{"id":954,"date":"2026-10-05T21:24:50","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T01:24:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/jrn449-f26\/?p=954"},"modified":"2026-10-05T21:24:50","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T01:24:50","slug":"segregated-but-equal-shifting-policy-on-education-for-refugee-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/jrn449-f26\/segregated-but-equal-shifting-policy-on-education-for-refugee-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Segregated but Equal? Shifting Policy on Education for Refugee Children"},"content":{"rendered":"

Willkommensklassen<\/a>\u00a0(welcome classes) are branches of the Nelson Mandela School in Wilmersdorf for newly arrived refugee children and young people, aged 6 to 18, to learn the necessary German language skills to progress into the public school system. In Berlin, two standalone educational centres for \u201cwelcome classes\u201d currently operate at eight refugee arrival centres, including Tempelhof and Tegel. Meant as a \u201cpass-over\u201d, the attendance at welcome classes should \u201cgenerally last no longer than one year\u201d. The reality is much different. Children and young people are still attending schools<\/a> at emergency shelters and arrival centres even when they have stopped being housed there.<\/p>\n

The Left Party has consistently denounced the \u201csegregation<\/a>\u201d of refugee children from regular school systems. It is not hard to see where this worry stems from: the Senate Department for Education<\/a> indicated that in June, 137 children attended an education centre in Tegel. Only 13 school-age children were housed in the emergency shelter.<\/p>\n

Now, as the Senate plans to build a new centre at the Hasensheide refugee accommodation centre, the conversation is gaining momentum. The center will welcome 900 people, including\u00a0many unaccompanied minors<\/a>, 75 of whom will have a place at the \u201cwelcome classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back in February, the district assembly of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg had already stipulated that children should enter schools in Kreuzberg and Neuk\u00f6lln. The Senate argues otherwise: “Individual calculated excess capacity in North Neuk\u00f6lln is insufficient to ensure the reliable and permanent accommodation of all children.”<\/p>\n

The Left Party has not been the only one to denounce the continuous operation of these school centres; the Berlin Refugee Council makes a similar denunciation: “The Senate is clinging to an expensive, discriminatory, and segregating parallel system, even though the conditions on which it was originally justified have long since ceased to exist”. The continuous operation of these centres could also, in principle, violate the recently adopted Common European Asylum System. In particular, under\u00a0Article 16<\/a>, member states must grant “the same access to education as their own nationals and under similar conditions.”<\/p>\n

Then, how to speak of integration?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I want to report on how the educational experiences of children in these centres differ from those of refugee children in public schools. I am also interested in exploring meaningful ways in which children can be integrated into German society.<\/p>\n

Children as \u201cvoices aware of their vocality\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Silencing the Past, anthropologist Michel-Rolph Trouillot reminds us: \u201cWhile some of us debate what history is or was, others take it in their own hands\u201d. The making (and unmaking) of history is characterised by silences: marginalised voices are inherently forgotten because power structures dictate what is remembered, who makes it, and how we interpret memory. Despite severely suffering due to conflict, children are often sidelined in policymaking practices that affect them (Martuscelli & Villa, 2018). But I think their role as peacebuilders and agents in the construction of collective memory is crucial. Art therapy practices are particularly interesting because, in being co-creators of a learning space, children reclaim ownership of their experiences of trauma (Trouillot, 2015)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A Child\u2019s Laugh is Worth All the Money in the World!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Currently, several child rights organisations operate educational programmes for refugee children.Clown4All,<\/em><\/a> <\/strong>launched in Berlin with cooperation from the European Solidarity Corps, regularly performs in refugee shelters, open-stage ‘Clown Jams’, and training sessions. Clowns Without Borders<\/a> also operates a chapter in Germany. I am working to get in touch with them and, hopefully, understand how their work helps manage their transition into schooling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Willkommensklassen\u00a0(welcome classes) are branches of the Nelson Mandela School in Wilmersdorf for newly arrived refugee children and young people, aged 6 to 18, to learn the necessary German language skills to progress into the public school system. In Berlin, two standalone educational centres for \u201cwelcome classes\u201d currently operate at eight refugee arrival centres, including Tempelhof<\/p>\n

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