The outbreak of the war in Ukraine in March 2022 led to the mass mobilization of Ukrainian citizens who were taken in by various European countries as refugees. According to the Luxembourgish national statistics office, Statec, Luxembourg received more than 4,200 Ukrainians in 2022 and the number raised to more than 5,200 by January 2023. Initially, the reception of Ukrainian refugees focused on providing asylum and meeting basic needs, but gradually systems and mechanisms were developed to address other aspects such as education. In the public education system of Luxembourg students are immersed into a multilingual system which was inaccessible to Ukrainian refugee students. Therefore, Ukrainian students were placed in recently opened public international schools requiring just one or two languages of instruction, such as International School Michel Lucius (ISML), which has English as its sole language of instruction.
This study aimed to describe and document the process of reception, insertion, and integration of 304 Ukrainian students into the primary and secondary sections of ISML in April 2022 to present. One crucial purpose of this study is to identify and systematize the educational strategies and pedagogical practices employed by the different members of the school community involved. Specifically, we want to put the emphasis on describing the pedagogical practices used by the core teaching team with the support of counselors and social workers to enable the reception and, most fundamentally, the integration of a large number of Ukrainian students into the school community. This information was attained through personal journals and interviews with school staff. Additionally, the study aims to provide information about the progress of the Ukrainian students both academically and socio-emotionally. Academic grades and report and self-report data have been used to understand how the interventions of the school impacted the progress and wellbeing of the students.
Methodology
The approach taken includes a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative data was analyzed using an initial semi-structured meeting with those teachers involved in the integration of the Ukrainian students followed by completion of reflective diaries by these teachers. The reflective diary was a fundamental tool which enabled detailed analysis of their motivation, challenges, obstacles, support received, pedagogical strategies utilized, and professional learning. In cases where there was a need for further explanation or interpretation, teachers were individually consulted about their experiences. Members of the core leadership team and leaders of the primary school were also interviewed with an aim to gain a deeper understanding of their vision and perspective in design and implementation of the strategy. Furthermore, members of staff related to psychological support and support for educational needs that had been involved were contacted.
For the quantitative analysis of the students’ academic and socio-emotional journeys, information was collated on which students were registered at the school, the grades attained by these students over time, and their responses to a yearly “student voice” report card questionnaire using school information systems.
School Vision and Approach to Integration
Due to ISMLs previous experience of receiving refugee students from the Balkans, Syria, and Afghanistan, a groundwork had been laid for the development for an action plan. The core leadership team’s focus was the immersion and integration of the students into mainstream classes. The adoption of a total immersion strategy that was anchored in scientific evidence avoided keeping Ukrainian students in separate classes (hereafter referred to as Accueil classes) for long periods of time which would have delayed their English language development and undermined their social, cultural, and academic integration.
All secondary students immediately joined a reception class (Anchor class) for one week in order to welcome the students and introduce them to the workings of the school (see figure 1). At the end of each Anchor week, decisions were made as to where students from that week’s cohort would be placed. The ultimate aim was to enter all students into mainstream classes, but those students whose English skills were too weak to manage in mainstream education joined an “Accueil class” temporarily in order to support them in honing the skills they required to join the mainstream.
Figure 1. The plan provided by the leadership team concerning how the students would be received (anchor class), inserted (either directly to the mainstream or indirectly through the Accueil classes) and integrated into the mainstream ISML school community. This image was shared with staff, students and parents. (Photo source: Daniel Redinger)
Secondary School
The core teaching team’s journey
The core teaching team working in the Anchor classes (see figure 1) included specialists in several areas including English, science, English as an Additional Language (EAL), and information and communications technology. The teaching staff were supported by Ukrainian intercultural mediators, school social workers, special needs experts, and psychologists. Amongst the staff working with the students was a deep sense of care and a wish to be part of the transformative process of helping these students. The members of staff were able to pool their experience and knowledge to discern the challenges that were arising and provide strategies to solve them.
One of the greatest challenges was the trauma that the students were suffering. Teachers agreed that presenting students with holistic evaluation opportunities such as storytelling, role play, or creation of art pieces allowed expression of the students’ needs and challenges. This allowed teachers to include the social workers, special needs experts, or psychologists to help the students integrate into mainstream or Accueil classrooms with all the support they required. Another major obstacle to the integration of Ukrainian refugee students into Lycée Michel Lucius International School (LML) were cultural and language barriers, the extent to which varied widely between students. This was particularly an issue in Accueil classes where students were from the same background and so naturally communicated both socially and academically in Ukrainian. The intercultural mediators played a fundamental role by facilitating communication and understanding, not only from a purely linguistic perspective, but also culturally. This helped in the classroom but also provided social workers, special needs experts and psychologists with key information that helped them to provide effective interventions.
Further challenges that were met included integrating students into a school with an alien pedagogical approach, additional years of education being added due to discrepancies between Luxembourgish and Ukrainian education systems, the speed at which the students were received and processed and how to make the best decisions for each student as to whether or not they should be mainstreamed. Staff met these challenges by working together with the guidance of the Core Leadership Team and pooling their experience and skills.
The student journey
Of the 144 Ukrainian students arriving at the school at the beginning of the crisis, 78 percent had joined mainstream classes within nine months. Many students were inserted directly into mainstream classes after the anchor week while 56 percent entered the Accueil classes. Of those students in the Accueil classes, 60 percent were moved into mainstream classes within nine months. The Ukrainian students displayed no clear difference in progress in mathematics and English compared to other students in the class.
Six Ukrainian were entered for the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) examinations in April/May 2023 and 24 students were entered for AS-level examinations. Only three of the six IGCSE students passes any of their examinations; however, as the IGCSE is a two-year curriculum and the students arrived half-way through, this result is not surprising. Of the 24 that took the AS level examinations, 23 gained pass grades, with eight students passing all of their examinations. Seventy one percent of students gained at least three AS qualifications.
Student responses to the “student voice” questionnaire suggested that the students felt confident learning in the school. Almost two thirds of the students (64 percent) reported that they “often,” “nearly always,” or “consistently” felt confident learning at the school, while 77 percent gave the same response to a question on their happiness with learning in the school. This suggests that the leadership team’s aim to focus on both academic achievement and socio-emotional support was, in the main, achieved.
Primary School
The number of students enrolled in the primary school was increased by 20 percent with the addition of the Ukrainian students. As with the secondary school, the aim was to integrate the students as quickly as possible into mainstream education. The primary school had introductory days similar to the secondary school’s Anchor week (see Figure 1). To cope with the demands class sizes were increased in all year groups to accommodate and integrate new students into the pre-existing class structure. However, these classes filled quickly, forcing the school to create three Accueil classes which closely followed the mainstream curriculum with adaptations to allow for different English support requirements. Students in the Accueil classes still had the opportunity to mix and engage with pre-existing ISML students during art, music, and physical education, as well as during break and lunchtimes.
The main challenges were similar to the secondary school in terms of the effect of trauma and language and cultural barriers. Psychologists and other staff members provided the students with psychological support and emotional counseling. The school also offered intensive language classes to students who could not speak any English and ensured that all signage in the school included Ukrainian translations.
Conclusion
It is clear from the subsequent academic success and socio-emotional wellbeing of the Ukrainian students that joined ISML in Spring 2022 that the school’s immersion-centered approach was successful. Students were able to join mainstream classes and even succeed in gaining internationally recognized qualifications within 18 months. Not only were students able to succeed academically, but they generally felt confident and happy in the learning environment provided. Of the 304 students that joined ISML, 179 are continuing their academic journey at the school as of October 2023.
This case study can set a precedent for successful and efficient management of the reception and integration of refugee students on a large scale. The results obtained from the analysis of the data on the learning trajectories, academic, and socio-emotional progress of Ukrainian students at ISML illustrate how the approach envisioned by the core leadership team provided a platform for learning, support and successful outcomes for students. This collaborative, student-centered approach, encompassing both academic achievement and student wellbeing, could be applied in other crisis situations with large influxes of refugee students.
Read the full report here.
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M. Laura Halladjian completed a Bachelor of Education in Mathematical Education and a Bachelor of Science in Pedagogy of Mathematics. She holds a master’s degree, specialized in Pure Mathematics (University of Alberta), a graduate certificate in Educational Leadership (McGill University,) and doctorate degree in education focused on how the development of professional learning communities can contribute to creating job embedded professional development opportunities for educators. Before becoming secondary school teacher, Laura worked in higher education for more than 15 years teaching mathematics and participating in educational research projects in the context of secondary and higher education. For the last 10 years Laura has taught in international schools around the world. She is currently a math teacher and Head of Mathematics at International School Michel Lucius in Luxembourg.
Lindsay Redinger (née McPherson) completed a Bachelor of Science (honors) in Marine Biology before achieving a doctorate degree in Ecology at the University of Aberdeen. She completed her post graduate certificate in Higher Education and undertook pedagogical research while teaching at university level before becoming a secondary school teacher in international schools. Lindsay is now a science teacher and Head of Biology at International School Michel Lucius (ISML) in Luxembourg.
