Developing a holistic, rights-based model for the educational inclusion of migrant and refugee students

Grounded in the universal right to education, this article considers the collective findings of a selection of projects, conducted primarily by researchers from the SIRIUS Policy Network on Migrant Education arguing for a holistic approach to the educational inclusion of Newly Arrived Migrant and Refugee Students (NAMRS). The right to education demands access for all, including NAMRS, to a quality education that meets each individual’s learning needs, and supports and develops their own personal learning pathways. Moreover, a rights-based educational model should empower NAMRS to resist prescribed roles and identities, to define their own past, and liberate their visions of their futures from any constraints associated with their migration, so they can take ownership of the development of their future selves as active citizens of local, national and the global communities. The article sets out a holistic framework for an inclusive educational policy and practice that first considers, and then proposes ways to mitigate, the impact of several barriers to the attainment of this educational aim. Furthermore, the discussion explores the implications of the adoption of such a holistic model to guide educational practice, research and policy making when educating NAMRS.