Educators' Perspectives on Translanguaging and Trauma in Refugee Education: Insights from Multiple Contexts in Greece

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Educators' Perspectives on Translanguaging and Trauma in Refugee Education: Insights from Multiple Contexts in Greece
Language: English
Authors: Tsampika Makrogianni (ORCID 0009-0002-2399-5218), Eleni Skourtou (ORCID 0009-0006-2556-7603), Vasilia Kourtis-Kazoullis (ORCID 0000-0001-5884-3308)
Source: International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education. 2026 18(2):187-201.
Availability: International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education. T&K Akademic Rosendalsvein 45, Oslo 1166, Norway. e-mail: iejee@iejee.com; Web site: https://www.iejee.com/index.php/IEJEE/index
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 15
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Refugees, Code Switching (Language), Language Usage, Student Diversity, Trauma Informed Approach, Trauma, Student Needs, Teaching Conditions, Classroom Environment, Conflict, Teacher Attitudes
Geographic Terms: Greece, Middle East, Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Palestinian Territories
ISSN: 1307-9298
Abstract: Since 2016, Greece has functioned as both a transit and host country for refugees from Asia and Africa, generating a wide range of educational responses across formal, semi-formal, and informal contexts. Within these settings, translanguaging has emerged as a central pedagogical and psychosocial practice that mediates learning, inclusion, and identity reconstruction. This study investigates how educators working in diverse educational contexts describe the institutional and classroom conditions shaping refugee children's learning, how they perceive and address the impact of trauma and displacement on students' participation, and how they understand and employ translanguaging as a tool for communication and empowerment. Drawing on three interviews with teachers engaged in refugee education in Greece, the analysis reveals that translanguaging operates both as a strategy for comprehension and as a relational practice that fosters safety, belonging, and agency. The findings further indicate that teachers' epistemological stances and institutional constraints influence the extent to which translanguaging can be integrated into classroom practice. By situating educators' narratives within frameworks of trauma-informed and multilingual pedagogy, the study highlights translanguaging as a humanizing and agentive response to the educational and emotional realities of refugee children in Greece.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1505442
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:Since 2016, Greece has functioned as both a transit and host country for refugees from Asia and Africa, generating a wide range of educational responses across formal, semi-formal, and informal contexts. Within these settings, translanguaging has emerged as a central pedagogical and psychosocial practice that mediates learning, inclusion, and identity reconstruction. This study investigates how educators working in diverse educational contexts describe the institutional and classroom conditions shaping refugee children's learning, how they perceive and address the impact of trauma and displacement on students' participation, and how they understand and employ translanguaging as a tool for communication and empowerment. Drawing on three interviews with teachers engaged in refugee education in Greece, the analysis reveals that translanguaging operates both as a strategy for comprehension and as a relational practice that fosters safety, belonging, and agency. The findings further indicate that teachers' epistemological stances and institutional constraints influence the extent to which translanguaging can be integrated into classroom practice. By situating educators' narratives within frameworks of trauma-informed and multilingual pedagogy, the study highlights translanguaging as a humanizing and agentive response to the educational and emotional realities of refugee children in Greece.
ISSN:1307-9298