Description
ABSTRACT
Relevance: Ukrainian young refugees frequently lack language competence in host countries. It causes social deprivation, psychological stress, and academic failures. Authorities at school education have to make extra efforts to facilitate the integration, and digital platforms and online classes are the options.
Purpose: The study aims to determine key challenges for Ukrainian migrant children staying abroad and the capability of the home country-based online school classes to solve the related problems.
Design/methodology: A Google Forms questionnaire was elaborated to survey attitudes of migrant Ukrainians towards local school education, the impact of online classes on academic performance, and overall experience of staying abroad. The sample was of 24 parents of Ukrainian children studying simultaneously in host countries schools and in Ukrainian online school ‘Mriia’. Anonymous replies were processed and analyzed throughout, with tables and figures.
Results: Language barriers are the most challenging point for young Ukrainian refugees studying abroad. Some discrepancies with curricula exist; however attendance of online classes in the home country school helps to overcome the related difficulties.
Practical significance: The capability of home country-based online classes to impact the academic performance of migrant and refugee children is revealed.
Conclusions: Attendance of online classes in home country schools does help migrant children to perform in studying at local schools. Digital platforms enable online communication with friendsand families and, in such a way, help to decrease psychological stress followed
by migration. Flexible welcome programs for migrant children are the necessary measure to provide integration into a host society, develop language skills, and achieve academic performance.
