Between Two Systems: Education, Uncertainty, and Belonging of Ukrainian Displaced Youth in Latvia

Ukrainian youth in Latvia are navigating two education systems, two languages, and competing visions of the future. Researcher Hanna Markova argues that educational choices under forced migration are not only academic decisions, but strategies families use to keep several future options open. Parallel schooling, language barriers, and limited social inclusion place an added burden on young people, especially adolescents. The author concludes that “temporary” life between systems has become a lasting social condition shaping identity and life trajectories.

The study is based on qualitative fieldwork in Latvia, including focus groups and interviews with Ukrainian families in Riga, Ādaži, Bauska, and Ogre. It shows that formal access to school does not necessarily translate into a clear educational path: public data capture enrolment across different levels, but reveal little about how many students complete stages, continue studying, or remain in interrupted trajectories.

A particularly important turning point comes after Grade 9, when families must choose between general upper-secondary and vocational education. These decisions are often shaped not only by students’ interests, but also by income needs, available support, and the unresolved question of whether the future will be in Latvia, Ukraine, or somewhere else.

Read the full article at HROMADA network website

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