ERIC Number: EJ1239511
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2202-493X
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Refugee Young People (Re)forming Identities: The Role of Social Networks
Langat, Kiprono; Major, Jae; Wilkinson, Jane
International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives, v18 n3 p74-87 2019
Educational contexts around the world are increasingly characterized by diversity, including a rise in students from refugee backgrounds. Much research has focused on the educational needs of these students and the particular struggles they experience in educational contexts. The increasing number of refugee and asylum-seeking children in Australia calls for rethinking approaches to enhance the acculturation process in ways that build on individuals' prior knowledge and understanding of self. This paper draws on data from a larger case study that focused on Sudanese young people in regional Australia and investigated their out-of-school activities, networks, and practices and how these contributed to their success across a range of contexts. Drawing on perspectives of identity and theories of social capital, we discuss the role of social networks in generating social capital and what this means in terms of the (re)formation of students' identities in regional locations, and we consider how this can contribute to educational success. We suggest that the resources in regional areas present both a challenge and an opportunity for young former-refugee people in terms of repositioning themselves in new social, cultural, and educational contexts. The paper examines how the young people developed their own momentum, rationality, and legitimacy in their identity (re)formation, and suggests that educational settings need to connect with and understand young people's out-of-school resources to avoid deficit narratives that lead to poor educational outcomes.
Descriptors: Refugees, Social Networks, Identification (Psychology), Acculturation, Leisure Time, Social Capital, Foreign Countries, Adolescents, Adjustment (to Environment), Religion, Athletics, Friendship
Australian and New Zealand Comparative and International Education Society. ANZCIES Secretariat, Curtin University, Box U1987, Perth, WA Australia. Tel: +61-8-9266-7106; Fax: +61-8-9266-3222; e-mail: editor@iejcomparative.org; Web site: https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/index.php/IEJ/index
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia; Sudan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A