Voices of Refugee Youth
Date
2020-08
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Abstract
Using PhotoVoice, a participatory visual methodology, this research explored the settlement experiences of refugee youth who have exited high school and a program designed by a school board in Alberta to support their language and academic needs. Newcomer youth encounter profound academic and social stresses as they attempt to create a new identity and sense of belonging in their new home. By engaging the notion of place as a framework, this project examined what it means for refugee youth to recuperate a place of belonging. Gruenewald (2003) suggests that understanding our relationship to place can be profoundly pedagogical. The youth began by capturing their perspectives on belonging with photos; they collaboratively analyzed them for common themes, audio recorded narratives to accompany key images and then shared this assembled digital product with recently arrived newcomer youth. By focusing on the notion of belonging rather than barriers to settlement, the youth reflected on the actions that were instrumental in their effort to inhabit their new home. The findings revealed that at the core of the youth’s efforts, connecting to people, especially in school, in addition to connecting to the natural world, fostered feelings of well-being and belonging. Educational implications include recommendations for schools and teachers supporting newcomer youth. Schools that offer welcoming and focused language programs with teachers who have trauma sensitive training provide a foundation for older newcomer youth. Meaningful relationships among teachers, students and families generate trust that in turn creates safe places for student needs and voices to be understood. Giving experienced youth opportunities to reflect on and share their perspectives with other youth fosters confidence and awareness for both groups.
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Keywords
youth, refugee, belonging, photovoice, place, newcomer
Citation
Trussler, P. (2020). Voices of refugee youth (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.