Volunteer Teachers' Activities in Migrant Camps: Psychosocial Impact, Public Discourse and Institutional Reaction
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs2026.1.41.55Słowa kluczowe:
migrant children, detention, psychosocial well-being, volunteer teachers, civic engagementAbstrakt
Aim. This study analyses how detention affected the psychosocial well-being of migrant children held in Lithuanian border camps during the 2021 migration crisis and how volunteer teachers’ engagement functioned as a form of civic response to institutional neglect.
Methods. The study is based on qualitative research conducted with eight long-term volunteer teachers who worked with children in the Rukla detention camp. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed through inductive thematic analysis following the principles of qualitative rigour.
Results. The findings show that detention produced structural harm that intensified children’s emotional distress, behavioural withdrawal and social isolation. Volunteer teachers became a stable source of emotional regulation, connection and meaningful activity, providing informal psychosocial support in the absence of institutional protection. Their role evolved from educational assistance to civic engagement, which challenged exclusionary state practices and contributed to practical changes such as increased access to learning and movement opportunities for children.
Conclusions. Detention policies create harmful environments for children even within EU member states that claim adherence to human rights. The study demonstrates that civil society initiatives may partially reduce institutional harm by creating alternative spaces of care and responsibility. Children’s well-being in migration contexts cannot rely solely on legal frameworks; it requires ethical commitment and active public involvement.
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Prawa autorskie (c) 2026 Viktorija Voidogaitė
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