H.07. Creative and Emancipatory Research with Migrants and Refugees: Rethinking Methods, Education, and Democratic Participation

Research and educational practices involving migrants and refugees raise methodological, ethical, and epistemological questions that intersect with debates on the democratic quality of socio-educational environments. Although principles of inclusion are formally acknowledged, both research and educational systems often continue to rely on adult-centred, Eurocentric, and colonial logics that portray migrant and refugee populations as passive or lacking competence. In contrast, recognising these individuals—across different ages and backgrounds—as active and competent social actors is essential for transforming research perspectives and for designing more adequate and context-responsive educational interventions.

This panel welcomes contributions from academic researchers as well as professionals working in extra-academic settings, and from actors involved in social movements. We are particularly interested in how creative practices (art-based methods, narrative approaches, multimodal workshops) and participatory methodologies can open up new meanings, expand expressive possibilities, and support a real redistribution of epistemic power. Special attention is given to the experiences and trajectories of migrants and refugees in relation to learning, agency, and processes of debordering.

The panel aims to foster interdisciplinary dialogue on crucial issues for education in multicultural and transnational contexts: the management of linguistic and cultural barriers, the creation of accessible educational and research environments, and the role of intercultural and emancipatory competences in promoting educational and social justice.

By bringing together different actors, the panel seeks to advance methodological, pedagogical, and ethical innovations that make research and educational contexts more participatory and democratic, valuing the contributions of migrants and refugees as central to rethinking democratic education.