Subject: The Teacher Training Programme, Degree Project in Educational Sciences

Södertörn University College

Autumn Term, 2006

This study titled, Those who feel worst, need help to feel better, is a Degree Project in Educational Sciences for the Teacher Training Programme at Södertörn University College. The purpose of this study is to find out how school introduction for newly arrived refugee children is organized in two schools, considering the fact that many refugee children can suffer from PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The study is qualitative, based on interviews with principals, teachers and students in one junior high school and one high school. The study also reviews literature and research on how to work with children who suffer from PTSD. The results show that lack of national policy for the school introduction and education of refugee children, leads to the fact that school introduction can vary from school to school. The lack of co-operation between the different units around the refugee child makes the school introduction much more difficult than it needs to be. But this is also a matter of resources, and how they are divided. Thus, many of the children in this study seemed to be happy with their time in the preparatory class. The results also show that problems occurred when the children started in their new class, where they had difficulties in catching up with their new classmates.