This research explores the lived experiences of refugee children growing up amid continuous change and overlapping crises, focusing particularly on forced migration and the COVID‑19 pandemic.  We asked children to tell and draw about their experiences before, during, and after the pandemic, examining how they describe their lives and relationships with teachers, peers, friends, family, and what we should do differently in supporting children in future crises.

The pandemic showed clearly that COVID‑19 education policy measures did not affect all children equally. Crisis responses, school closures, digital tools, family circumstances, and migration‑related challenges shaped how children experienced the period. While some positive aspects of remote teaching have been noted (Orell, 2021), disadvantaged backgrounds are found to be a major factor in learning losses during remote schooling (Engzell, Frey & Verhagen, 2021), and children in vulnerable positions faced the most negative impacts on learning (Goman, 2021; Metsämuuronen & Lehikko, 2023). Increased inequalities were linked to the heightened need for home support and self‑regulation (Goman, 2021), typically scaffolded by physical classrooms and teacher guidance. During remote learning, pupils with strong social backgrounds and supportive families had better capacity for self‑regulation and motivation (Metsämuuronen & Seppälä, 2022), whereas those in disadvantaged or vulnerable situations often lacked this crucial support (Fazel et al., 2012).

The study draws on narrative analysis (Riessman, 1993; Polkinghorn, 1995) and realistic dialogic analysis (Francis Auton et al., 2022) within a critical realist framework (Bhaskar, 1975/2008). This combination addresses both personal experiences and the broader social structures shaping them. Critical realism helps to illuminate skewed or limiting ways of thinking and acting around policies and practices (cf. Fairclough, 2012), as it recognises that established knowledge is always fallible (Bhaskar, 1975/2008), but it can be strengthened through multiple viewpoints and multidisciplinary analyses. Through this framework, the study offers insights on how young people faced uncertainty, restrictions, remote schooling, social isolation, and sudden shifts in daily routines, and how the crisis became part of everyday life.

Individual narratives connect to broader issues of migration, inequality, access to education, and the effects of policy on children’s daily lives. For example, school closures, remote learning, and unequal access to digital tools affected children differently across borders. Understanding how these children experienced the crisis contributes to international discussions on equal educational opportunities, crisis‑resilient schooling, children’s rights, and preparedness for future disruptions. By examining how children narrate and make sense of their experiences, the study strengthens debates on children’s rights, vulnerability, migration, and the challenges of growing up in an increasingly complex world.

This research is part of the Nordic collaboration ERAPAN (Education of Refugees and Asylum Seekers under and post the Pandemic in the Nordic Countries), strengthening the study’s European dimension. In Nordic and European contexts, children with refugee backgrounds often move across countries, languages, and education systems. The pandemic exposed differences in how countries supported vulnerable children, especially those with migration backgrounds.

This study uses a qualitative research design based on semi structured interviews, which were analysed using narrative (Riessman, 1993; Polkinghorn, 1995) and realist dialogic analysis (Francis Auton et al., 2022). In addition, the students were asked to draw about their experiences, as drawing may help children to bring forth matters that otherwise could be left untold (Smørholm & Simonsen 2017). Semi structured interviews built around a shared timeline helped children recall how their lives changed during the pandemic. According to Riessman (1993), disruptions in everyday life expose gaps between ideal and real conditions prompt more elaborate storytelling. From these individual accounts, a broader coming of age narrative emerges, one that shows how young people navigated uncertainty, restrictions, remote schooling, social isolation, and sudden shifts in daily routines, and how the crisis gradually became part of everyday life. The interviews were conducted five years after the pandemic, which made narrative analysis a sensemaking choice. With several years between the pandemic and the moment of reminiscence, the research focused on the long term reflections, core memories, and the broader storylines the children use to make sense of the pandemic and its impact on their everyday lives, that have stayed with the children to this day. Narrative analysis allows the research to focus not only on what events they remember, but how they describe them, what they emphasise, and how they connect different moments into a larger story (Riessman, 1993; Polkinghorn, 1995). The results first identified through narrative analysis were further developed through realistic dialogic analysis. This meant discussing the findings within the research team, comparing interpretations, and refining our understanding together. These ongoing dialogues helped strengthen the analysis and ensured that different viewpoints were considered. Ethical considerations have been central to the research. The study follows principles of voluntary participation, informed consent, confidentiality, and sensitivity to the children’s backgrounds. The interviews were conducted safely and respectfully, and the participants were encouraged to share only what they felt comfortable discussing. Because the children have refugee backgrounds, special attention was given to their wellbeing, privacy, and the potential emotional impact of recalling crisis experiences.

The study provides new insights into how children with refugee backgrounds experienced the COVID 19 pandemic. Their narratives illuminate both the broader challenges of growing up amid overlapping crises and the individual emotions, circumstances, and obstacles they faced, alongside the opportunities and imagined futures they see for themselves. Tentative findings suggest that the children’s identities, perspectives, and sense of agency were shaped by pandemic conditions such as school closures, social restrictions, shifting family responsibilities, and uncertainty. Their reflections highlight the diversity within this group and challenge assumptions that children in vulnerable positions form a uniform category. The stories show varied ways of coping, adapting, and interpreting crisis time events, each shaped by personal context and history. The narratives also show that childhood carries an inherent vulnerability to the impacts of crises and everyday life. While they reveal children’s adaptability, they also emphasize the need for support that responds to individual circumstances. Asking for help was not always easy – a child might feel ashamed or avoid being treated differently and try to blend in despite difficulties. This underscores the importance of structures and educators who offer sensitive, respectful support without singling children out. Approachable, low threshold communication between students and educators appears key. Their coming of age stories remind us of the insecurities all children navigate as they grow, and how a crisis can become part of everyday life when it stretches over long periods. These findings can help educators, schools, and policymakers better understand what matters for children in crisis situations and how to build support systems that are both accessible and responsive. The study contributes to discussions on children’s rights, vulnerability, migration, and the realities of growing up in an increasingly complex and uncertain world.

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