What does it mean to grow up as a refugee child in the Global South? How do conflict, poverty, displacement, migration, and uncertainty shape children’s everyday lives, relationships, and opportunities? This course is part of Addresses in Social Work. Students are introduced to the social realities and diverse experiences of refugee children in the Global South. Children’s daily lives, opportunities, and social relations are explored in relation to displacement from armed conflict, political instability, environmental crises, and economic inequalities. It engages with key debates on protection, education, care, participation, family and community relations, psychosocial well-being, and access to social services in refugee-hosting regions across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Drawing on perspectives from childhood studies, social pedagogy, migration studies, and international social policy, the course examines refugee children not only as recipients of protection and care but also as active social actors with their own perspectives and strategies for coping with displacement. It approaches refugee childhood not only as a matter of vulnerability, but also as a social and political condition shaped by power relations, institutional arrangements, and children’s own agency. Students are encouraged to critically reflect on how refugee children are represented in research, policy, and public debate, and how social pedagogy can respond in ethically responsible and context-sensitive ways.
Central topics include children’s rights, education, health and well-being, family and community relations, social inclusion and exclusion, and the role of humanitarian and social institutions in supporting refugee children. Through engagement with theoretical perspectives and empirical case studies, students will develop a nuanced understanding of refugee children’s situations and the possibilities and limitations of social and educational interventions.

By the end of this course, students will develop a critical, interdisciplinary understanding of refugee childhoods in the Global South and the social, political, and pedagogical dimensions of forced displacement. They will be equipped to analyze the complex realities of refugee children, critically evaluate policies and interventions, and apply rights-based, context-sensitive, and socially just perspectives in social work and related professional contexts.

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