Ukrainian Refugees in Poland: War, Migration, Uncertainty and Education

Due to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, millions of Ukrainians left their homes in search of safety abroad. After two years of war, some returned home, while others stayed abroad. In 2024, approximately 1.6 million Ukrainian refugees are still residing in Poland. The European Union has implemented the Temporary Protection Directive for Ukrainian refugees, which grants them a temporal legal right to stay, and access to healthcare systems, the labour market, and the education system. Thus, 200,000 Ukrainian refugee children entered Polish schools, while another 400,000 were out of school while residing in Poland. Since September 1st, 2024, the Polish Government posed an obligation of education for children under 18. As such, the number of Ukrainian children in school is expected to grow.

This uncertainty regarding the legal status, war, and education in a new academic system has left millions of refugees in a state of insecurity, unsure whether they can continue building their lives abroad or if they will soon lose their legal rights and be forced to return to Ukraine. As a result, this instability has had a significant impact on children, affecting their education, adaptation, and sense of security and belonging—all of which are crucial for their development and future prospects.

This paper examines how Ukrainian refugee children navigate and construct their lives in Poland by entering a new academic setting. The paper highlights both academic achievements and constraints, and socializing/ adapting difficulties (which are fundamental for a successful learning process) of forced migrant children in Poland. The findings are drawn from a four-year qualitative longitudinal study, EduMAP, conducted with Ukrainian refugee children, their parents, and stakeholders in two cities -Warsaw and Lublin, funded by the National Science Center, OPUS.