Education represents a vehicle for the cultural and socioeconomic integration of refugees, for their autonomy and dignity and for the fight against marginalization and fundamentalism. However, the participation of refugees in higher education faces multiple challenges, which is reflected in low enrollment rates. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, only 7% go to university, compared to the global average of participation in higher education of more than 40% among non-refugees. The project aims to carry out an exploratory study to identify the challenges that refugee students encounter in participating in higher education in Portugal, both in access and during their studies. It adopts an intercultural and intersectional perspective to allow identifying and relating possible structural and systemic inequalities and injustices in Portugal and to propose practical recommendations to mitigate challenges in higher education institutions.

Objetives

Refugees represent a socially disadvantaged group, similar to racialized minorities. These vulnerable groups face challenges in participating in education, which reflects the inadequacy of higher education institutions’ equity and inclusion policies. Research on the participation of refugees in higher education is scarce. The lack of studies in Portugal stands out, with only one study identifying obstacles to access. In this context, the objective of the project is to understand the challenges to participation in higher education that refugees face, seeking to answer the following two research questions:

1. What are the political, legal and institutional factors that condition the participation of refugees in higher education in Portugal?
2. How do refugee students perceive and deal with the challenges they face in accessing higher education and during their studies?

The project will carry out analyses of the normative framework and of student narratives from a decolonial and intercultural perspective, as a critique to cognitive privileges and associated practices. The objective is to enable a more integrated reflection on the underlying hierarchical relationships and how they intersect, particularly based on the variables of gender, race and social class.

Research Team

• Cristina Sin (PI), CeiED, Lusófona University
• Filipa Lourenço,  CeiED, Lusófona University
• Inês Vieira, CeiED, Lusófona University
• Elisabete Pinto da Costa,  CeiED, Lusófona University
• Alexandra Silvestre,  CeiED, Lusófona University
• Joyce Aguiar, CIPES

Associated ReLeCo's

• Public Policies and Governance in Education
• Socio-Artistic Studies for Decoloniality and Sustainability
• Social and Educational Mediation