The 1951 United Nations Convention on the Rights of Refugees defines a refugee as someone who “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.” This definition does not include internally displaced persons (who have not crossed an international border), economic migrants, or persons fleeing a natural disaster. Forced migration disrupts education and may place a strain on the school systems of the host country. This entry explores the refugee situation in the Middle East and North Africa (Iran, Turkey, and the states of the ...