Survival strategies of Ukrainian student-refugees (in the perception of general secondary school teachers)

The aim of the article was to identify and characterize survival strategies adopted by Ukrainian refugee students in general secondary schools. The study was grounded in qualitative research within the interactionist perspective, with the use of thematic analysis. The empirical material was collected through in-depth narrative interviews with twelve teachers from six schools located in cities of various sizes. The research revealed and described three main strategies employed by refugee students: distancing strategy (from teachers, education, and peer groups), engagement avoidance strategy (in classwork and homework), and non-learning of the Polish language strategy. The primary function of these strategies was to simulate the performance of school duties and assume the role of a learner. The strategies were students’ responses to the imposed situation of sudden and compulsory functioning in school in a foreign country, without knowledge of the teaching language and without preparation for participation in advanced secondary education. The strategies constituted a response to the lack of systemic, flexible, and functional solutions stimulating the adaptive processes of refugee students. The article concludes with practical implications regarding the necessity of developing a coherent concept of education for refugee students, as well as migrants who do not present sufficient competence in the Polish language at the secondary level.