Abstract: The purpose of the article is conceptual analysis of the terms "refugee". The authoress confronts theoretical approach of refugeeism with the perception and understanding of the term by a group of teachers and students of pedagogy. Material and methods: The method used in the research was a diagnostic survey. Using the survey questionnaire, a group of respondents answered the question "Who is a refugee?". The responses were subject to a percentage and comparative analysis by group of teachers and pedagogy students. Results: Nearly half of the respondents identified refugee definitions in response that coincided with official definitions. However, few of them were able to state the reasons for refugeeism. The responses also show an influx of pejorative terms and negative connotations associated with the word "refugee". Conclusions: The results of the conducted research indicate that common knowledge may dominate credible and reliable sources of knowledge, and personal opinions make it difficult to build impartial statements.