European Policies for the Inclusion of Refugees in Higher Education: The Case of Greece

Abstract

The abrupt influx of refugee populations in Europe in the last few years has, undoubtedly, posed many challenges in European countries. Higher Education is considered to be vital for the successful settlement of refugee communities into their host societies. Therefore, it is necessary to establish whether potential refugee aspirations to gain access in HEIs of their host country can be met at all. The present paper examines Greek policies regarding the inclusion of refugees in Higher Education (HE) and attempts to illustrate the range of initiatives taking place in Greek universities, directly or indirectly related to refugees, by highlighting the levels of authority involved, the locations, sources of funding and subject matter. Overall, what is made evident is that, in concurrence with dominant EU trends, the Greek government lacks a coherent policy for the inclusion of refugees in HE in Greece. It is most likely that the initiatives taken by researchers and academics (co-)shape what is considered to be the dominant policies regarding refugees in Greece and are not so much linked to their inclusion into HE as to other aspects of their presence in the country also involving separate target groups (teachers, local communities, researchers and others).