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In this report, we presented the existing literature and policy on refugee students’ K-12 education, well-being, and resettlement in Canadian schools between 1997 and 2017. We synthesized the current knowledge in the field, identified gaps in the Canadian literature and policy, and proposed future research and policy development. Further research i...
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... representation of this search and selection process is included in Table 1. (Figure 1). After 872 sources were scanned for titles and abstracts, 124 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. ...
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The purpose of this study is to determine Turkish and refugee middle school students views on their national belonging. The study employed the qualitative research approach, and, aligned with the purpose, semi-structured interviews were conducted with Turkish and refugee students. Data were analyzed using the content analysis method. Results showed...
The refugee crisis in Canada has created political dynamics affected by the ideological spectrum in Canadian Politics. Liberalism is the most widely accepted political ideology among Canadians. Refugee and political liberalism have shared fundamental relations consdering political liberalism inextricable link with humanity as its core value. Admitt...
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... Canada is globally known for its response to conflicts and worldwide disasters as in the resettlement of over 74,000 Syrian refugees between 2015 and 2019 (Alhmidi, 2020). adults face (Feuerherm & Ramanathan, 2015;Ghosh et al., 2022;Ratković et al., 2017). Getting through the education system in a resettlement country such as Canada is particularly difficult for young adult refugees (YARs) with disrupted years of education (Hou & Bonikowska, 2016;Kanu, 2008;Mac-Nevin, 2012). ...
... The small body of literature focused on YAR populations (Baffoe, 2006;Blanchet-Cohen et al., 2017;Jowett et al., 2020;Kanu, 2008) is often found incorporated in more general works about immigrants, secondgeneration immigrants, and other marginalized populations, inclusive of a wider category of migrants but not explicitly age specific or focused on forced migrants (Ficarra, 2017;Hos, 2016;Lukes, 2011;Ratković et al., 2017). However, Jowett et al. (2020) explored refugee integration from a policy perspective focused on forced migrant students in Manitoba. ...
Canada resettled over 74,000 Syrian refugees since 2015. However, education programs lack awareness needed to successfully promote refugee academic integration. Little research focuses on young adult refugees (YARs) aged out of traditional schools due to asylum displacement and disrupted education, left with adult education schools as their only alternative to complete high school. Drawing upon 29 semi-structured interviews with Syrian YARs in Montreal, findings suggest that this subgroup is unintentionally excluded by educational policy-makers. Although YARs are survivors, their drive was found to be insufficient when confronted with systemic barriers that prevent at-risk students from proceeding smoothly through school to reach their highest potential.
... For example, although major resettlement countries such as Australia, Canada, and the UK that have long hosted immigrant and refugee populations have some educational policies for the integration of immigrant and refugee students, several issues still remain. These include inappropriate placements and difficulties in language learning (Shakya et al. 2010), concerns for linguistic and cultural acceptance (Dlamini and Martinovic 2007), socio-psychological needs of students, teachers' lack of cross-cultural competencies (Ratković et al. 2017), the lack of inclusive policies (Henry 2017), the lack of resources to respond to culturally diverse students and families (Parhar and Sensoy 2011), and inadequate teacher education programs (Levi 2019) in Canada; monolithic English language acquisition programs (Louise 2023) and viewing parents of refugee students from a deficit perspective (Wagner and Naidoo 2023) in Australia; and little policy or guidance for teachers working with refugees and asylum-seekers in the UK, as well as the issues around learning the majority language (Sharples and Câmara 2020) and the need for highly qualified teachers (Hek 2005). ...
The education of teachers who can effectively respond to immigrant and refugee students’ needs has been a major issue in Türkiye and globally. Drawing on culturally relevant pedagogy, this phenomenological study explores the professional needs of 24 elementary teachers in Türkiye who teach immigrant and refugee students in their classes and were selected purposefully through criterion and snowball sampling strategies. The results of the individual interviews showed that teachers experienced several difficulties in developing students’ academic achievement, cultural competence, and socio-political consciousness. The study provides insights for policymakers and teacher educators to develop and implement culturally relevant in-service and pre-service teacher education policies and practices in Türkiye and beyond to support immigrant and refugee students holistically, especially in a current time of war when refugee crises continue to be a major transnational concern.
... In a review of Canadian research, Ratković et al. (2017) highlight that art-based programs can foster harmony, open-mindedness and resilience while creating an atmosphere conducive to respectful negotiations between students where new relationships can grow. Stewart and Martin (2018) suggest that teachers listen to the stories of their refugee students with empathy and respect and encourage their students to tell their stories and express their emotions through dance, drama, painting and other visual arts. ...
... They are excited that we are genuinely interested in learning who they are. There are several research teams (e.g., Ratković et al., 2017;Woodgate & Busolo, 2021) who highlight the importance for teachers to learn more about their students' backgrounds and pre-migration and post-migration experiences as well as their multiple identities through an intersectional lens (Crenshaw, 2017). A number of research teams working with refugee students and their teachers, (e.g., Barber & Ramsay, 2020;Cummins & Early, 2011;Gagné et al. 2021;Johnson & Kendrick, 2021;Kendrick et al., 2022;Stewart & Martin, 2018) recommend multimodal projects where students can make connections between their histories and identities and particular aspects of the curriculum. ...
Students with refugee experiences face several social and academic challenges in the Canadian school system. Supportive relationships and school spaces where educators, parents, and peers act as cultural brokers to help students navigate challenges can contribute to reducing experiences of educational inequality for children with refugee experiences. This duoethnography maps these relationships during a year-long identity text project with Grade 6 students in an ESL/ELD classroom by two educator researchers. Using an intersectional lens, the authors identify gaps and highlight promising pathways and practices for the integration of students with refugee backgrounds, including 1) working towards the greater interconnectedness of service and referrals between welcome centres, schools and service organizations; 2) knowledge exchange surrounding different education pathways and practices and the opportunities afforded by these for the integration of students with refugee experiences; 3) individually tailored educational support and services; and 4) translanguaging pedagogy.
... First, children's human right to participate in matters that affect them (as articulated in Article 12) necessitates the opportunity for newcomer students to voice their opinions to researchers and educators regarding their education and for those opinions to be considered. This was imperative since there is limited research on the experiences of refugee students in their host country using the children's own views and perspectives (Ayoub & Zhou, 2016;Guerrero & Tinkler, 2010;Prior & Niesz, 2013;Ratković et al., 2017;Smyth, 2013). Second, we hoped this participatory framework would empower Syrian newcomer students in Canada by giving them an opportunity to voice their opinions, to learn about their education rights, and as emphasized by Lake (2015), to develop self-advocacy and collaboration skills. ...
The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences of Syrian refugee students in Canadian schools. Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was used as a framework. Data collection involved one-on-one interview with students. Data from the interviews was analyzed using an open-coding technique to identify themes and patterns. Although the students had positive resettlement experiences, some of them experienced difficulties with their learning. Based on the findings, we propose recommendations for educators and schools welcoming Syrian refugee students.
... Despite efforts being implemented to welcome newcomers and support their well-being in Ontario schools (School Mental Health-Assist, 2016), examples of racism and discrimination that were shared by youth often occurred in school settings. This is consistent with previous literature suggesting that school systems are ill-equipped to support transition and address the mental health needs of newcomers as they enter Canadian schools (Ratković et al., 2017). Scholars in other Canadian provinces have found that a more thorough familiarization to school systems is needed for newcomer students, particularly refugee youth who may have experienced disrupted schooling (Li et al., 2017). ...
... Racism and discrimination are significant issues to combat given their negative impacts on mental health (Shakya et al., 2010) and psychosocial functioning (Oxman-Martinez et al., 2012). Although it is beyond the scope of this paper to set out precise policy and programming that should be implemented, insights from this research and the wider literature suggest that attending to the responses and perceptions that residents of a receiving society hold is critical in promoting diversity and understanding (Guo et al., 2019;Ratković et al., 2017). Educating Canadians and targeting their negative perceptions about immigration would be beneficial given the increasing rates of resettled young people in Canada who have newcomer backgrounds; projections suggest this could be true for up to 49 percent of children under the age of 15 by 2036 (Statistics Canada, 2017b). ...
... The need for more resources and supports that will enhance transition and adaptation into new systems continues to be evident as found in past research (Ratković et al., 2017). As schools are often one of the first points of contact to support newcomer well-being, professionals in the Canadian education system would benefit from training on culture and needs of newcomers to be able to provide welcoming and supportive spaces. ...
Research infrequently includes the perspectives of vulnerable and marginalized youth. As the population of newcomer youth in Canada continues to grow, it is imperative that attention is devoted not only to challenges they experience, but also to resilience factors they perceive to support their adjustment and well-being. To address this gap, this qualitative research explored newcomer youths' experiences and advice for other newcomer youth who have recently arrived in Canada. Thirty-seven newcomer youth from two medium-sized cities in Ontario participated in focus groups. Participants ranged from 14 to 22 in age and identified mostly as female refugees from the Middle East. Through thematic analysis, five overarching themes were found across groups: (1) moving to a new country is hard, (2) maintain a healthy mindset, (3) take an active role in the adjustment process, (4) stay true to who you are, (5) and you are not alone. Youth described hardships that make moving to a new country difficult including lack of belonging due to racism and bullying, insufficient orientation to new systems, language barriers, and high levels of stress. Findings demonstrated youths' resilience, coping skills, and strategies to lead meaningful lives. Youth discussed resilience strategies such as maintaining a connection with home culture and religion, reframing thinking to be positive, receiving emotional support, accessing community support at newcomer agencies, and building language proficiency. Findings provide implications for professionals working with newcomer youth and reflect the importance of addressing structural barriers and racism. The opportunity for newcomer youth to share experiences as experts in research may also help to promote resilience.
... The experiences of school settlement workers and their influence on newcomer, refugee and immigrant students' trajectories are largely absent from educational scholarship, which has predominantly focused on teachers (e.g., Ficarra, 2017), and from social work and settlement scholarship, in which studies that examine the experiences of racialized workers instead of clients are exceptional (see Badwall, 2014;Holt & Laitsch, 2016;Kikulwe, 2016). In schools, settlement workers assist newcomer students in traversing pre-existing barriers heightened by the pandemic, including discriminatory attitudes of educators and peers, limited culturally relevant pedagogical approaches, and lack of English-as-an-additional-language programming and supports (Oxman-Martinez et al., 2012;Ratkovic et al., 2017). Compounding impacts of COVID-19 on newcomer students suggest that the role of settlement workers is increasingly critical for mitigating the long-term effects of the pandemic, which could include wider gaps in language-learning opportunities, exacerbated experiences of school and social disconnection and exclusion, and negative mental health impacts (Callahan, 2020;Cerna, 2020;UNHRC, 2020). ...
For newcomer students, inequities exacerbated by COVID-19, including racism, unfold within their educational landscapes. School settlement workers perform a critical role in newcomer students' educational trajectories. COVID-19 has intensified the importance of school settlement work, yet school settlement workers remain an under-researched and under-recognized group of professionals. Anchored in an anti-racist, multidisciplinary framework, our article traces how COVID-19 measures in schools have magnified inequities for school settlement workers and newcomer students. Our data, drawn from a community-based project, consist of virtual focus groups held with school settlement workers located in a Canadian prairie province during the height of the pandemic, and the findings emerge through a critical approach to the methodology of appreciative inquiry. We illuminate systemic realities to contradict discourses that the pandemic does not discriminate and demonstrate how COVID-19 protocols are used to justify and obfuscate schooling exclusions along racial lines. We analyze themes of (in)visibility of settlement work, whiteness and racism, and resistance through Sara Ahmed's (2012, 2017) metaphor of the brick wall to animate the tensions of settlement work in schools during COVID-19. We conclude with school settlement workers' recommendations to increase recognition of their critical role and to support their work during and beyond the pandemic. We call on institutional wall makers to respond to settlement workers' recommendations and actualize institutional commitments to newcomer students and families.
... As of August 2018, more than 58, 600 Syrian refugees made Canada their home and approximately 47 per cent of these were children under the age of 17 at the time of arrival (IRCC, 2017). Yet, the Canadian school system in various parts of the country continues to face challenges in facilitating the smooth transition of these children to the new school system (Ratković et al., 2017). A lack of understanding of refugee students' education, social integration and well-being in education systems is what has led to such challenges. ...
This paper explores the initial integration experiences of Syrian refugee children in schools in Canada. We conducted two focus groups with twelve Syrian refugee parents and three focus groups with eighteen children. Our research shows that Syrian refugee children experienced emotional barriers while struggling with their identity as Syrian “refugees.” Their low English proficiency, English only practice in classrooms and teachers’ low expectations further exacerbated the barriers to children's school integration. Syrian refugee children not only found it difficult to make friends with local students but were also subjected to constant bullying and racism that affected their sense of belonging and connection. Our research has both local and global implications, given a global increase in refugee student population. This paper makes an important contribution to the student voice theory by integrating the voices and concerns of Syrian refugee children trying to integrate into the Canadian school system.
... Additionally, it is important to remember that it is not the responsibility of one governing body to implement resources, rather it needs to be a collective effort from all levels of government, including community level authorities to create and maintain social resources for women who are refugees to use in their transition and maintenance of good mental and emotional health (Ives, 2007). Community groups and gathering places have resulted in women feeling safe about sharing their experiences and excited about building prosperous futures in Canadafeelings of safety and excitement are important in being mentally and emotionally healthy (Ratković et al., 2017). ...
Between 2015 and 2017, over 24,000 Syrian women came to Canada as refugees. Refugees are two to three times more likely than native Canadians to suffer from depression and other mental health challenges. A qualitative approach was taken to understand roles of social networks in shaping the mental and emotional health resource-seeking behaviours of twelve Syrian women who are refugees. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted in both English and Arabic. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and thematically coded using NVivo 12. Findings reveal that (1) families play large roles in teaching and providing information about Canada’s health system, including mental health services; (2) Social networks influence assumptions about mental and physical health services; (3) women feel more welcomed into social networks in Canada than in countries of first asylum; and (4) social networks act as alternatives to seeking formal mental and emotional health care. Through first-hand stories and experiences of Syrian women’s transitions into Canada, this study identifies the ways in which social networks may help or hinder engagement with mental and emotional health services.
... In Canada, Newfoundland and Ontario have developed the most policies and resources related to addressing refugee student needs. Resources included guides for classroom teachers, language teachers, and administrators (Ratković et al., 2017). For example, the Ontario Ministry of Education has developed an eight-page monograph for teachers entitled "Capacity Building K-12: Supporting Students with Refugee Backgrounds, Special Edition #45", which was released in July 2016, after the Syrian refugee resettlement had taken place. ...
... Integration of non-verbal forms of communication, as seen in music, dance, drama, and the visual arts, may also provide refugee students with multiple opportunities for expression and connection, and more readily relate to birth-country learning and pedagogical styles and preferences, such as oral history traditions. Research demonstrates the arts can be a healing and empowering process for refugee children and adolescents, working to promote students' sense of solidarity, tolerance, and resilience while compensating for the loss of familiar supports and communities (Obradović-Ratković, Kovačević, Ahmed, & Ellis, in press;Ratković et al., 2017;Stewart, 2012;Tavares, 2012). Through collaborative practices, mentorship, and ongoing professional development across the arts, educators can become more adept at developing inclusive and culturally-responsive educational practices that may support refugee youth and their local peers (Skidmore, 2016). ...
... Financially, school districts struggle to keep up with the ongoing support that is needed. Insufficient educator training and lack of educational pedagogies and resources are also particularly challenging (İçduygu, 2015;Pigozzi, 2018;Ratković, et al., 2017). Some administrators worry about added expenses to school systems and burdens on local host communities. ...
RESUMO Objetivo: relatar a experiência discente de pós-graduação de Enfermagem em Programa de intercâmbio internacional. Método: trata-se de um relato de experiência, sobre a participação no programa de Doutorado Sanduíche, realizado por meio de concessão de bolsa do Programa de Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, entre a Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo e a Universidade Laval, Quebec, entre agosto a dezembro de 2017. Resultados: participação em cursos, palestras e eventos, aluna ouvinte em disciplinas relacionadas à prática da enfermagem. Estratégia de aprendizagem baseada em problemas, as atividades de ensino foram realizadas em forma de apresentações audiovisuais, discussões em sala de aula, atividades em laboratório, trabalho em equipe, material multimídia, videoconferências, tutoriais e plataforma web. Considerações Finais: o intercambio é oportunidade para agregar valores, aprimorar o currículo e ampliar o conhecimento, além de conhecer diferentes linhas de pesquisas e teorias voltadas para a área da saúde. Descritores: Intercâmbio educacional internacional; Enfermagem transcultural; Enfermagem.
