Peer-reviewed article
Children’s Well-Being as the Cornerstone of a Child-Centred Asylum Policy: The (In)visibility of Underage Asylum-Seeker Needs in Poland
Jakub Kościółek ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This paper examines how well Poland's asylum policies and practices protect the well-being of child asylum seekers, particularly in education. It compares what Polish migration law says it will do for these children with what actually happens in practice. The research finds that a child-centred approach is only visible in education, while other aspects of reception and integration fall short. The paper identifies gaps between legal provisions and implementation, and recommends changes to make asylum procedures more child-friendly.
Key points
- Migrating children's interests are often considered in a migrant context rather than through a best-interests-of-the-child framework
- Education is identified as the only social area where a child-centred approach is detectable in Poland's asylum system
- Significant discrepancies exist between legal provisions for receiving minor asylum seekers and actual practice on the ground
- Specific institutions vary in their potential for implementing child-centred management in reception and integration
- Obstacles to child-friendly asylum procedures require necessary changes and shifts in practice
Limitations
This is a policy analysis paper rather than an empirical evaluation of outcomes for children; it does not quantify the extent of well-being gaps or measure the impact of specific interventions on child outcomes. The paper draws on fieldwork but does not report systematic data collection or outcome metrics for asylum-seeking children.
Abstract
The focus on children’s well-being is fundamental to any child-centred policy. Hence, migrating children’s interests are usually considered in a migrant context rather than in the best interests of the child, highlighting the challenges of implementing child-centred asylum policies in practice. Based on this observation, the paper focuses on the discrepancies between the legal provisions for the reception of minor asylum seekers in Poland and practice on the ground: how they serve the education opportunities for such children, as the only social area where the child-centred approach is detectable. The paper discusses the extent to which the legal provisions of the Polish migration law are suitable for adopting a child-centred approach in the asylum procedure to enable children to continue their education. It is further explored in connection to the Micreate fieldwork study with asylum-seeking children. The paper analyses specific institutions to assess their potential for implementing child-centred management in the reception and integration of asylum seekers and to highlight the obstacles in this direction. Finally, the paper formulates recommendations for necessary changes and shifts in practice to recognise the children-friendly practices in asylum procedures.