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Refugee education, belonging and cultural partnerships

The research of Professor Joanna McIntyre

The research

My work contributes to the aims of SDG 4 (Quality Education) by connecting schools, cultural organisations, and policy stakeholders to strengthen educational equity and belonging for children and young people with experiences of forced displacement. The programme is motivated by a commitment to all elements of SDG 4, recognising that refugee and asylum‑seeking learners need more than access alone: they are entitled to quality, inclusive education and lifelong learning opportunities on a par with peers born in their new context. This principle shapes the design and focus of each strand of the work.

My research spans policy and system engagement, an ongoing Schools of Belonging initiative with regional partners, and a cross‑national Art of Belonging cultural strand—plus a small Art of Understanding off‑shoot focused on mental‑health expression through creative media. 

Hub for European Refugee Education

Policy and system engagement

Drawing on the HERE evidence base, and wider research, my work has been shared with decision‑makers through ministerial briefings, parliamentary activity, and UK/EU roundtables, contributing to conversations about funding, transitions and the visibility of displaced learners.

Schools of Belonging (most recent and ongoing)

This regional co‑designed initiative brings school leaders, local authorities, cultural partners and young people together to shape a regional pledge, curate practice vignettes and explore approaches that can help schools act as intentional sites of belonging.

Art of Belonging (AOB) and Art of Understanding

The project explores how arts, culture and place‑making can support belonging, with public exhibitions, practice‑sharing and a city‑wide pledge in Nottingham, alongside related activity in Lund (Sweden). ‘Art of Understanding’ (supported by City as Lab and Higher Education Innovation Funding) extends this approach by exploring how young people articulate and interpret mental‑health concepts through creative media.

Refugee Education: Theorising Practice in Schools (Routledge)

My book offers an inclusive framework for inclusion drawing on the concepts of safety, belonging, success, participatory parity—that practitioners and researchers draw on when discussing refugee inclusion in school settings.

Collaboration with Refugee Education

I have also collaborated with Refugee Education UK (REUK) on projects such as research commissioned by Oxfordshire County Council to explore the experience of displaced children and young people in Oxfordshire,  , a participatory, place‑based study in Oxford and Nottingham that surfaces context‑specific insights and practical resources on access, transitions and local networks for young refugees, and   which aimed to inform structural policy changes at a national level that will improve outcomes for refugee and asylum-seeking children in secondary education in England.

The challenge

• Visibility of need
  There is currently no national mechanism for tracking refugee/asylum‑seeking status in English school data, which makes targeted planning and accountability more difficult for schools and local authorities.
• Disrupted pathways and resource constraints
  Dispersal policies, mid‑year admissions and lagged or insufficient funding can interrupt learning continuity—especially for pupils with SEND.
• Fragmented practice
  There are examples of strong local work, but without coherent guidance and sustained professional development, practice remains uneven.
• Navigating provision
  Participatory evidence indicates that young people often rely on informal networks to access appropriate provision, suggesting system navigation is itself a barrier.
• Cultural participation barriers
  Portfolio evidence from Art of Belonging highlights practical barriers—signposting, transport costs, mobility from temporary accommodation and gendered access—that can limit participation in cultural life and the wellbeing benefits it can provide.

The response

1. Sharing evidence with policymakers and practitioners
   Research has been shared through ministerial briefings, a parliamentary roundtable on refugee education and SEND, and a two‑day European policy dialogue co‑hosted with the SIRIUS Network, contributing evidence to discussions on data, funding and inclusive leadership.
   
   
2. Schools of Belonging (most recent, ongoing)
   A 40‑stakeholder regional roundtable (school and multi-academy trust leaders, refugee education specialists, local authorities, cultural partners and young people) initiated a steering group working towards a draft regional pledge and the curation of practice vignettes to support school‑level activity. Partners in Nottingham have begun adapting the school transitions portal to make displaced learners more visible in systems; the wider programme continues to develop tools and guidance with schools.
   
   
3. Art of Belonging and Art of Understanding
   AOB has delivered co‑designed cultural programmes and public exhibitions (New Art Exchange; National Justice Museum; Kulturen Museum, Lund), sector practice‑sharing and training, and a city‑wide in Nottingham, alongside related municipal activity in Lund (ArtsInclusive). ‘Art of Understanding’—a small, interdisciplinary off‑shoot—focuses specifically on creative communication around mental health and wellbeing for young people with forced‑migration experience.
   
   
4. Working with Refugee Education UK (REUK)
   The ASPIRE collaboration with REUK has produced participatory resources (toolkit and local activity guides) and highlighted potentially helpful models (for example short‑term bridging, holistic wraparound support) that local organisations can adapt in their own contexts. 

Working alongside young people, educators and cultural partners consistently reframes the narrative—from deficits to assets, and from “supporting refugees” to building inclusive places where all children can learn and belong. Public feedback from exhibitions and workshops has noted changed perceptions and recognition of the creativity and contributions of newly arrived young people, while partners continue to shape next steps through the ongoing Schools of Belonging and Art of Belonging activities. 

Professor Joanna McIntyre

Innovation

• Co‑production across systems
  The programme brings together policy, schools, and cultural partners to consider belonging in specific places and to explore what may be transferable elsewhere.
• Participatory, youth‑led approaches
  Methods that involve young people as co‑researchers (for example ASPIRE) help surface context‑specific insights and strengthen the relevance of recommendations.
• Conceptual framing used in practice
  The safety–belonging–success–participatory parity framework from my scholarship offers a shared language for CPD, practice‑sharing and policy dialogue.
• Creative focus on wellbeing
  Art of Understanding extends AOB’s creative methodology by exploring how young people communicate mental‑health concepts, adding a focused wellbeing lens to the broader cultural work.

Impact (emerging; varies by setting)

• System practice
  Nottingham partners have begun adapting the school transitions portal to improve visibility of displaced learners, supporting more responsive support and tracking.
• Schools and professional learning
  The ongoing Schools of Belonging strand is co‑developing a regional pledge and tools that schools can adapt in line with their context and values.
• Cultural and public engagement
  AOB exhibitions and practice‑sharing events have provided opportunities for public reflection and sector learning; Nottingham’s cultural organisations are collaborating through an Art of Belonging pledge and a consortium that continues to meet.
• International collaboration
  In Lund, municipal partners have developed ArtsInclusive, drawing on related findings and relationships.