| dc.description.abstract | Abstract Due to globalisation, conflicts, and climate change, 21st century is faced with many challenges, one of which is the humanitarian response for refugees and asylum-seekers. The focus of this study is inclusive education in terms of educational access, experiences, challenges, identity and sense of belonging, social integration and future aspirations of first- and second-generation Afghan refugee-background students in the Dutch secondary education. The study is the result of both primary and secondary data. The primary data is collected through semi-structured interviews with sixteen first- and second-generation Afghan students, four teachers in primary reception classes (Internationale Schakelklas, ISK), two experts from non-government organizations (NGOs), and four unstructured classroom observations in two ISK schools. In this study, it is found that newcomer refugees need to be integrated in early stages within the mainstream education system, indicating that despite the developments, the current ISK schools lack the quality, capacity, and environment of addressing educational needs of refugee students due to lack of resources such as poor school quality, inaccurate pedagogical approaches, lack of suitable environment, and lack of comprehensive support system required out of many other factors. Based on the experiences of students, the findings suggest that non-native schools to a higher extent, and native schools to a lower extent, lack measures to integrate, include, and provide educational equity for first- and second-generation refugee-background students. The concept of ‘mixed-schools’ is advocated throughout the study as a replacement for the native and non-native schools, which has led to increased polarization in the education and social sphere in the Netherlands. The role of the education system (and most importantly schools), the individual student, families, society, peers, and relevant stakeholders have been found crucial in this study for successful integration and inclusion of refugee-background students in the Dutch secondary education system. Language barriers, discrimination, stress, bureaucratic chaos, lack of coordination and planning in schools, socio-economic based polarized segregation of ethnic groups, and the current state of education system considering the autonomy of establishment of schools and freedom of school choice by parents are considered the main challenges facing refugee students. | eng |