Non-formal education of Refugee Children in Greece and Lebanon: An Analysis of NGO Websites
Greece and Lebanon are two Mediterranean countries in which the 2010s are associated with the influx of a large number of refugees. One of the most significant issues that this refugee crisis addressed is the matter of children’s education, since apart from the practical issues that are related to the development of strategies regarding children’s integration into the formal education of both countries, the support that is needed, in order to register for school and then attend the classes without experiencing dropout, is more than apparent. Thus, in both countries, non-formal education is expected to contribute critically to the resolution of these issues, by offering courses which assist children in their school integration, while developing teaching techniques and programs, which come up with the children’s social integration into the host country. In this Master’s dissertation, the role of NGOs that operate in Greece and Lebanon, regarding the non-formal education of child refugees, is researched. As far as the data extraction is concerned, the content of websites, supplementarily with Facebook posts, of 6 Greece-operating and another 6 Lebanese-operating NGOs were studied, while thematic analysis was used for the data analysis. Through the data analysis, the significance of the partnerships of NGOs and the training of the education staff are discernible, so as to make the best of their goals, in combination with the presence of volunteers. The instruction of the official language of both countries and English was acknowledged as a common point, while emphasis is put on the value of the artistic expression in the process of teaching. Lastly, their impact on creating an educational routine framework for child refugees, which paves the way for their social integration, emerged.