Home Institution
University of Colorado At Boulder
Publication Date
Spring 2013
Abstract
As an increasing number of asylum-seekers cross the border into Switzerland in search of protection, Switzerland faces the challenge of accommodating and integrating asylum populations into society while protecting all basic human rights. This study looks at the reception of child asylum-seekers in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland in terms of their integration in the education system and society. A series of interviews and a literature review were used to identify what services are available to child asylumseekers both at school and within the canton that may facilitate integration. The findings of this study indicate that child asylum-seekers are receiving equal access to education in the compulsory school system and that the canton is providing “classes d’accueil” (integration classes) as well as numerous social services to assist with the integration of child asylum-seekers. However, the results of the study also evidence structural and societal barriers to the integration of asylum-seekers in Switzerland, which calls for the reevaluation of the asylum policies in regards to the rights of children, as well as for the need of additional research in this area.
Disciplines
Civic and Community Engagement | Family, Life Course, and Society | Immigration Law | Inequality and Stratification | Juvenile Law | Public Affairs | Social Welfare
Recommended Citation
Brinker, Sonja C., "The Institutional and Social Integration of Child Asylum-Seekers in the Schools and Society of the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland" (2013). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 1588.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/1588
Included in
Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Immigration Law Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Juvenile Law Commons, Public Affairs Commons, Social Welfare Commons
Program Name
Switzerland: Global Health and Development Policy