After the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, millions of Ukrainians were forced to leave their homes and seek refuge abroad. Among them are hundreds of thousands of children who became part of new societies, but faced challenges that few people think about. The war tore them from their homes, forced them to say goodbye to friends and leave their favorite toys on the shelves of destroyed rooms. Ukrainian schoolchildren, who dreamed of graduation or the first bell, today sit at desks in foreign countries, trying to understand a new language, a foreign program and new rules of life.
They are children between two worlds: one remained in Ukraine, in memories of a peaceful childhood, the other is here, in foreign schools, where they are not always understood, and sometimes pushed away. Their everyday life is a struggle with the language barrier, bullying and double workload, because they not only master the foreign program, but also try to keep up with the Ukrainian one. While the world is moved by their courage, the Ukrainian state leaves them alone with difficulties. What problems do Ukrainian schoolchildren face while studying abroad?
New life: foreign language and foreign culture
For data According to the report “Education of Ukrainian children abroad during the war in Ukraine” of the State Service for the Quality of Education (SESQ), since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, a significant number of citizens have left Ukraine, including 378,617 schoolchildren who continue to receive education through distance, family or external forms of education in Ukrainian schools.
However, as noted in the Ministry of Education and Culture, there are also students who are outside the Ukrainian education system – approximately 200,000 to 250,000 students. Children continue to study in the schools of the countries where they are, and do not study in Ukrainian ones. The legislation of the countries to which families from Ukraine have moved provides for the integration of foreigners into their educational systems. But this integration is quite painful for our students and also creates an excessive load.
According to the report, Ukrainian schoolchildren are conditionally divided into 4 categories:
- children who study exclusively in educational institutions abroad and do not study in educational institutions in Ukraine;
- children who combine studies in educational institutions abroad and in Ukraine on an individual form of education (externship, family (home) form of education);
- children who combine studies in educational institutions abroad and in Ukraine via distance education;
- children who study only in Ukrainian schools remotely and do not attend educational institutions in the host country.
According to the last ones data from February 24, 2022 to December 12, 2023, 831,431 Ukrainian students were integrated into EU schools. But the real numbers could be much higher. After all, there are also students who study remotely from abroad only in a Ukrainian school and have not been integrated into the school system of EU countries, so they are not included in these statistics, since they do not have the obligation to attend a school in the host country.
According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, as of October 2024, there are Ukrainian schoolchildren abroad:
- in Ireland – 97%;
- in Romania – 83%;
- in France – 69%;
- in Germany and Austria – 63% each;
- in Moldova – 8%;
- in Croatia – 16%
- In Great Britain – 17%.
New experience and expansion of worldview
Of course, studying abroad gives children the opportunity to immerse themselves in other cultures, see the diversity of the world and understand that it is much wider than it seemed before. Children learn tolerance, respect for other cultures and traditions, which makes them more open and adaptable. One of the biggest benefits of studying abroad is the opportunity to learn a new language in a real environment. This is not only a useful skill for the future, but also a way to develop communication skills. And as you know, knowing several languages opens up additional perspectives for further education and career. Foreign schools often use innovative teaching methods that differ from those that Ukrainian schoolchildren are used to. For example, in many European countries, the emphasis is on practical application of knowledge, critical thinking and teamwork. Such approaches help children develop skills that will be useful in today’s world. Studying abroad opens doors to new educational and career opportunities. Ukrainian children get access to quality education that will help them in later life.
Problems of Ukrainian schoolchildren in foreign schools
Moving to another country is not only new horizons, but also a huge stress for children. And this is quite understandable. After all, only yesterday they were among their friends at their native school, and today they found themselves in a classroom where everyone speaks an incomprehensible language.
There are two main approaches to integrating refugees into schools. Newly arrived students can initially be in separate classes, where they master the language of study, or they can immediately study with their peers from the country. Studying alone shows more disadvantages than advantages. After all, such separation creates significant problems for integration, children are simply in an artificially created environment where refugees from different countries are gathered together.
As a result, children are grouped according to nationality without mastering the language of the host country and also experience bullying problems in such groups. Separate classes or centers for refugees are mainly created for Finland, Poland, Portugal, Romania, where the first approach to integration is chosen.
Studying immediately in a local school requires serious training of local teachers and individual support of each child. Otherwise, schoolchildren just formally “sit out” classes and learn little. But this approach is chosen by the majority of European countries. Although, for example, in Luxembourg, parents are given the right to choose whether to send their child to a local school or to an integration class in an international school.
In Belgium, if a parent chooses to enroll a child in a regular class, he or she starts learning right away. As a rule, this is done with elementary school students, where children adapt more easily and quickly. But if the child is older than 12 years and goes to basic school, then he studies for one or two years under a special program, where he mostly masters the language.
The language barrier becomes the first big obstacle. Many Ukrainian schoolchildren are forced to learn a new language in a short period of time in order to understand their teachers and classmates at least a little. Have you ever tried to understand math when you don’t even know what the word “addition” sounds like in another language? For Ukrainian schoolchildren, the language barrier has become one of the biggest problems. Many children learn a new language at an accelerated pace, but this often comes at the cost of their psychological comfort. Teachers do not always have the resources or patience to help such students.
In countries such as Iceland and Sweden, there is no national policy at all to help young refugees learn the language. In Sweden, the study of Swedish as a foreign language was introduced in classes where there are Ukrainian children. And in Iceland, the curriculum at the state level and the methods of testing competences were reviewed taking into account the needs of foreign-speaking children.
To master the language, language intensives are created in small groups during the school day. This is what happens in Italy, France, Turkey, and the Baltic states. But more often than not, schoolchildren go for language support instead of classes according to the schedule. Sometimes intensives are assigned in addition to standard school classes, in the evening, which creates an excessive load for schoolchildren.
However, not all foreign students are ready to accept “newcomers”. Ukrainian children are often bullied because of their accent, origin or ignorance of local traditions. Some even face outright hostility caused by stereotypes or political biases. Of course, parents try to protect their children, but there is a risk of a serious conflict situation. Therefore, often adults, being in a stressful situation due to the loss of their home, job and uncertainty of the future, are unable to deal with the problem. They cannot always help their children adapt to new conditions.
Despite the fact that children are forced to master the curriculum of the country where they currently live, many try to keep up with the Ukrainian school curriculum. This is a challenge for students who literally live “on two fronts”. The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine sent letters to the education authorities of all countries where there are refugee children, with a request to promote education according to Ukrainian standards.
Most European countries allow distance learning in local schools after standard classes. After all, distance learning is not provided in all institutions, but where it is, the class time coincides with lessons in a foreign school. There is a special position in France and the Netherlands, where they are convinced that this hinders integration, so remote classes in Ukrainian are allowed only at home in their free time. In Luxembourg, Ukrainian language classes are encouraged as an extracurricular activity. In such countries as Sweden and Serbia, nothing is done to maintain the connection of refugees with their native country.
The situation has developed in such a way that during the day Ukrainian schoolchildren study mathematics, history or biology in a foreign school, and in the evening they sit over Ukrainian textbooks in order not to lose contact with their native education system. One of the biggest disappointments for many families is that the Ukrainian state does not provide enough support for children who find themselves abroad. Online classes are often overloaded or poorly organized, and funding for additional initiatives for such students is almost non-existent.
As the parents tell in a private conversation, all training is reduced to sending test papers once every three months. And the study of the material is carried out by children on their own. So parents are either forced to look for tutors for their children or help themselves. And to do this, when you also have to go to work, turns out to be a difficult task. In both the first and second cases, it negatively affects the family budget. Parents, who already live in a state of constant stress, are forced to independently find ways to ensure that their children have access to education. And this despite the fact that the authorities announce the creation of a Ukrainian component for children studying abroad.
This component combined the programs of the Ukrainian language and literature, as well as the history of Ukraine. But it is quite clear that such a general volume cannot give children full knowledge of subjects. However, there is an excessive load on schoolchildren. This double burden is exhausting for children. They study 10-12 hours a day, but they know that this is necessary in order not to lose contact with Ukraine and to have a chance to return to normal studies after the war.
However, there are newly created entirely Ukrainian classes where Ukrainian is taught according to national programs and textbooks. Such groups work in Estonia and Latvia. Ukrainian schools abroad are unique educational institutions. So far, there are only five of them: in Istanbul (Turkey), Warsaw (Poland) and Vilnius (Lithuania). Unfortunately, the Ukrainian state finds neither the funds nor the desire to support such schools. And often they exist solely thanks to the enthusiasm of volunteer organizations.
An example of such a school was the “First Ukrainian School”, which has been operating in Warsaw, Krakow and Wroclaw since almost the first months of the full-scale invasion. It became an island of salvation for Ukrainian schoolchildren who had a negative experience in local schools and sought to find a safe environment to overcome educational losses. Such a school not only promotes learning, but also provides emotional support, helps to preserve identity in case of integration into Polish society, and also helps to master the necessary level of Polish language. The “First Ukrainian School” in Poland was created thanks to the “Unbreakable Ukraine” foundation and has already accepted more than 600 Ukrainian children. Education takes place according to the State standard of general secondary education of Ukraine. The number of classes ranges from 10 to 28 children. Teachers keep class journals and give grades as required by the educational program of the Ukrainian school.
Despite all the difficulties, Ukrainian children show great endurance. They find new friends, learn from mistakes and gradually adapt. But this adaptation often becomes a struggle not only for education, but also for the preservation of one’s identity. The challenges faced by Ukrainian schoolchildren abroad are a reminder that war affects not only adults. The children who are now fighting for education will be the ones who will restore Ukraine tomorrow.
Ukrainian schoolchildren abroad became hostages of circumstances that they did not choose, but which forced them to grow up earlier. They live between two worlds: their native Ukraine, which they carry in their hearts, and the new reality, which often meets them with indifference or even hostility. She is a mirror for all of us, reminding us that the future of Ukraine depends on whether these children will be able to get a quality education and keep in touch with their native culture. Today they write tests in a foreign language, but tomorrow these same children will build a new Ukraine. And right now, in this most difficult moment for them, we have to decide whether we will support them on this path or leave them alone with challenges that they should not overcome alone.
