Higher Education Challenges for Migrant and Refugee Students in a Global World

Higher Education Challenges
for Migrant and Refugee
Students in a Global World

Khalid Arar, Kussai Haj-Yehia,
David B. Ross, and Yasar Kondakci, editors

PETER LANG
New York • Bern • Berlin
Brussels • Vienna • Oxford • Warsaw

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Arar, Khalid, editor.

Title: Higher education challenges for migrant and refugee students in a global world /
edited by Khalid Arar, Kussai Haj-Yehia, David B. Ross, and Yasar Kondakci.

Description: New York: Peter Lang, 2019.

Series: Equity in higher education theory, policy, & praxis; vol. 11

ISSN 2330-4502 (print) | ISSN 2330-4510 (online)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018031612 | ISBN 978-1-4331-6020-2 (hardback: alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4331-6044-8 (ebook pdf) | ISBN 978-1-4331-6051-6 (epub)
ISBN 978-1-4331-6052-3 (mobi)

LCSH: Immigrants—Education (Higher)—Cross-cultural studies.
Refugees—Education (Higher)—Cross-cultural studies.
Inclusive education—Cross-cultural studies.
Educational equalization—Cross-cultural studies.
Higher education and state—Cross-cultural studies.

Classification: LCC LC3727.H53 2018 | DDC 371.826/912—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018031612

DOI 10.3726/b14528

Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data are available
on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de.

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All rights reserved.

Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm,
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About the editors

Khalid Arar (PhD) is President of Al-Qasemi Academic College of Education and Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Higher Education. His most recent book is Higher Education among the Palestinian Minority in Israel (with Kussai Haj-Yehia). He is the associate editor of the International Journal of Leadership in Education.

Kussai Haj-Yehia (PhD) is the head of the Arab Academic Institute for Education at Beit Berl College, Israel. His books include Dream and Reality: Arab University Graduates from Germany and The Internationalization of Higher Education: Student’s Mobility among Arabs in Israel (with Khalid Arar).

David B. Ross (EdD) is an Associate Professor of Higher Education at Nova Southeastern University who was named Professor of the Year (2015–2016). His most recent publications are Academic Entitlement and the K–20 System: The Importance of Implementing Policies to Better the Education System and The Increase of How Mass Media Coverage Manipulates Our Minds.

Yasar Kondakci (PhD), is Associate Professor in Educational Administration and Planning in the Department of Educational Science at Middle East Technical University. He is currently an administrative board member of the Turkish Educational Administration Research and Development Association.

About the book

Higher Education Challenges for Migrant and Refugee Students in a Global World informs readers of theory, policy, and practice of refugee and migrant equitable access to higher education, especially indicating how policy makers, educational leaders, and practitioners can support refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants’ inclusion in higher education institutions in the global world. The chapters composing each section of this book constitute a compilation of research addressing experience relating to the overwhelming flow of refugee and asylum seekers in various higher education systems. There are 41 contributors located in 12 countries (Austria, Canada, Czechia, Germany, Holland, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Palestine, Turkey, and the United States) who deal with the topics of refugees and immigrants in higher education in different world regions, including Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and North America.

Advance Praise for Higher Education Challenges for Migrant and Refugee Students in a Global World

“Economic and political crises throughout the world have caused millions of people to seek refuge and better futures in other nations. Higher Education Challenges for Migrant and Refugee Students in a Global World is a thoughtful international understanding of many of the important limits and possibilities of higher education policies and practices for many of these people.”

Michael W. Apple, University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA

“Studies of international student mobility have, to date, tended to focus on the experiences and mobility patterns of the privileged. This is an important text that diverts our gaze instead to those who migrate under very different conditions—and the potentially significant impact higher education can have on the lives of refugees and other displaced persons. It draws on a wide range of material from various geographical contexts to explore commonalities and differences in the experiences of refugee students. The book will also be of interest to scholars of student migration, as well as those of global higher education policy and practice.”

Rachel Brooks, University of Surrey, UK

“This collection of essays offers a very valuable addition to emergent scholarship within the social sciences on education and migration/mobilities. The focus on displaced populations is especially needed. As the editors note, flows of refugees and asylum seekers are often comprised of large numbers of individuals of school age in need of education. This book offers some very useful perspectives on the implications of this for higher education in the contemporary world.”

Johanna L. Waters, University of Oxford, UK

“Higher Education Challenges for Migrant and Refugee Students in a Global World is a very timely and important volume by renowned international scholars about the consequences of an undeclared world war on higher education systems around the world as millions of people are displaced because of brutal wars, ethnic cleansing, and massacres.”

Hasan Simsek, Istanbul Kültür University, Turkey

“Higher Education Challenges for Migrant and Refugee Students in a Global World will walk you through theoretical and evidence-based perspectives of migrations and the most important policy questions. This book tells the experiences of different countries and national institutions that have been involved in refugee crises. In the retelling of individual stories, it will profoundly enrich your understanding of migrant and refugee student experiences.”

Melita Kovacevic, University of Zagreb, Croatia

“At a time when humanity is struggling to grasp the full implications of migration in the twenty-first century—a phenomenon that has both social and economic dimensions and impacts upon all economic sectors—this book provides useful insights into its consequences while at the same time drawing attention to the link between migrants and refugees and challenges in higher education (a key driver of sustainable development) in an effective yet sensitive manner.”

Anna Saiti, Harokopio University, Greece

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Table of Contents

Figures and Tables

Acknowledgments

Foreword: Refugees, Migrants and Global Challenges in Higher Education: A Call for Connection and Attention!

Hans de Wit

Preface

Khalid Arar, Kussai Haj-Yehia, David B. Ross and Yasar Kondakci

Introduction: Higher Education Challenges for Migrant and Refugee Students in a Global World

Khalid Arar, Kussai Haj-Yehia, David B. Ross and Yasar Kondakci

Section I: Higher Education, Theory, Policy and Integration of Migrants and Refugees

Chapter One: Refugees in Higher Education

Iris BenDavid-Hadar

Chapter Two: Higher Education as an Instrument of Social Inclusion for Displaced Students and Refugees

Carol A. Kochhar-Bryant←vii | viii→

Chapter Three: In the United States, Is There a Home and Access to Higher Education for Migrants, Immigrants and Refugees?

Duncan Waite and Jason R. Swisher

Chapter Four: Effective Leadership: U.S. Educational Institutions Can Accommodate Immigrants, Refugees and Displaced Students

Ann Toler Hilliard

Chapter Five: North American Policy and Practice: Refugee Qualifications and Access to Higher Education

Bryce Loo

Chapter Six: From Brain Drain to Return Migration and Brain Gain in Africa: A Three-Level Theoretical Analysis

Valerie MOMO

Section II: Addressing the Crisis of Higher Education for Refugee and Immigrant Students

Chapter Seven: Not Quite a Crisis but a Coping Challenge: How Berlin Universities Responded to the 2015–2016 Refugee Influx

Bernhard Streitwieser, Maria Anne Schmidt, Lukas Brueck, and Katharina Marlen Gläsener

Chapter Eight: The Influence of the ‘Trump Effect’ on Latina Immigrant Student Aspirations and Expectations for STEM Achievement

Daniel D. Liou, Tamara Coronella, Raquel Fong and Lindsay Romasanta

Chapter Nine: Student Immigrants and NGO Activists in the Same Boat

Terezie Vávrová and Dana Moree

Chapter Ten: Refugees in the German Tertiary Sector: Mapping Service Gaps at Research Universities

Lisa Unangst and Hans de Wit

Chapter Eleven: Getting a ‘Feel for the Game’: How Do (Im)Migrant Students in Iceland Experience Higher Education and Gain Access to the Field?

Brynja Elisabeth Halldórsdóttir and Jón Ingvar Kjaran

Chapter Twelve: Migrants, Refugees and Higher Education in Turkey

Yasar Kondakci and Ozgur Onen←viii | ix→

Section III: Special Practical Cases of Higher Education Accessibility for Migrants and Refugees

Chapter Thirteen: Circular Migration and the Former USSR: Experiences and Conflicts of Graduates from the Palestinian Arab Minority in Israel

Khalid Arar, Kussai Haj-Yehia, Fadiya Ibrahim and Muhammad Khalaily

Chapter Fourteen: Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander Students in STEM Programs: Examining Student-Faculty Interactions

Maricris R. Eleno-Orama and David B. Ross

Chapter Fifteen: Living, Learning and Teaching in a Refugee Camp: Biographies of Perseverance

Jennifer W. Khamasi, Cynthia C. Nicol, Samson N. Madera, and Karen Meyer

Chapter Sixteen: Re-Accessing Higher Education: Regulations and Challenges for Refugees in Austria and Turkey

Seyda Subasi, Michelle Proyer and Tatjana Atanasoska

Chapter Seventeen: Higher Education, Hospitality and Onward Movement: Eritrean University Students and Ethiopian Refugee Policy

Jennifer Riggan and Amanda Poole

Chapter Eighteen: Higher Education Experiences of a Female Syrian Refugee Student: Aisha’s Student Journey

Zeynel Amaç, Durmuş Burak and Muhammet Ruhat Yaşar

Chapter Nineteen: Arab World Refugee Challenges in Higher Education: The Case of Syrian Refugee Students in Jordan

Kussai Haj-Yehia and Khalid Arar

Contributors

Index←ix | x→ ←x | xi→

Figures and Tables

Figures

Figure 1.1. Countries that host the most refugees (in millions)

Figure 1.2. Refugees to 1,000 inhabitants

Figure 1.3. Major source countries of refugees (in millions)

Figure 3.1. An Instagram post from a young Mexican American college student

Figure 3.2. An x-ray taken by Mexican immigration officials in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, Mexico

Figure 7.1. Common European framework of reference for languages

Figure 10.1: Olivieri framework for university website content analysis

Figure 12.1. Student flow from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq to Turkey

Figure 13.1. Palestinian students studying abroad 1929–2012

Tables

Table 2.1. Summary of policies and practices for access and integration into higher education in six countries

Table 6.1. Estimated total stocks of migration from, to and within Africa←xi | xii→

Table 6.2. African immigrants to the United States by country of birth (thousands), 1981 to 2000

Table 6.3. Estimated extent of brain drain from Africa

Table 7.1. Interview partners