Foregrounding equity through a culture of care and connection in distance education for students from refugee backgrounds

Blog post Part of special issue: The right to education for forcibly displaced people: Exploring ideas on participation, connectedness and technology

Foregrounding equity through a culture of care and connection in distance education for students from refugee backgrounds

Koula Charitonos, Senior Lecturer at The Open University Marie Gillespie, Professor of Sociology at The Open University Neil Graffin, Senior Lecturer at The Open University Fidèle Mutwarasibo, Associate Head of the Business School at The Open University 19 Jun 2026

Inequalities in securing equitable access to, and success in, higher education (HE) remain deeply rooted and pervasive in every country. The World Access to Higher Education Network’s report shows that progress has been made over time, but gains are fragile and uneven. Students from low-income and marginalised backgrounds remain persistently underrepresented in HE. However, universities still lack understanding of who is missing out on the benefits of HE. Among those most excluded are the growing number of forcibly displaced people, who are . In response to this, The Open University UK (OU) launched the as a tangible expression of solidarity. This blog post draws on our research within this programme to offer insights on how such programmes can extend access and success in HE for students from refugee backgrounds (SfRBs).

In contexts of forced displacement, HE is seen as supporting hope, personal and collective aspirations, and livelihoods (). For most forced migrants, however, HE remains largely due to such systemic as financial constraints and hostile policies. Several UK universities and international initiatives provide scholarships to displaced people. Many require campus attendance. The OU, as a distance learning university is distinct. Since 2022 the programme has awarded 46 scholarships to UK-based SfRBs for undergraduate degree programmes.

As universities, we have grown comfortable measuring commitment to education in metrics such as how many scholarships are granted and how many SfRBs enrol. But these tell us almost nothing about whether the students who have been failed by the education system are being reached and supported. Being actively involved in the OU programme at its outset, we view ‘entry’ as a key milestone, albeit one that signifies only the beginning of a sometimes very long journey. Similar to others (see for example ; ), we question the assumption that once SfRBs are ‘granted’ access, they will then be able to move in, through and out of HE in a linear and predictable step-by-step process. To avoid ‘stuck places’ (), it is crucial that we pay attention not only to what we teach but importantly to how we teach: inclusively, flexibly, plurally, relationally. However, SfRBs pedagogy in HE is an under researched area that merits greater attention if we are to do more than pay lip service to inclusivity.

‘To avoid “stuck places”, it is crucial that we pay attention not only to what we teach but importantly to how we teach: inclusively, flexibly, plurally, relationally.’

In our 2023 study ‘ we sought to understand how SfRBs navigated being newcomer learners in distance HE and how the programme was carried out. We took a multistakeholder approach to offer an empirically informed study from the perspective of students, tutors, academics, professional services and senior leadership. We took this approach because is not only about supporting individual students but requires transforming institutional culture.

The research offered rich qualitative insights into the impoverished living conditions, high levels of uncertainty about the future, and limited social networks of many of our displaced students, often leading to isolation and lack of support. Digital poverty, rigid academic processes and timelines, and non-familiarity with both English for academic purposes and distance learning, all affected progress. Students appreciated the accessibility and variety of materials provided, and the flexibility of studying at a distance, including being able to combine studies, work and caring responsibilities.

Supporting students to forge connections and/or interact with staff emerged as a critical aspect of success in making the transition to HE. Students stressed the value of having direct contact and being able to reach out to a trusted individual/team, including their tutors. Relational work and relational pedagogies (), namely centring connections and relationships, and treating SfRBs as students who matter and are valued within our institutions (), helped tutors recognise and respond to student needs, and anticipate issues that may arise.

‘When the university experience is framed in terms of firm boundaries and rigid processes, this poses additional challenges to students from refugee backgrounds.’

The relational aspect of teaching and learning in HE is not a new idea (see for example ). What is new is the necessitating universities to consider value-based approaches and equitable practices that shape the experiences that SfRBs have as they engage with university life. Developing robust research-informed relational pedagogies for the displaced is certainly an area that deserves more attention. Our study found that when the university experience is framed in terms of firm boundaries and rigid processes, this poses additional challenges to SfRBs. When the university experience is framed in terms of weaving vibrant and supportive social connections and relations into day-to-day online operations between key stakeholders, it can help to build meaningful points of connection and care within our institutions and not just access at the point of entry.

Koula Charitonos, Dr

Senior Lecturer at The Open University

Koula Charitonos is a senior lecturer at the Institute of Educational Technology in The Open University (OU). Her research spans three areas: professional learning for complex professional knowledge work; pedagogies and educational practices for connected learning across formal and informal settings; and participatory approaches to research and development of educational technology. Currently she leads and works on a number of research projects, focusing on the role and provision of digital education in resource-poor environments and contexts of forced displacement. She has the role of the ‘Tackling Inequalities’ lead within the OU Open Societal Challenges programme. Koula serves as the deputy chair of the OU Sanctuary Advisory Network. She is currently the convenor of ��ϲ��’s Digital Education special interest group and she leads the OU’s contribution to the UN-led Connected Learning in Crisis Consortium.

Marie Gillespie

Professor of Sociology at The Open University

Professor Marie Gillespie is professor of sociology at The Open University, where her teaching and research focuses on migration, refugees and media. Her work has examined forced migration, diaspora cultures and the role of communication technologies in the lives of displaced people. She led ethnographic research with Syrian, Afghan and Iraqi refugees in Greece and Jordan, exploring digital connectivity across camp and non-camp settings. Her research consistently prioritised refugee experiences, rights and representation. She collaborated with international organisations, including the BBC World Service, UN Women and the World Food Programme, to develop theory, methods and policy aimed at improving conditions for migrants and refugees. She also worked on Covid Chronicles from the Margins, a collaborative digital ethnography investigating how the pandemic intensified inequalities for asylum seekers and refugees while fostering new solidarities. In addition, she led a feasibility...

Neil Graffin

Senior Lecturer at The Open University

Dr Neil Graffin is a senior lecturer in law and head of department at The Open University (OU). He is also the chair of the OU Sanctuary Advisory Network. Neil’s research interests are within immigration law, asylum law, human rights and wellbeing. Neil is currently the principal investigator in a British Academy/Leverhulme-funded project which looks at the legal consciousness of search and rescue volunteers who save the lives of people making dangerous crossings in the Mediterranean. Neil is also conducting research on the supporting and guiding role of barrister’s clerks in the legal profession. He is also conducting empirical research on perceptions of wellbeing among managers and leaders in the legal profession. Neil holds a PhD in Law from Queen’s University Belfast. He is also an associate lecturer with The Open University and he regularly works with charities to develop educational resources.

Fidèle Mutwarasibo

Associate Head of the Business School at The Open University

Dr Fidèle Mutwarasibo holds a PhD in Sociology from University College Dublin. He is a pracademic (dedicated to generating new knowledge that is helpful to practitioners) and thought leader. He is passionate about lifelong learning, and his life and career journey epitomise what is possible if people (including refugees and asylum seekers) are afforded the opportunity to engage in education. After decades in the voluntary sector serving in a variety of executive and governance roles, he became a full-time academic at The Open University in 2021. He is currently the associate head of the Business School, overseeing the external engagement portfolio. Driven by his commitment to equality, diversity, inclusion (EDI) and belongingness, he opposes hermeneutical injustice in research. He is currently researching inclusive leadership, allyship and collaboration to address racial inequities, ensuring active involvement from racialised minority communities. He regularly contributes to the...