The complex position of migrant children in European legislation and education

Across Europe, migrant children often have lower educational outcomes than non-migrant children. This is a trajectory that can begin early in the school career and have long-term implications and is due to a host of school and non-school factors. This chapter offers an overview of migrant children’s protection, support and education as well as a synopsis of some of the legislation that impacts young migrants and their integration into schools. To this end, it highlights two contrasting cases (those of Belgium and Poland) in order to better illustrate the fact that even in countries with very different histories of migration, approaches to integration and school systems, there are many common obstacles facing migrant children in schools. Available data on the training of teachers and support workers, migrant children’s access to and placement in schools and the structural space for children’s agency in schools is presented here in order to illustrate the difference between policy and the lived reality of migrant children’s integration into schools. The treatment of children in policy and programming that is summarised here shows the complicated position migrant children occupy in policy, society and education systems.