The importance of host-country language skills for educational success and socioeconomic mobility for migrant children is well documented. This research has mostly focused on immigrant students. The focus on return migrant children or “invisible outsiders” (Hoffmann, 2023) is more recent. Research indicates that, on average, students of return migrant background are likely to be at educational disadvantage compared to other groups of students (Hoffmann, 2023). Yet, the situation appears to vary from country to country and children with access to better resources appear to do well academically.                 

Proficiency of language of instruction is a prerequisite for educational success. Difficulties with the language of instruction contributes to lesser or negative educational outcomes for return migrant children (Kienzler et al., 2019; Zevulun et al., 2021). While research on older children and young people has found that difficulties in learning the language of the host country can have a noticeable impact on newly arrived young people's integration into their new school (Olliff & Couch, 2005; Sanagavarapu, 2010), there are studies and theories that challenge this and argue that there is no clear correlation between language acquisition and wellbeing at school. Apart from a lack of vocabulary and an accent, even more subtle nuances in communication can also hamper language proficiency – irony, humour and rhetorical questions in cultural and social contexts can all contribute to discomfort and stress, which only subsides when the speech patterns and pragmatic-rhetorical aspects of the language have been acquired (Zilka, 2021).

As an example of the way that host countries address migrant integration challenges, the struggles of migrant children in UK schools are in the process of being mitigated with targeted interventions. Thus, the informal role that schools play in helping migrant families to fit in needs to be recognised and local authorities need to provide adequate financial support to schools to hire dedicated EAL (English as an Additional Language) teachers or support staff where appropriate (Manzoni & Rolfe, 2019, p. 61). Initial familiarisation with the new family by the school is important so that each child's need for a tailor-made learning and support programme can be assessed from the start of their school career.

Building on these findings our research will explore education policy models that exist to support the learning of the local language of instruction among foreign-born or raised return migrant children. What are the experiences of return migrant families and their children navigating school under the existing language-of-instruction acquisition model? The current paper seeks to answer these questions. First, it compares how education policies in countries with a track record of return migration such as Finland, Estonia and Latvia support language learning among return migrant children. Second, it offers a bottom-up perspective of return families within the existing language-of-instruction acquisition support model in Latvia. The experiences of returnee children in school settings, particularly in the context of inclusive education, is an under-researched area and this study will, therefore, offer new insights and contribute to migration debates on return migration.

Two research questions guide this paper. To answer the first question, this study aims to conduct a comparative analysis of policies aimed at supporting language acquisition among school age return migrants in Finland, Estonia, and Latvia. Relevant country laws and policies, as well as written interviews with respective policy experts in these countries constitute the sources of evidence to answer this research question. Collection of this data will be completed in May 2024. To answer the second research question, this study relies on primary qualitative data that was collected in 2019 and 2020 from interviews with return migrant families in Latvia. The sample includes 34 parents from return migrant families, 14 children and youth (between 8 and 19) and 12 teachers and other key informants. Most families were 1st generation returnees with their 2nd generation children (born in the host country), some were repatriating 2nd generation (‘roots’ migrants) with their children. The majority of families had lived abroad between 3 to 15 years and the sample also includes a range of parents’ educational and employment backgrounds. In the interviews, families were asked about their experiences of life on return to Latvia – mostly the psychosocial wellbeing of returnee children in the school environment. These included comparison with life experiences in the host country and how a different world view could impact life on return. Knowledge of the language of instruction in Latvia (Latvian, and also in some cases – Russian) was highlighted as problematic, and this study will unravel the specific areas of difficulty and how they are being addressed by way of systemic educational support (Grosa, 2023).

There are several expected outcomes for the paper that will ground this presentation. First, it will offer a comparative view on how countries support language of instruction acquisition among return migrant children. Second, it will offer a detailed view of one case – Latvia – in terms of its educational support to return migrant children. Support for return migrant children has been included in Latvian legislation and regulatory documents, outlining a number of support mechanisms that should be provided (such as teachers’ aides, individual learning plans, additional lessons in Latvian language and some other subjects), yet at the school and class level, targeted support for specific children requiring assistance is often still lacking (Grosa & King, 2022). Thirdly, the outcomes of this research will contribute to better understanding how education policies support return migrant children who need assistance with language of instruction acquisition. Do these policies differentiate between students with return migrant and other migrant background – with different status (immigrant, refugee, asylum-seeker)? What happens where there is lack of a clear policy model for helping return and other migrant children to acquire language proficiency needed to succeed academically? How can language acquisition support be structured systemically to target individual children and support them effectively at the stage of language proficiency at which they enter the school? The outcomes of this research will contribute to educational policy-making and help ease the integration of children and families who enter the education system with a range of levels of Latvian language proficiency – the main language of instruction in schools in Latvia. This knowledge may benefit other policy contexts in supporting the integration of other groups of migrants as well.

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