“You sway on the waves like a boat in the ocean”: The effects of interrupted education on Ukrainian higher education refugee students in Poland

Abstract

This qualitative case study explored the effects of interrupted education—including the linguistics challenges—on 14 (N = 14) Ukrainian higher education refugee students who arrived in Poland after the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022. All participants were refugee students who were enrolled in Ukrainian universities prior to the Russian invasion, and were forced to interrupt their studies and flee to Poland for safety. The two research questions guiding this inquiry are: (1) What effects have interrupted education had on Ukrainian higher education refugee students? and (2) What linguistic challenges have Ukrainian higher education refugee students faced in Poland? For the first research question, data revealed that the abrupt interruption in their education, in addition to the war, migration, and other life occurrences, has destabilized participants’ outlook, emotions, and identity, making them feel uncertain about their personal and professional goals. For the second research question, participants expressed their appreciation toward Poland and the Polish people for the welcoming, supportive environment, and shared challenges associated with participating in the Polish higher education system. The implications of the findings are discussed through the lens of policy and best practices for supporting arriving refugees in Poland and other countries welcoming Ukrainian refugees experiencing interrupted education.

Keywords:

• identity
• belonging
• linguistic challenges
• students with interrupted formal education (SIFE)
• Ukrainian refugees
• Poland

1. Introduction

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 triggered Europe’s largest refugee crisis and migration in the last eight decades (Herb et al., 2022), resulting in over 3.7 million Ukrainians seeking refuge in neighbouring nations (Pita & Sánchez Costa, 2022; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [UNHCR], 2022). Poland is the highest recipient of all the countries welcoming Ukrainians, with over 2.2 million refugees from all age groups (UNHCR, 2022). Among this refugee population, individuals who were pursuing higher education at the time of the invasion are a substantial number, considering that the recently available data shows that, before the invasion, a total of over one million students were enrolled in Ukrainian higher education institutions (Kvіta, 2022). In an effort to alleviate some of the stress associated with the violent transition and abrupt interrupted education of Ukrainian refugees who were/are university students, institutions of higher education in Poland have become aid centres leading multiple initiatives to support them and their families (State Statistics Service of Ukraine, 2022;(UNHCR), 2022).

In the context of education, the topic of students with interrupted formal education (SIFE)¹ has been present in the fields of refugee studies (e.g., Gifford & Wilding, 2013; MacDonald et al., 2020) and applied linguistics (e.g., Custodio & O’Loughlin, 2017; DeCapua et al., 2020; Pentón Herrera, 2022) for some years. Nonetheless, these publications have primarily focused on K-12 populations and/or populations who arrive as language learners (i.e., students who need to learn the language of their new environment) with minimal print literacy (i.e., reading and writing) skills. As such, most publications have placed emphasis on academic concerns related to learning a new language and explicit considerations for teaching reading and writing (e.g., Virginia Department of Education, n.d.). At the same time, a growing number of scholars have begun to shed light on the complex, multifaceted issue surrounding interrupted education, taking as a fact that interrupted schooling for refugee students is often connected to war, violence, prosecution, and other life-threatening events that affect their stability and overall well-being (Montero & Al Zouhouri, 2022; O’Loughlin & Custodio, 2020; Trinh, 2022).

On the backdrop of the established SIFE research for K-12 students, the experiences of SIFE with high levels of print literacy (i.e., students in higher education) and adequate formal schooling backgrounds have not been explored sufficiently in academia, with few exceptions (e.g., MacDonald et al., 2020). However, to our knowledge, the experiences and effects of interrupted education for university refugee students from Ukraine in Poland, including linguistic challenges, remain a fertile area of study. Thus, the aim of this qualitative case study is to explore the effects of interrupted education—including linguistic challenges—on Ukrainian higher education refugee students who arrived in Poland after 24 February 2022. The two research questions guiding this inquiry are: (1) What effects have interrupted education had on Ukrainian higher education refugee students? and (2) What linguistic challenges have Ukrainian higher education refugee students faced in Poland?

2. Positionality statement

As our research employs a qualitative case study methodology with a specific focus on the experiences of refugee students, it becomes imperative to present a positionality statement. This statement serves to elucidate our identities, roles, and connections to the participants and the explored subject. Luis Javier Pentón Herrera is a Cuban-born and raised individual from a refugee background, who migrated to the United States at the age of 17. He currently lives in Warsaw, Poland, where he teaches English and Spanish in higher education. Meanwhile, Olena Byndas hails from Ukraine, where she was nurtured and educated. Prior to the Russian invasion, she contributed to the academic landscape as an English educator at a Ukrainian university. The tragic turn of events triggered Olena and her family’s migration from Ukraine, leading them to find sanctuary in Poland.

Our paths converged within the precincts of a higher education institution in Poland, catalysed by the initiatives embraced by Polish universities welcoming refugee professors and students from Ukraine. These initiatives fostered collaboration between professors entrenched in Polish academia and those emerging from Ukraine’s displaced academic community. Together, we embarked on diverse projects and sought grants to enhance educational endeavours. With a shared commitment to the welfare of Ukrainian refugee students, we successfully secured a grant that underpinned this research study (more information in the Data Collection section). Our mutual roles in supporting refugee students from Ukraine, coupled with our desire to gain deeper insights into their experiences, fuelled our determination to conduct this study and use these findings to advocate fervently on their behalf.

3. Theoretical background: belonging and identity

Theoretically, the present study employs the concepts of belonging and identity as framework. These two concepts were selected as theoretical lenses to explore the interrupted schooling experience of participants—including linguistic challenges when arriving in Poland and Polish higher education spaces—because it has been noted in the literature that refugees who were forced to migrate due to war and other conflicts beyond their control are significantly “more exposed to identity change than other social groups. The flight of forced migrants into exile results in a loss of identity. Moreover, their arrival is often marked by uncertainties that raise questions about belonging and identity” (Hack-Polay et al., 2021, p. 3). In the sections below, we provide more details of how we understand belonging and identity in the context of this article and how we use it as lens throughout the study.

3.1. Belonging

Belonging is a significant psychological need of human beings as we are programmed and motivated to be part of a group or a community. For refugees, especially those fleeing war and life-endangering situations, developing a sense of belonging contributes to the feelings of safety, comfort, stability, and community (Rottmann, 2020) needed for a successful transition and integration into a new society. Research shows that developing a sense of belonging is associated with many benefits, including improved mental and emotional well-being (Arslan et al., 2020), reduction of feelings of isolation and alienation (Palikara et al., 2021), and increased performance, self-esteem, and participation (Bajo Marcos et al., 2022; Holloway-Friesen, 2019; Sobitan, 2022), to name a few. In the academic literature, a myriad of definitions of belonging exists; however, for the purpose of this manuscript, we draw on the work of Baumeister and Leary (1995) and Korpershoek et al. (2020) to define it as the extent to which individuals feel personally accepted, respected, included, and supported by others in their immediate learning environment, which leads to lasting desired emotions (e.g., motivation, positive emotional regulation, etc.) and overall well-being.

Although different factors influence feelings (see Allen & Bowles, 2012), for refugee students, the language they encounter in their new environment, both inside and outside of the classroom, seems to have a substantial effect on their sense of belonging (Orton, 2012; Warriner, 2007). In the case of the language used inside classrooms—sometimes known as the language of instruction (LOI) or medium of instruction (MOI)—research suggests that, in cases where instruction in the refugees’ mother tongue is not available, instruction in a foreign language that refugees feel more comfortable with (which might be a language other than the national language of the host country) increases their overall academic experience and sense of belonging (Benson, 2012; Reddick & Dryden Peterson, 2021). Outside of classrooms, social and political rhetoric and opinion affect refugee students’ sense of belonging (Bakkær Simonsen, 2019), and may lead to issues of sense of legitimacy and self-rejection—in the case of being exposed to negative and/or divisive rhetoric against refugees (Blachnicka-Ciacek et al., 2021).

3.2. Identity

The topic of identity has been explored from different perspectives and viewpoints throughout the years. Some of the ongoing debates surrounding identity span philosophical, psychological, physiological/physical, metaphysical, and linguistic issues about what is understood as identity and how it influences human life (Kind, 2015). Although a consensus has yet to be reached on a definition, most scholars agree that identity is relative and fluid, often shaped by the individuals’ contexts, environments, and experiences as well as their analysis/understanding of life’s occurrences (Perry, 2002). Thus, identity development and construction are continual processes often interconnected to individuals’ emotions and overall wellness (Pentón Herrera & Martínez-Alba, 2022; Pentón Herrera et al., 2021). For this research, we use as background the work of Abdelal et al. (2006) and understand identity as personal and social descriptors (e.g., ethnic, national, linguistic, religious, gender, class, and other roles and forms of identities in the process of developing) that may be self-assigned or assigned by others and that is often shaped by individuals’ surroundings, worldviews, conditions, norms, and purposes.

Scholars agree that identity is a “key concept in contemporary discussions on migration” (Anthias, 2009, p. 231), and it has been prominently featured in recent transnational and border-crossing research (e.g., Mijić, 2022; Yazan et al., 2023). For refugee students, identity is one of the factors playing a vital role in their adjustment (Hos, 2016) because, depending on the context, the marker of being a “refugee” and/or a “refugee seeker” may be charged with deficit views and portrayals inside and outside formal education spaces (Daniel, 2019; McIntyre & Abrams, 2021). In a recent study, Zettl et al. (2022) confirmed that refugees, especially those who have experienced traumatic events such as war, are “repeatedly confronted with discrepancies between their self-image and the cultural environment of the host society” (p. 6). Further, Zettl et al. (2022) found a “significant positive association between identity diffusion and maladaptive trait severity” (p. 6), which points to the adverse effects that lack of identity development can have on refugees’ social, emotional, and physical health, as well as their success during and after relocating to their host country.

3.3. Belonging and identity in synergy

In this study, employing belonging as a theoretical lens enables us to delve deeper into the effects of interrupted education on participants after relocating to Poland. By considering the diverse elements that contribute to developing a sense of belonging, including the language experienced inside and outside learning spaces, the participants’ experiences can be best analysed and described. Similarly, employing identity as a theoretical lens enables us to explore the effects interrupted education had on participants’ self-image and overall well-being, and the role of language as a potential identity marker in the new social and educational environment. In synergy, both belonging and identity create a solid theoretical lens through which we can make sense of the data by looking at the individual and collective narratives of participants (i.e., identity), and their experiences—including linguistic experiences—in the Polish social and educational contexts (i.e., belonging).

4. Methods

A total of 14 (N = 14) Ukrainian refugee students accepted to be part of this qualitative case study. All participants were SIFE who were enrolled in Ukrainian universities prior to the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022, and were forced to interrupt their schooling and flee to Poland for safety. Out of the 14 participants, 11 were female, and three were male. Additional information about the participants is shared in Table 1.

Table 1. Participants’ information

Names (All pseudonyms chosen by participants)	Self-identified gender	Age	Study major in Ukraine	Mother tongue	Additional languages spoken
Aus Rotten	Female	21	Secondary education, language, and literature (English)	Ukrainian	English; German
LG	Male	22	Secondary education, language, and literature (English)	Ukrainian	English; German
Juliess	Female	20	Germanic languages and literature (translation included), first language – English	Ukrainian	English; German
Flawless_ka	Female	21	Germanic languages and literature (translation included), first language – English	Ukrainian	English; German
V_V	Female	22	Secondary education, language and literature (French)	Ukrainian	French; English
Violet	Female	21	Secondary education, language and literature (English)	Ukrainian	English; German
Gala	Female	20	Secondary education, language and literature (English)	Ukrainian	English; German
May	Female	20	Secondary education, language and literature (Spanish)	Ukrainian	Spanish; English
SI	Female	21	Secondary education, language and literature (English)	Ukrainian	English; Spanish
Vikt	Male	18	Secondary education, language and literature (English)	Ukrainian	English; French
Qwerty	Female	19	International law	Ukrainian	English
Margo	Female	20	Secondary education, language and literature (French)	Ukrainian	French; English
Falcon	Male	19	Secondary education, language and literature (English)	Ukrainian	English; Spanish
Owl	Female	18	Secondary education, language and literature (German)	Ukrainian	German; English

4.1. Data collection

Keeping in mind the ethical concerns associated with conducting research with vulnerable populations such as war-affected refugee students (Block et al., 2013; Van Liempt & Bilger, 2009), we took recommended steps to ensure the anonymity and safety of the participants, as well as the approval of our institutions’ Ethical Committees prior to collecting data. As such, we first prepared a research proposal and submitted it to the Ethical Committees of our institutions, and upon their approval, we submitted the proposal to the Fundacja Kościuszkowska Polska (Kosciuszko Foundation Poland) for a second round of review and approval. In both rounds of review, our study was approved. At that point, through convenience sampling (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016), we contacted potential participants via private networks, such as email and WhatsApp groups. The invited students were primarily language and literature students—with the exception of Qwerty, who used to be a student of English language and literature but recently changed her major—from a university in Ukraine, which the second author had a professional relationship with. The majority of the participants are females because of the mandate that men stay behind in Ukraine to fight for its freedom.

In the invitation, participants were provided with a written consent form clearly explaining the study’s goal in Ukrainian, and they were also encouraged to ask additional questions for clarity. Of all the participants invited, 14 agreed to join the study and signed the consent forms. Upon receiving the 14 signed consent forms, we sent an open-ended questionnaire. As soon as the participants completed the open-ended questionnaire, an email was sent to invite them for a follow-up semi-structured interview to delve deeper into their responses. All semi-structured interviews were conducted via Zoom and recorded with the participants’ consent. In addition to the open-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, informal communication from WhatsApp text messages and emails was also used as data with the participants’ approval. Thus, for this study, data were collected through open-ended questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and informal communication via WhatsApp text messages and emails. All communication with participants and data collection were conducted in Ukrainian.

4.2. Data analysis

Following Thomas’s (2006) recommendations, data were analysed through inductive coding to derive themes from the raw data. To do this, the data were first analysed individually by each of the authors in two different languages. The first author analysed the data individually in English (translated from Ukrainian by the second author), while the second author analysed the data individually in Ukrainian, the original language in which the data was collected. After each author analysed the data individually and identified salient categories, the authors met to compare salient findings found in both analyses, and discussed key themes that captured both of the individual analyses directly responding to the research questions. After initial findings were finalized, these were shared with participants for review and triangulation (i.e., member checking) to ensure accuracy. All of these processes conducted during data analysis ensure the trustworthiness and validity of findings (Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Thomas, 2006).

5. Findings

In this section, we introduce salient themes identified in the data that directly respond to our research questions. In response to the first research question, data revealed that interrupted education had a deeper meaning to participants as it reminded them of the cause for this rupture in their schooling (i.e., the war). As expected, this abrupt interruption in their education, in addition to the war, migration, and other life occurrences, has destabilized participants’ outlook, emotions, and identity, making them feel uncertain about their personal and professional goals. In response to the second research question, participants expressed their appreciation toward Poland and the Polish people for the welcoming environment and different types of assistance during this time. At the same time, some shared their challenges associated with participating in the Polish higher education system due to a lack of information and understanding about the process of enrollment, and not knowing how to speak Polish. In contrast, others disclosed that they were able to continue their university education at Polish institutions after resettlement because the courses were taught in English, a language they were proficient in. In the sub-sections below, we share more details about the findings.

5.1. The invisible scars of interrupted education

During the data collection process, participants seemed to be undergoing a period of silence or withdrawal. Their responses to the questionnaire, interview questions, and informal communication from WhatsApp² text messages and emails were often short and abstract and, in many cases, reflected a sense of instability and the fact that they were still processing their new reality. For example, when asked about her future personal and professional plans during the interview, Aus Rotten candidly stated:

Зараз я ще не знаю, що сказати, тому що дуже все невизначено. Ще, як той човен, гойдаєшся на хвилях в океані. Але моє майбутнє може бути в Польщі, а може бути в Україні. Та хочу продовжити навчання по своїй спеціальності. Середня освіта, англійська мова і література. Зараз велике бажання повернутися додому, бо це наша Батьківщина, і хочеться зараз вже працювати з учнями в Україні, а в Польщі зараз це не можливо.

Right now, I don’t know what to say because everything is very uncertain. You sway on the waves like a boat in the ocean. But my future may be in Poland, or it may be in Ukraine. And I want to continue my studies in my specialty. Secondary education, English language and literature. Now there is a great desire to return home because that is our Motherland, and I want to work with children in Ukraine now. In Poland, it is not possible now.

In Aus Rotten’s response, which is similar to the responses of other participants, many elements speak directly to how she is processing her new reality. First and foremost, she states that the present “is very uncertain” and uses the metaphor of swaying “on the waves like a boat” to describe her current worldview. In this metaphor, she is the boat trying to stay afloat/balanced while getting hit by the ocean waves (i.e., life occurrences). At the same time, this metaphor refers to how she sees herself, stranded and without direction in an ocean full of waves. Although not many participants evoked or referenced emotions to describe the effects of interrupted education, it became clear that the war had destabilized their reality. Statements like “Поки не закінчиться війна, планую залишатися в Польщі, а далі моє майбутнє буде зрозуміло” [Until the end of the war, I plan to stay in Poland, and then my future will be clear] (Vikt, interview), or “Я хочу, щоб закінчилась війна, хочу повернутися в Україну і навчатися в своєму університеті” [I want the war to stop, I want to return to Ukraine and study at my university] (V_V, interview) made evident that although participants had left the war behind in Ukraine, the effects of the war were very much still influencing their present lives and future plans.

As we continued to analyse the data, we understood that interrupted education signified something deeper for participants. For them, this violent, unexpected rupture in their pursuit of higher education was directly connected to the war and, as such, left invisible scars in their present lives and the projection of their future plans. Studies have shown that refugees escaping violence and war often experience various levels of mental and emotional distress (Miller & Rasmussen, 2017; Zettl et al., 2022); however, during the initial resettlement, they might feel relieved “of finding security in hosting countries, while enjoying access to a range of social and welfare services and being unaware of the potentially stressful nature of the migration experience” (Chen et al., 2019, p. 51). We found that participants were undergoing this initial period of adaptation where, although their body language and abstract—at times incoherent or incomplete—messages reflected signs of distress, their statements mainly reported on their feelings of uncertainty regarding their education and future in Poland.

5.2. Identity and emotions

Another relevant finding connected to the immediate—and perhaps long-lasting—effects that the war and interrupted education had on participants was a disruption of their identity (i.e., perception of their selves). During our communication, participants rarely self-identified as refugees, and when they did, it was to reflect that they were in Poland temporarily (i.e., temporary refugees) and hoped to return to Ukraine soon after the war. In the interviews and the informal communication from WhatsApp text messages and emails, it seemed that the participants’ perception was that the war on Ukraine would end soon and that they would be able to return and rebuild thereafter. As Gala mentioned in a WhatsApp message, “Дехто вже думає про повернення в Україну та початок занять у наступному семестрі, приблизно у вересні/жовтні [2022]” [some people are already thinking about returning to Ukraine and starting classes in the next semester, around September/October [2022]. We believe their self-identification as temporary refugees, which may have been promoted by the language used in the acts/laws passed by the host states (see Eversheds Sutherland, 2022), could have affected how participants viewed themselves (i.e., not as permanent refugees who will resettle, but as temporary refugees who will return to Ukraine soon). This, in turn, may have affected how they processed their realities and may have also contributed to increased mixed feelings, including uncertainty.

In addition, data reflected that although participants felt welcomed in Poland and Polish universities, negative emotions were influencing their behaviours and overall well-being. In one of the most revealing responses we received, LG reflected on how he thinks others view him and how he feels about himself.

У польському університеті до мене всі дуже добрі та доброзичливі, і коли я нечітко висловлюю свою думку, усі завжди намагаються мене зрозуміти, всі до мене добре ставляться, і я це дуже ціную. Я відчуваю себе винним/винною за те, що може здатися, я трохи пасивний/пасивна, мені все ще важко сприймати події в моїй країні. Мене постійно мучить відчуття, що я зрадив/зрадила свою країну.

At the Polish university, everyone is very kind and friendly to me, and when I vaguely express my opinion, everyone always tries to understand me, everyone treats me well, and I really appreciate it. I feel guilty for the fact that it may seem that I am a little passive, but it is still difficult for me to accept the events in my country. I am still tormented by the feeling that I have betrayed my country.

In this response to a questionnaire question, LG confessed that he feels guilty because others (non-Ukrainian refugees) see him as passive in response to the war. LG’s use of the word “passive” suggests that, for him, there is an expectation of being visibly distraught or vocally active against the war on Ukraine. However, in our experience, the “passive” behaviour LG is referring to reflects the shock and distress he and the other participants were experiencing at the time of the study, which are characteristic of such a violent transition (Miller & Rasmussen, 2017; Zettl et al., 2022). Another critical element of LG’s response is the sentence, “I am still tormented by the feeling that I have betrayed my country.” LG was one of the three male participants in this study, and for him, fleeing to Poland for safety resulted in feeling like he betrayed Ukraine because he did not stay back to fight. LG’s comment reminds us that identity travels with refugees across borders and spaces, attaching emotional responses to their perceived selves and actions.

5.3. Welcoming environment, language, and belonging

In response to questions about their experiences in Poland and Polish institutions, participants expressed their appreciation toward the Polish people for the unconditional support citing the different types of aid they had received, such as “житло” [housing] (LG, email), “квартира, харчування, грошова допомога від держави” [apartment, food, financial assistance from the government] (Juliess, questionnaire), and “Гуманітарна допомога” [humanitarian help] (Owl, WhatsApp message). Further, May stated in the questionnaire that “Я вдячний/вдячна Польщі; я просто хочу повернути стільки ж, а то й більше, скільки Польща дає нам” [I am grateful to Poland; I just want to return as much or even more as Poland gives us]. Similarly, Falcon shared:

Немає сумніву в тому, що Польща надала найбільшу підтримку. У мене не вистачає слів, щоб висловити цілковиту подяку за це. Коли один сусід нас убиває, другий нас рятує. І я не втомлюся дякувати, це справді має велике значення для мене та моєї країни.

Poland gave the biggest support, and there is no hesitation. I don’t have enough words to express my full gratitude for that. When one neighbour kills us, the other saves us. And I won’t get tired of saying thank you, it really matters a lot for me and my country. (questionnaire)

Even though the multiple forms of assistance and support made participants feel welcomed, the linguistic challenges they experienced with the Polish language inside and outside of university spaces made them feel somewhat excluded. Participants cited “Мовний бар’єр” [the language barrier] (Owl, questionnaire), “Спілкування польською мовою” [communication in the Polish language] (Margo, interview), and “різниця між українською та польською системами освіти” [the difference between the Ukrainian and Polish education systems] as the most pressing challenges they have encountered. Some participants stated that “На даний момент я не навчаюся в польському інституті, тому що я не розмовляю польською” [at the moment I do not study at a Polish institute because I do not speak Polish] (Qwerty, email), or “Хочу навчатися тут, але не знаю, як це зробити” [I want to study here but don’t know how to do it] (Vikt, questionnaire). Although Polish institutions offered free courses/studies for Ukrainian refugees (e.g., Jagiellonian University, 2022; Uniwersytet Łódzki, 2022), the lack of knowledge about the Polish language and the limited information participants received about the Polish educational system alienated them, discouraging some from participating.

In direct contrast with this previous finding is the effect English had on participants inside and outside classrooms. “Коли я приїхала до Польщі, майже нічого не розуміла, тільки деякі слова були зрозумілі, а так спілкувалася я англійською мовою” [When I came to Poland, I understood almost nothing, only some words were clear, and so I spoke English], shared Flawless_ka in an interview. When asked about school, Flawless_ka responded that where she was currently living in Poland, the universities did not offer classes taught in English, which prevented her—and other participants in this study—from enrolling in courses. Different from Flawless_ka, Violet, and SI were among the participants enrolled in a Polish university because the courses offered in their location were taught in English. Both Violet and SI shared that continuing their education in Poland in English has allowed them to “завести нових друзів” [make new friends] (Violet, questionnaire) and “Я почуваюся добре та включено” [I feel good and included] (SI, email). These findings connect and confirm available literature that providing instruction in a foreign language that newly-arrived refugees feel more comfortable with (in this case, English) when instruction in the refugees’ mother tongue is not available increases their overall academic experience and sense of belonging (Benson, 2012; Reddick & Dryden Peterson, 2021).

6. Discussion and final thoughts

In this qualitative case study, we explored the effects of interrupted education on Ukrainian higher education refugee students who arrived in Poland after 24 February 2022 and their linguistic challenges. The findings have implications for policy and best practices for supporting arriving refugees in Poland and, potentially, for other countries welcoming Ukrainian refugees experiencing interrupted education. In this section, we propose three points for consideration addressed in more depth in the subsections below.

6.1. Integration policies and belonging

The host nation’s “integration policy and institutional support are extremely important” (Młynarczuk-Sokołowska & Żyłkiewicz-Płońska, 2021, p. 148) to the processes of refugee resettlement. Further, research shows a clear interrelationship between successful integration policies and the well-being of refugees (Ferris, 2020). Nonetheless, integration is a two-way practice that includes readiness from the host nation as well as preparedness to adapt on the part of the refugees (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 2014). In our study, we learned that although Poland offered much support and assistance to Ukrainian refugees, participants struggled/are struggling to participate in higher education and integrate into Polish society. Integration often carries connotations of a harmonious blending of cultures and systems, implying mutual effort between the host society and displaced individuals. However, when examining the challenges faced by participants in our study, it raises questions about the distribution of responsibility. While host nations’ policies play a pivotal role, the extent to which refugees are tasked with adapting to new norms, language, and system(s) is an essential consideration. In our opinion, this dissonance between the generous, immediate assistance provided and the lack of refugee integration occurred/occurs because neither Ukrainian refugees nor the Polish government/schools planned for long-term resettlements, so integration was not considered by either party. For participants and Polish policy-makers, the Ukrainian refugee crisis was thought of as temporary, so no policies were passed to help Ukrainian refugees transition into their new societies (Eversheds Sutherland, 2022), and participants did not think of Poland as a permanent place of residence.

The lack of integration policies affected the services provided to participants and their sense of belonging because they did not initially think about laying down roots in their host nation. As time continues to pass, participants have become increasingly uncertain about their personal and professional plans for the future because Russia continues to invade and attack Ukraine to the present day. Reducing uncertainty is essential for the long-term well-being and adjustment of refugees in their host nation (Dryden Peterson, 2017). Thus, we encourage governments and policy-makers to consider inclusive integration policies as a vital element in the acts and laws passed in favour of refugee communities. Even in cases where refugee assistance might be considered temporary, like in the case of Ukrainian refugees arriving in Poland, including integration policies into the law will positively influence the practices and services of receiving institutions and organizations, giving refugees a sense of stability and belonging (Ferris, 2020). It is a well-known fact that Poland is a country that, in recent times, has not had much exposure to or experience with refugees (Młynarczuk-Sokołowska & Żyłkiewicz-Płońska, 2021; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 2020). Similarly, as Iglicka (2017) asserts, refugees treat Poland as a transit country in the Schengen area. However, we believe that devoting more attention to integration policies will resolve issues of unclear guidelines and responsibilities (Lesinka, 2016), all of which affect the available support and services offered to refugees.

6.2. Access to education: language and process

Ensuring that refugees have equal and equitable opportunities for formal schooling—a topic connected to integration policies (see Ferris, 2020)—is considered one of the pillars of successful refugee integration (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 2017). After Russia invaded Ukraine, Poland, and other countries in the European Union (EU) implemented measures to facilitate access to education for refugees (Comisión Europea, 2022; UNESCO, 2022). In Poland, The Ministry of Education and Science commissioned initiatives to support Ukrainian higher education refugees (e.g., National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA), 2022), and institutions of higher education launched emergency programs (e.g., University of Warsaw, 2022) to provide assistance and education to Ukrainian higher education refugees. However, findings revealed that these initiatives were unknown to some participants, preventing them from taking advantage of those programs. Furthermore, some participants disclosed that at some universities, instruction was delivered only in Polish, which affected their ability to enroll and participate in those classes.

We, thus, encourage organizations (both local and government) to strengthen their collaborations with Polish higher education institutions and state refugee agencies to better help Ukrainian higher education refugee students. A centralized and synergistic collaboration will increase the chances of refugees gaining important information about the services available to them, and will also give organizations more knowledge about the needs of incoming refugees. Similarly, organizations and institutions of higher education need to consider access to education in a language spoken by the refugee students, even if only during the early period of arrival. A recent study showed that although most Ukrainian refugees did not speak Polish, the majority spoke additional languages (Zymnin et al., 2022). Polish higher education institutions should consider multilingualism an asset, and we recommend that instruction be offered in languages spoken by Ukrainian refugees to increase their overall resettlement and academic experience, participation, and sense of belonging (Benson, 2012; Reddick & Dryden Peterson, 2021).

6.3. Psychological and emotional support

Participants in this study were experiencing different levels of emotional and psychological distress, which were often described as or connected to feelings of uncertainty or passiveness. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) (2016), “access to health care and to mental health and psychosocial support are crucial aspects of refugees’ integration and inclusion” (2016, p. 11). However, the swift response from Poland did not prioritize access to, and/or information about mental health. A recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO) disclosed that, although an urgent need for mental health care services for Ukrainian refugees exists, there is limited awareness of the mental health care services available/provided to refugees, and few services are provided in Ukrainian (Sevkli, 2022). Further, the Polish mental health system, with its different pathways and referral systems, has proved challenging for Ukrainian refugees to navigate, and searching for information creates additional stress for refugees (International Medical Corps (IMC), 2022).

Guided by our findings and the recent report by the (IMC, 2022), we recommend strengthening mental health support through community-led initiatives. For example, educational institutions have taken the initiative to include psychological assistance and counselling services in the types of support provided (e.g., University of Warsaw, 2022), but schools alone cannot support the mental health of refugees; it takes a community. As such, it is necessary for local, community, and religious organizations and volunteers to receive training on mental health. Also, refugee families should receive education on mental and emotional well-being and self-care as part of their resettlement support system, which requires more accessible information (e.g., online and printed resources such as websites, pamphlets, and booklets) offered in the Ukrainian language as well as a mental health hotline in Ukrainian that refugees can call for support. Lastly, it is vital to create opportunities where Ukrainian refugee students can engage with each other inside and outside institutions of higher education so they can peer support one another and work together toward building a new life in Poland—even if temporary.

6.4. Final thoughts

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the effects of interrupted education—including linguistic challenges—on Ukrainian higher education refugee students who arrived in Poland after the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022. Findings revealed the complex, multifaceted challenges resulting from the interrupted education caused by war and forced migration. This study is, as far as our knowledge extends, among the pioneering endeavors in the field unveiling the ramifications of interrupted education on Ukrainian higher education refugee students in Poland. As such, we understand that the situation the Ukrainian community is facing in Poland and other host countries is continuously evolving, and their experiences will continue to change and transform. As such, we encourage researchers in the field to build on this research and explore additional pressing issues for Ukrainian higher education refugee students—and the Ukrainian refugee community in general—in their host countries, as research will shed light on the services they need and how to best support them.

As we end the writing of this manuscript, we recognize that the legal stay in Poland for Ukrainians, which started on 24 February 2022, is valid only for 18 months. As such, we foresee a change in the horizon and intend to continue our explorations to understand what effects living and studying in Poland for a year and a half had on Ukrainian higher education refugee students. We hope the academic community will also explore the effects of war, forced migration, and interrupted education from different lenses to give us a better perspective on the experiences of Ukrainian refugees in Poland and all around the world.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Fundacja Kościuszkowska Polska.

Notes

1. In this manuscript, we understand students with interrupted formal education (SIFE) as refugee students with interrupted education.

2. For clarity, research using WhatsApp and emails as a source of data with refugees has shown that extensive data can be collected through these means (e.g., Alencar & Camargo, 2022). We believe that in our study, WhatsApp and emails often yielded short and abstract data due to the participants’ social, emotional, and psychological states.