Understanding Ukrainian Refugee Students’ Needs and Teachers’ Support Strategies in Polish Education: Insights from Teachers

Whilst recent years have seen growing interest in the education of refugee students in Poland, little is known about Polish teachers’ professional concerns regarding Ukrainian students’ needs and how to support them in the classroom. To help bridge this gap, we aimed to explore Polish teachers’ opinions on the educational and psychosocial needs of refugee students from Ukraine and the forms of psychoeducational support offered to them in Polish schools. The sample consisted of 858 Polish teachers from 15 voivodeships. Using qualitative data processing and thematic coding, we analysed their answers to two open-ended questions. Teachers identified several categories of refugee students’ needs: difficulties related to insufficient Polish language skills, psychosocial needs and issues, educational needs, and formal barriers. The psychological and pedagogical support provided to refugee students from Ukraine, as indicated by teachers, typically included extra hours of group activities, specialist support, direct support from teachers, and classroom adaptations, including modifications to teaching methods, work formats, and grading criteria. Implications for practice are discussed.