In recent years, refugees and refugee resettlement have come to the forefront of public discourse worldwide. From the high numbers of unaccompanied minors from Latin America arriving in the United States to the mass exodus of Syrians seeking asylum in Europe, questions about the ethics and economics of refugee resettlement are frequently emerging in news reports. Anxieties about migration and resettlement have fueled a rise in anti-establishment and nationalist sentiment among voters in a number of countries. Often, public media employ a framing of 'crisis' in these discussions, rarely considering the question: What happens to former refugees and asylum seekers in the long run? Specifically, how do refugees build new lives after permanent resettlement? Education serves a crucial role in this process and is seen by many individuals and families as a means of cultural adjustment, social mobility and societal integration (Matthews, 2008). While research focused on the education of refugee-background students has been growing (cf. Feuerherm & Ramanathan, 2015; Rutter, 2006), there is still a dearth of scholarship in this area, as documented in reviews by McBrien (2005) and Pinson and Arnot (2007). Moreover, much of the existing research focuses on younger learners in primary grades, rather than on older children and adults (Feuerherm & Ramanathan, 2015; Hannah, 1999). This volume aims to address these gaps in the literature, focusing on the educational experiences of adolescents and adults with refugee backgrounds. To understand who these students are and what their stories might tell us, here we provide some background information about refugees and refugee resettlement.