“All I desire”: Education and access to school for asylum-seeking children in Iceland

• Main Authors: Guðmundsdóttir, Helga, Gunnlaugsson, Geir, Einarsdóttir, Jónína
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Icelandic
• Published: Menntavísindasvið Háskóla Íslands 2018
• Subjects: asylum seeking children; parents; education; school; börn; alþjóðleg vernd; foreldrar; menntun; skóli; hælisleitendur; Iceland
• Online Access: https://ojs.hi.is/index.php/tuuom/article/view/2753

Asylum-seeking children are not a homogenous group, neither in cultural background nor length of formal education. Some have had normal education in their country of origin while others have experienced intermittent or no prior education. For them, the school is a way to obtain education, to know other children, and learn a new language. Attention also needs to be paid to their parents as they, for various reasons, have the responsibility for the decision to seek asylum and now face new and challenging circumstances, including how to educate their children. According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted into Icelandic law in 2013, children seeking asylum in Iceland have the right to attend school as other children at no cost. Since 2016, there has been a surge in the number of applications for asylum in Iceland, including families with children, as well as unaccompanied children. The aim of the study is to describe and analyze the experience of families with children who seek asylum in Iceland with regard to their education and school attendance. Applying qualitative research methodology, semi-structured interviews were held in May-December 2015 with 12 children (2–17 years) and 10 parents (25–60 years) who had sought asylum in Iceland. Three of the children had not started school at the time of the interviews. To facilitate the conversation, the children took own photographs to express themselves, made drawings, or used old ones. The participants were chosen through purposeful sampling, and included families who were waiting for the outcome of their application, had already gained refugee status, or had been granted humanitarian residence permit. Ethical permission was sought and given from indicated national authorities. Attending school gives asylum-seeking children and their families’ stability and meaning in daily life. Education was also seen as an important means to a better future. Some of the children had to wait some time until they could start their education in Iceland, and found it ...