From war in one country to a school desk in another: Ukrainian refugee children in the Swedish school: Examining Swedish teachers experienced level of qualification in regard to meeting the needs of Ukrainian refugee children as victims of trauma.

Abstract: Following the most recent wave of refugees in today’s world, the purpose of this qualitative and interpretative study is to examine Swedish teachers experience of their own level of qualification in regard to being able to meet the needs of Ukrainian refugee children. The analysis is based on the definition of said needs from the perspective of trauma care and as formulated by the model Transforming Care. The study was executed in the form of a case study involving a middle school in the Swedish town Växjö where data was collected through semi structured interviews. The data was organized and compiled thematically then to be analyzed against the three pillars framework upon which Transforming Care is built. The results bore evidence to multiple areas in which the respondents found it challenging to interpret and deal with the Ukrainian refugee children’s behaviors. The respondents unanimously expressed that they experienced their own levels of qualification in regard to meeting trauma inflicted needs within the Ukrainian refugee children to be negatively affected both by aspects directly linked to a lack of the right theoretical knowledge, and by outside factors that would constitute obstacles regardless of existing theoretical knowledge. The study concludes by suggesting the need for further research regarding the ways in which language and defective means of translation affect the creation of safety and connections, as well as the process behind what was given to school X as preparation for taking in the Ukrainian refugee children.