Refugee Education

Abstract

In this contribution, the potential of intercultural approaches to education and in particular the role of heritage language teachers is explored. Using data from a study dealing with the consideration of cultural diversity in educational contexts, the actions of these teachers will be analyzed and put into perspective with the needs of refugee students and their parents identified in the international literature. The results obtained after analysis of the semi-directive interviews are put into a theoretical perspective using the acculturation strategies model developed by Berry and the linguistic interdependence theory. This exploratory study shows the pedagogical potential of HL teachers regarding refugee and migrant pupils' integration; it also shows how intercultural approaches can be a relevant and powerful resource in this field. Nevertheless, this study has several limitations and thus needs to be considered as exploratory; further research needs to be conducted in this field.