“To be integrated is to feel secure, to feel connected.” The views and experiences of sub-Saharan African migrants’ childrenregarding their school integration. A case studyin Rabat, Morocco

ABSTRACT: Although a significant amount of literature exists on Morocco’s migration policies and theirsuccesses and failures since their implementation in 2014, there is limited research on the integration of subSaharan African children into schools. This paperis part of a Ph.D. research project that aims to fill this gap. Itreports the main findings of a study conducted with migrant children enrolled in two public schools in Rabat,Morocco, exploring how integration is defined by the children themselves and identifying the obstacles that theyhave encountered thus far. The following paper uses an inductive approach and primarily focuses on therelationships of children with their teachers and peers as a key aspect of integration for students with a migrationbackground. The study has led to several crucial findings. It emphasizes the significance of speaking ColloquialMoroccan Arabic (Darija) and being part of a community for effective integration. Moreover, it reveals that theuse of Modern Standard Arabic as the language of instruction in schools is a source of frustration for students,indicating the need for language policy reform. The study underlines the importanceof considering thechildren‟s agency when being integrated into mainstream public schools..

KEYWORDS: migration, education, integration, sub-Saharan African children, public school