A Comparison of In-class Student Engagement and School Environment between Refugee and Host Community Students

Abstract

As wars and persecutions persist in many parts of the world, education and integration programmes for refugees have received more attention in recent years. This research attempts to illuminate differences between the host community and refugee students through students' eyes in the Kurdistan region of Iraq- Sulaymaniyah city. Our main research aims were to have a quantitative understanding of the differences and associations between the elements of in-class student engagement (preparations for classes, active listening and participation) and school environment (social environment: student-teacher relationship, student-student relationship and physical environment). The sample consisted of 193 grade 8 and 9 students in Sulaymaniyah province (104 host community students and 89 Syrian refugee students). The comparative analysis was made based on the available data and study statistics. The statistical analysis showed that there were significant statistical differences between the two groups of students regarding preparation for classes and class participation, while there was not a significant difference between them regarding active listening in class. Significant differences related to social and environment satisfaction were also revealed. Through correlation tests, associations were found between in-class student engagement and social environment elements.