Formalising organisational responsibility for refugees in German higher education
The Case of First Contact Positions
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4096719 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jana Berg (0000-0003-3818-0644, German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW), Hannover, Germany, corresponding author), Anja Gottburgsen (German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW), Hannover, Germany), Bernd Kleimann (German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW), Hannover, Germany) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 1243-1255 |
| Publication date | 2022-06-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Studies in Higher Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0307-5079 • E-ISSN: 1470-174X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/03075079.2021.1872524 |
| OpenAlex | W3120251589 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 28 |
This article addresses the formalisation of support structures for refugee students at German higher education organisations. After the refugee influx in 2015 and 2016, early support for refugees was characterised by often voluntary, informal, spontaneous activities by pioneers. Subsequently, the situation changed as higher education organisations adjusted to the new challenge and restructured their way of dealing with study-interested refugees. Based on 18 interviews with heads of international offices and with the holders of so-called first contact positions for refugees at eight German higher education organisations, we investigate – drawing on organisation sociology – these organisational responses to (prospective) refugee students. In a second step, we focus on the first contact positions as the smallest organisational units in this field of action and describe their tasks, their placement in the hierarchy, and the procedures for staffing. Our analysis shows that in response to the growing number of refugee applicants and the availability of external funding, support structures for refugees were formalised by creating and/or expanding existing organisational structures, including the establishment of first contacts as specific boundary positions and of new internal and external communication channels
German · Higher education · Pedagogy · Political science · Public relations · Refugee · Sociology · Education and experiences of immigrants and refugees · International Student and Expatriate Challenges · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology
Responsivität deutscher Hochschulen in der postmigrantischen Gesellschaft
Social inclusion of refugees into higher education
University Applicants from Refugee Backgrounds and the Intention to Drop Out from Pre‐Study Programs
Study Preparation of Refugees in Germany
Politics of internationalisation and the migration-higher education nexus
Durable supports for refugees in higher education through resisting short-termism and organisational memory loss
Die Internationalisierung der deutschen Hochschulen
Organization and Decision
Auf dem Papier und zwischen den Zeilen
Formalität und Informalität in Organisationen
Die Projektförmigkeit der Forschung
Refugee-Background Students’ Experience with College English Requirements
A policy of vulnerability or agency? Refugee young people’s opportunities in accessing further and higher education in the UK
Unsettling equity frames in Australian universities to embrace people seeking asylum
The Politics of Higher Education for Refugees in a Global Movement for Primary Education
Competing Motivations in Germany’s Higher Education Response to the “Refugee Crisis”
Refugees, Higher Education, and Informational Barriers
Institutionalized Organizations
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,2 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2023 (3) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |