# Students’ Attitudes towards the Inclusion of Migrant and Asylum Seeker Students in the Education System of Serbia
[](https://hub.ufzg.hr/uploads/images/gallery/2024-09/logo-stoo2-1-no.png) | **Teaching (Today for) Tomorrow:** **Bridging the Gap between the Classroom and Reality** 3rd International Scientific and Art Conference Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Zagreb in cooperation with the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts |
## **Marina Ž., Semiz** *Faculty of Education Užice, University of Kragujevac, Serbia* *semizmarina@gmail.com* |
**Section - Education for social and cultural diversity** | **Paper number: 23** | **Category: Original scientific paper** |
##### **Abstract** |
The inclusion of migrant and asylum seeker students in the education system of the host country represents an important aspect of the migration and asylum policy of the EU and beyond. Previous research confirms the importance of the inclusion of migrant and asylum seeker students in school since it respects their rights, improves their social status, and provides opportunities for later successful participation in society. By starting from the education policy towards migrant and asylum seeker children in the EU and Serbia as well as the concept of inclusive school, the research was conducted with the aim of investigating students’ attitudes towards the inclusion of migrant and asylum seeker students in the education system of Serbia. A descriptive-non-experimental research method, survey technique, as well as two specifically designed research instruments were used. The sample was drawn from the population of students majoring in education (N=261) from five Serbian universities. The research results show that the majority of the students have moderately positive attitudes towards the inclusion of migrant and asylum seeker students in the education system, and the structure of their attitudes can be perceived through three factors: the importance of inclusion and social participation, support resources for inclusion and barriers to inclusion. The obtained results suggest the need for introducing innovative study programmes into faculties of education and for the increased presence of professional application courses for the purpose of acquiring knowledge and developing competen ces for future work with migrant and asylum seeker students. |
***Ključne riječi:*** |
factor analysis; faculties of education; inclusive school; migration; students‘ attitudes on inclusion |
**Variables ** | **Modalities** | **f ** | **% ** |
University | University of Belgrade | 51 | 19,5 |
University of Kragujevac | 100 | 38,3 | |
University of Novi Sad | 29 | 11,1 | |
University in Priština | 13 | 5,0 | |
University of Niš | 68 | 26,1 | |
Year of study | First year | 105 | 40,2 |
Second year | 54 | 20,7 | |
Third year | 42 | 16,1 | |
Fourth year | 60 | 23,0 | |
Study programme | UAS Primary school teacher | 119 | 45,6 |
UAS Serbian language and literature | 46 | 17,6 | |
UAS Pedagogy | 96 | 36,8 | |
Contribution of studies to acquiring knowledge about the educational inclusion of migrant/asylum seeker students | Yes | 192 | 73,6 |
No | 69 | 26,4 |
M | SD | Sk. | Ku. | Theoretical range of the scale | Cronbach's Alpha | Number of items | |
Scale of attitudes towards inclusion – Total | 68.73 | 7.92 | -.680 | 1.490 | 18-90 | .83 | 18 |
Name of the factor | Characteristic value | Accounted variance (%) | Cumulative variance (%) | Number of items |
The importance of inclusion and social participation | 5.472 | 30,40 | 30,40 | 7 |
Resources to support inclusion | 2.568 | 14,27 | 44,67 | 6 |
Obstacles to inclusion | 1.204 | 6,690 | 51,357 | 5 |
The items within Factor 1 – **The importance of inclusion and social participation**** ** | M | SD | Saturation | |
The inclusion of migrant/asylum seeker students in education is important due to their right to education. | **4.49 ** | .872 | .811 | |
Including migrant/asylum seeker students in regular classes contributes to developing interculturality in schools. | 3.97 | 1.062 | .800 | |
Migrant/asylum seeker students have equal rights to education as other students in our country. | 4.27 | 1.059 | .735 | |
Including migrant/asylum seeker students in extracurricular activities is important for the demonstration of their talents and the appreciation of their different interests. | **4.28 ** | .993 | .725 | |
Including migrant/asylum seeker students in regular classes contributes to preserving their tradition and customs. | 3.44 | 1.146 | .707 | |
Inclusion implies migrant/asylum seeker students’ contributions to the development of our society in the future. | 3.15 | 1.182 | .671 | |
Migrant/asylum seeker students should receive education within regular classes. | 3.72 | 1.239 | .549 | |
Characteristic value – 5.472 | Accounted variance – 30,40% | |||
The items within Factor 2 – **Resources to support inclusion ** | M | SD | Saturation |
The inclusion of migrant/asylum seeker students in regular classes implies removing various barriers (prejudices, language barriers, institutional barriers, etc.). | **4.30 ** | .885 | .800 |
One of the most important aspects of inclusion of migrant/asylum seeker students in regular classes is the promotion of cooperation with their family. | 4.12 | .893 | .765 |
Successful inclusion of migrant/asylum seeker students in education is impossible without a united action of the educational, social and health sectors. | 4.03 | .933 | .752 |
One of the most important aspects of inclusion of migrant/asylum seeker students in regular classes is peer acceptance. | **4.30 ** | .848 | .654 |
Inclusion of migrant/asylum seeker students in regular classes is impossible without the development and preservation of intercultural education. | 4.11 | .933 | .631 |
One of the most important aspects of inclusion of migrant/asylum seeker students in regular classes is to learn the language of instruction. | 3.94 | .921 | .531 |
Characteristic value – 2.568 | Accounted variance – 14,27% |
The items within Factor 3 – **Obstacles to inclusion ** | M | SD | Saturation |
Educational inclusion of migrant/asylum seekers is not possible if there are great cultural differences. | 3.25 | 1.043 | .791 |
In practice, the inclusion of migrant/asylum seeker students amounts to their being physically placed in regular classes. | **3.50 ** | .946 | .785 |
Migrant/asylum seekers should receive education within asylum and reception centers. | 3.09 | 1.321 | .636 |
Migrant/asylum seeker students should receive education in special classes, together with other migrant students. | 3.09 | 1.412 | .625 |
There are no adequate conditions (institutional, staff, material, etc.) for quality education of migrant/asylum seeker students. | **3.76 ** | 1.156 | .477 |
Characteristic value – 1.204 | Accounted variance – 6,690% |
Variables | Modalities | M | SD | F | LSD test | |||
Year of study | First year UAS | 69.59 | 10.38 | F=3.978; df=3; p< 0.05 | 1-3 1-4 | |||
Second year UAS | 60.73 | |||||||
Third year UAS | 56.38 | |||||||
Fourth year UAS | 55.19 | |||||||
Study programme | UAS Primary school teacher | 66.11 | 10,13 | F= 5.731 df=2; p< 0.01 | 1-2 1-3 | |||
UAS Serbian language and literature | 70.37 | 8,5 | ||||||
UAS Pedagogy | 70,92 | 8,94 | ||||||
Contribution of studies to acquiring knowledge... | Yes | 67.81 | 9.99 | T=-2.608; df=259; p<0.01 | ||||
No | 71.30 | 8.19 | ||||||
[](https://hub.ufzg.hr/uploads/images/gallery/2024-09/logo-stoo2-1-no.png) | **Odgoj danas za sutra:** **Premošćivanje jaza između učionice i realnosti** 3\. međunarodna znanstvena i umjetnička konferencija Učiteljskoga fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu Suvremene teme u odgoju i obrazovanju – STOO4 u suradnji s Hrvatskom akademijom znanosti i umjetnosti |
## **Stavovi studenata prema inkluziji učenika migranata i tražitelja azila u obrazovni sistem Srbije** |
##### **Sažetak** |
Važan aspekt migracijske i useljeničke politike u EU i izvan njezinih granica je uključivanje učenika migranata i tražitelja azila u obrazovni sustav zemalja domaćina. Dosadašnja istraživanja potvrđuju važnost uključivanja učenika migranata i tražitelja azila u škole jer se time poštuju njihova prava, poboljšava njihov položaj u društvu i mogućnost kasnijeg uspješnog sudjelovanja u društvu. Polazeći od obrazovne politike prema djeci migrantima i tražiteljima azila u EU i Srbiji te koncepta inkluzivne škole, provedeno je istraživanje s ciljem ispitivanja stavova studenta prema inkluziji učenika migranata i tražitelja azila u obrazovni sustav Srbije. Primijenjena je deskriptivno-neeksperimentalna metoda, tehnika anketiranja, a posebno su konstruirana dva istraživačka instrumenta. Uzorak je obuhvatio studente fakulteta za obrazovanje učitelja, nastavnika i pedagoga (N=261) sa pet sveučilišta u Srbiji. Rezultati pokazuju da većina studenata ima umjereno pozitivne stavove prema inkluziji studenata migranata i tražitelja azila u obrazovni sustav, a strukturu njihovih stavova možemo sagledati kroz tri čimbenika: važnost inkluzije i društvene participacije, resurse za podršku inkluziji i prepreke za inkluziji. S obzirom na dobivene rezultate, prepoznaje se potreba za inoviranjem studijskih programa na pedagoškim i nastavničkim fakultetima te za većom zastupljenošću stručno-aplikativnih predmeta u funkciji stjecanja znanja i razvijanja kompetencija za budući rad sa učenicima migrantima i tražiteljima azila. |
***Ključne riječi:*** |
faktorska analiza; nastavnički i pedagoški fakulteti; inkluzivna škola; migracije; stavovi studenata prema inkluziji |