Project IRCiS

Qualitative study and development of programs for better integration of refugee children

Based on interviews with refugee children and their parents and focus groups with their peers, teachers, and professional associates from schools attended by refugee children, we got an overview of the needs of all involved actors during the process of integrating refugee children into elementary schools. In the second phase of the project, together with teachers and professional associates, we are developing a program of activities for students aimed at integrating the children better.

Participation in the discussion organised by the GOOD initiative "Social distance pandemic: Why are refugee and migrant children left out of online classes during the Covid-19 pandemic?"

Prof. Dinka Čorkalo Birushki participated in the online round table of the GOOD initiative "Social distance pandemic: Why are refugee and migrant children left out of online classes during the Covid-19 pandemic?" In conversations with several refugee children, their teachers and helpers, we learned about the experiences and needs during remote teaching, which was presented in the presentation at the round table.

Participation in the round table at the conference "Integration of refugees - building a welcoming society"

Prof. Dinka Čorkalo Birushki participated in a round table as part of the expert meeting "Integration of refugees - building a welcoming society", organized by UNHCR and the association "MI", where she presented her experience of working with students on the topic of refugees and presented the project and part of the results of a qualitative research.

Organising the conference "School integration of refugee children - Challenges and possible solutions"

The IRCiS project team, in cooperation with the Ministry of Science and Education, organized a conference on improving the school integration of refugee children in Croatia, which was attended by about seventy people from the public and civil sectors, involved in providing support for the education and integration of refugee children. PI on the project Margareta Jelić, head of the sector for joint affairs and programs of the Ministry of Science and Education Darko Tot, State Secretary in the Ministry of Science and Education Tomislav Paljak and director of the Education Agency Dubravka Brezak Stamać addressed the participants. As part of the conference, Professor Margareta Jelić presented the results of the first phase of the project research, in which the needs, challenges and proposals were analyzed from the perspective of refugee children and their parents, peers and teachers. Then, in an online panel discussion moderated by professor Dinka Čorkalo Biruški, possible solutions aimed at the process of school integration of refugee children in primary schools in Croatia were discussed. The panelists came from various institutions and organizations involved in the integration of refugee children: Darko Tot (Ministry of Science and Education), Marija Luković (Gustav Krklec Primary School), Anamaria Macanović (Are You Syrious), Lana Vučinić (Croatian Red Cross) and Nejra Kadić Meškić (Center for Culture of Dialogue).

We launched a humanitarian action: Let's include refugee children in our schools!

In cooperation with colleagues on the ReSPoC research project, as responsible scientists, we decided to react to the challenges of the times we live in and try to respond to the recognized needs of one of the most vulnerable groups in our society - refugee children. That's why, in cooperation with the SOLIDARNA Foundation, we launched a humanitarian campaign aimed at procuring the necessary equipment (tablets) for the participation of refugee children in online classes. Funds were collected for the purchase of tablets for 31 refugee families with children attending primary or secondary school in the area of ​​Zagreb, Sisak, Karlovac and Zadar.
We thank all the donors for their selfless help and participation in the humanitarian action! The donated tablets enabled refugee children to have easier access to educational content during the transition to online classes.

Pilot study

During March and April, a preliminary research was conducted in order to check the characteristics and adapt the questionnaire that will be used in the quantitative part of the project. A total of 279 children between the ages of eight and fifteen, from one elementary school in Zadar and one in Osijek, participated in the research.
We would like to thank the students, their parents and the schools that helped us in the realization of the preliminary research!

Participation in the panel on the education of refugee children

On April 14, 2021, Professor Margareta Jelić participated as a presenter in the panel on the inclusion of refugee children in education, which was organized by the Center for Peace Studies.

Participation in the round table "People with reading difficulties in the context of multiculturalism"

On September 24, 2021, Professor Margareta Jelić participated as an invited lecturer at the 17th round table for library services for people with disabilities and people with special needs on the topic "People with reading difficulties in the context of multiculturalism".

A year of innovation at the University of Zagreb

The year 2021 has been declared the Year of Innovation at the University of Zagreb. We are proud that the programs developed within the IRCiS project - a model for preparing for the integration of refugee children and a model for encouraging the integration of refugee children - have been recognized as an important innovation in the field of social sciences and have been included in the Catalog of Innovations and Patents of the University of Zagreb.

ARCA 2021: 19th International Innovation Exhibition

The model of preparation for the integration of refugee children and the model of encouraging the integration of refugee children, as well as the corresponding manual and workbooks and other materials developed within the framework of the IRCiS project, were presented at the ARCA 19th International Exhibition of Innovations. Our model won a silver medal!

Beginning of program implementation in schools

We are happy to say that the key phase of our project began in September - the implementation of our programs in schools and research into their effectiveness. 24 schools from Zagreb, Karlovac, Sisak and Zadar participated in the implementation: OŠ Banija, OŠ braće Bobetko, OŠ braće Radić, OŠ braće Seljan, OŠ Dragojle Jarnević, OŠ Frana Galovića, OŠ Grabrik, OŠ Gustava Krkleca, OŠ Ive Andrića, OŠ Jure Kaštelana, OŠ Lovre pl. Matačića, OŠ Lučko, OŠ Marije Jurić Zagorke, OŠ Medvedgrad, OŠ Mladost, OŠ Otok, OŠ Otona Ivekovića, OŠ Pavelka Miškine, OŠ Petra Preradovića, OŠ Sesvetska Sopnica, OŠ Šime Budinića, OŠ Špansko Oranice, OŠ Većeslava Holjevca, OŠ Vinka Žganca.  We thank the schools for their response and recognition of the importance and goals of this project!

A one-day training course for teachers "Cooperative learning as a method in the integration of refugee children in schools"

At the invitation of the Croatian Red Cross, as part of the EU project: "Building systematic and comprehensive support for persons under international protection by developing inclusive social services", a one-day education was held under the name "Cooperative learning as a method for integrating refugee children into schools". The head of the IRCiS project, associate professor Ph.D.Sc. Margareta Jelić presented the project and previous activities to the participants, collaborator on the project, prof. Ph.D.Sc. Dinka Čorkalo Biruški gave a short theoretical lecture on the importance of intergroup contact and its role in the school integration of refugee children. After PhD students on the project, Antonija Vrdoljak and Nikolina Stanković, presented the participants with collaborative learning activities that are part of the intervention program for schools that have refugee children involved. About twenty teachers and professional associates from several elementary schools attended by students who have been granted temporary protection in Croatia participated in the training.

Organising the conference "School integration of refugee children: lessons learned and future challenges"

On May 25, 2022, the IRCiS project team, in cooperation with the Ministry of Science and Education, organized a hybrid conference on improving the school integration of refugee children in Croatia, which was attended by about 200 people from the public and civil sectors, involved in providing support for the education and integration of refugee children. Most of the participants were teachers and professional associates from elementary schools in Croatia. The participants were addressed by the project manager, Assoc. Prof. Ph.D. Margareta Jelić, director of the Agency for Education, Ph.D. Dubravka Brezak Stamać and State Secretary in the Ministry of Science and Education Tomislav Paljak. Mr. Paljak reported on over 1,600 refugee children from the Ukraine enrolled in Croatian schools and announced the imminent instructions of the Ministry of Science and Education at the end of the school year and evaluation of refugee children.
As part of the conference, the activities and results of the project so far were presented, with an emphasis on the developed model of integration of refugee children intended for schools that have included refugee children, and the model of preparation for integration in schools that are still expecting the inclusion of refugee children. The first results of the implementation of those programs were also presented. Afterwards, representatives of the schools where the programs were implemented shared their experiences and impressions about the implementation and effectiveness of the program. Finally, in the discussion moderated by prof. Ph.D. Dinka Čorkalo Biruški discussed possible solutions aimed at the process of school integration of refugee children, primarily in primary schools, but also at other levels of education in Croatia.

During the discussion, several topics were highlighted that are extremely important and urgent for conference participants coming from schools:

• Teachers praised the usefulness of preparatory workshops for the reception of refugee children for students, as well as for empowering teachers in terms of their greater readiness to face the challenges of integration.
• Teachers and professional associates especially highlighted the current problem of evaluating and issuing final certificates for refugee children from the Ukraine, which causes them anxiety and ambiguity, and schools urgently need guidelines with clear instructions on how to respond to this challenge.
• While for children in the previous wave of refugees from Arab countries, the central obstacle to integration was irregular and inadequately organized preparatory classes of the Croatian language, now, in the case of accepting refugee children from the Ukraine, the central problem is assessments in schools, since the children are included in the classes, but suddenly they did not have or did not finish preparatory classes in the Croatian language.
• The issue of enrollment of refugee children in secondary schools was also highlighted as an ambiguity for which schools expect appropriate instructions from the Ministry of Education and Culture.
• Many interlocutors welcomed the quick reaction of the competent institutions regarding the inclusion of Ukrainian children in schools, which was not the case with the inclusion of children who arrived in the previous wave of refugees. As a source of inequality in school enrollment, they highlight different regulations that "apply" to the admission of children from different countries. They highlighted the need to harmonize the regulations, that is, to have the same guidelines apply to all the refugee children.
• The importance of having an info-point, for example on the website of the Ministry of Education and Culture, where schools (especially those with no previous experience in refugee integration) could quickly and easily access all necessary and useful information related to inclusion procedures and school integration of refugees.
• In addition to clear and universal guidelines, the information at such an info-point should also include other resources available to schools, such as information on volunteers from non-governmental organizations who study with children, the network of translator-volunteers organized by the Croatian Red Cross and Fig.
• An additional challenge in the school integration of refugee children from the Ukraine is the fact of a different schooling system, because the Ukraine has a 9-year primary education, and children start school at the age of 6.

Networking in the field of global migrations

Presenting at LaEUMiDI 1st International Conference

Collaborating with schools

Participating at the 1st Conference of School Psychologists in Croatia

The activities and integration programs of the IRCiS project were presented at the 1st Conference of School Psychologists, Horizons of Strength (March 3 - 4, 2023, Zagreb) through a presentation "Integration of refugee children in primary schools - the IRCIS project", held by Margareta Jelić, and a workshop held by Nikolina Stanković and Antonija Vrdoljak.

Attending national conference in field of migration

On March 8, 2023, Margareta Jelić participated in the final conference of the project "INCLuDE - Interdepartmental cooperation in the empowerment of citizens of third countries" of the Office for Human Rights and the Rights of National Minorities as one of the authors of the manual Empowering school professional associates and teachers for better integration of refugee students through social actions in the community. On that occasion, she briefly presented the IRCiS project, which offers activities for teachers aimed at improving acceptance and integration of refugee students.

Invited lecture at University of Limerick

On March 14, 2023, Margareta Jelić held an invited lecture for members of the Migration and Diversity Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland, on the topic "Integration of refugee children in primary schools in Croatia - the IRCIS project". 

Links to project materials now available on the MoS webpage

The Ministry of Education published information about the IRCiS project on  March 17th, 2023 on its website, as well as a link to the materials developed for teachers and teaching associates as part of the project. Materials can be used for working with refugee students, as well as with other children who speak a foreign language, i.e. children who do not (yet) speak Croatian well:
https://mzo.gov.hr/vijesti/projekt-ircis-potpora-uciteljima-i-skolama-u-integraciji-ucenika-iz-ukrajine/5394

Collaboration with the Croatian Red Cross

Dinka Čorkalo Biruški and Margareta Jelić, in cooperation with Lana Vučinić from the Croatian Red Cross, held lectures and workshops on the topic "Acceptance of diversity and cooperative learning as a method in the integration of foreign-language students in schools (migrants, national minorities)" in which integration programs of the IRCiS project were presented. Lectures and workshops were held for primary and secondary school teachers in 5 Croatian cities - Osijek, Karlovac, Čakovec, Rijeka and Split.

Handbook now available in English!

Handbook prepared as a part of the IRCiS project was translated into English in order to make it available to practitioners from other countries. Handbook Intervention programs promoting the integration of refugee students into elementary schools: Handbook for the implementation of cooperative learning and imagined contact workshops is available at the link: https://urn.nsk.hr/urn:nbn:hr:131:848219

Poster presentations at "Empirical research in psychology" in Belgrade

We presented part of our data at this year's scientific conference "Empirical research in psychology" organised by the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade. Our doctoral students, Antonija Vrdoljak and Nikolina Stanković, presented two posters entitled "What is it like to hang out with a refugee?" The content of host-society children's imagined contact with refugee children" and "If they want me to, I will: The role of norms in predicting attitudes towards refugee peers". The participants of the conference showed great interest in the presented results, as well as the IRCiS project and for the importance of the topic of migration within the framework of psychology in general.

Conference announcement

Preparations are underway for the final conference of the IRCiS project, entitled "School integration of refugee children: what we have learned", jointly organised by the IRCiS project and the Ministry of Science and Education. The conference will be held on Friday, May 12, 2023. More information coming soon.

Final conference of the IRCiS project

On Friday, May 12, 2023, on the premises of the Edward Bernays University of applied sciences, the final conference of the IRCiS project was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and Education. The conference was attended by representatives of the scientific community and Swiss donors, representatives of the public and civil sector involved in providing support for the education and integration of refugee children, and representatives of primary and secondary schools in Croatia. The participants were addressed by project PI Margareta Jelić, senior adviser for national programs of the Education and Teacher Training Agency Tomislav Ogrinšak and head of the Office for National Minorities in the Ministry of Science and Education Nandor Čapo. Roland Python from the Swiss Embassy in Zagreb also addressed the conference on behalf of the Swiss donors.

During the conference the previous activities and results of the project were presented, with an emphasis on the developed models of school integration of refugee children.The results of the implementation of these programs in schools were also showcased. Teachers who implemented these programs in their schools shared their experiences and impressions about the implementation and effectiveness of the program. The Handbook for the implementation of cooperative learning and imagined contact workshops (available in Croatian and English) was also introduced. It is available in open access and can be utilized by anyone seeking to promote collaboration and facilitate the integration of foreign-speaking children in their schools.

As part of the conference, a panel discussion titled “How the Croatian school system responded to the challenges of children's integration: what have we achieved, what do we (still) have to do?” was held, moderated by prof. Ph.D. Dinka Čorkalo Biruški. Panel participants came from various institutions and organizations involved in the integration of refugee children: Ana Marinović Radojković (Gustav Krklec Primary School, Zagreb), Ella Kravchenko (Croatian Red Cross), Nejra Kadić Meškić (Center for Culture of Dialogue) and Zrinka Lochert (City of Zagreb).

The panelists pointed out that the system has become more flexible since the arrival of refugees from Ukraine, and they see this as a positive change that should extend to refugees from other countries. They also mentioned some difficulties that are still present in the process of school integration of refugees. The panel concluded with suggestions on how to further improve the system of school integration of refugees:

• mandatory preparatory Croatian language classes lasting two hours a day for all newly arrived refugee children, for the duration of one school year,
• the responsibility for assessing the child's need to attend or continue to attend preparatory classes should be given to school committees, and not to the administrative services of local government, as this slows down the integration process,
• additional training for teachers focused on working in foreign language classrooms or multilingual environments,
• the introduction of an "assistant teacher" or "second teacher",
• introducing systematic professional supervision for teachers who work with children who speak foreign languages, ​​or enabling teachers from nearby schools to network and supervise each other,
• placing the existing materials about school integration on the pages of the Ministry of Science and Education (e.g. a special web-page for teachers in a foreign language classroom),
• ensure more permanent support for refugee children (not only initial support), as well as for teachers who work with them.

Ambassadors of social psychology