Educational gaps and their impact on Iraqi refugee students’ secondary schooling in the Greater Detroit, Michigan Area

In this piece we examine educational gaps among Iraqi refugee students while living in Iraq and while in transitional countries, challenges resulting from those educational gaps since they have arrived in the United States, and Iraqi students’ needs to overcome their challenges for school adjustment. Thirty Chaldean Iraqi refugees who attended various high schools in the greater Detroit area, their parents, and their teachers participated in interviews and focus groups. Educational gaps in Iraq are due to precarious conditions involved in access to schooling, and threats and dangers experienced as Chaldean religious minorities. Gaps in transitional countries are due to lack of access to schooling due to residency restrictions, discriminatory treatment, and financial difficulties. Iraqi students are highly anxious about academic failure and their ability to obtain a high school diploma. We recommend educational policies and practices that might best address the serious problem of educational gaps