia. 30:4. DOI:10.19233/ASHS.2020.40 Lundy, L., McEvoy, L., Byrne, B. (2011). Working with young children as co-researchers: An approach informed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Early education & development. 22 (5), 714–736. Markowska-Manista, U. (2023). Children’s Rights in a Situation of War in Ukraine. Korczak’s Pedagogy as ‘Difficult Knowledge’ for Adults. In: Maier-Höfer, C., Markowska-Manista, U., Stellakis, N.(eds),Theorien und Praktiken der Selbstbestimmung und Partizipation: Janusz Korczak im Diskurs. Springer https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-30764-6_13 Markowska-Manista, U. (2021). Research “about” and “with” children from diverse cultural backgrounds in Poland–dilemmas and ethical challenges. Edukacja Międzykulturowa,14(1): 233-244. Martin, S., Horgan, D., O’Riordan, J., Maier, R. (2023). Refugee and migrant children’s views of integration and belonging in school in Ireland – and the role of micro- and meso-level interactions, International Journal of Inclusive Education, DOI:10.1080/13603116.2023.2222304. Mertens, D.M. (2021). Transformative Research Methods to Increase Social Impact for Vulnerable Groups and Cultural Minorities. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. 20, 16094069211051563. Starnawski, M., Gawlicz, K., Duda, D. (2021). Children’s Educational Rights in Poland: Policy, School Realities and Ideological Tensions. Children’s Rights from International Educational Perspectives: Wicked Problems for Children’s Education Rights, 57-72. Xanthaki, A., Luoma, C. (2022). Education and Integration of Migrant and Refugee. The international journal of children's rights, 30: 41-71.