The increasing numbers of refugee students in our schools present under-prepared and under-resourced schools with particular challenges because of the students diverse cultural and educational backgrounds, language acquisition processes, and ways of knowing and learning. Refugee students stories are unique in their texture and context compared to other stories, with their themes of oppressive governments, war trauma, loss of home and family, loss of cultural identity, and diaspora. These narratives shape the stories they live by (Clandinin & Connelly, 1999, p. 4). According to Clandinin & Connellys (2000) notion of four directions (p. 50) when researching experiences, this narrative inquiry involved looking inward and outward, and backward and forward into students lived experiences. Listening to the refugee students narratives of their past lives, their present experiences in high school and in the community, as well as their hopes for the future provides educators, administrators and policy makers with a clearer picture of their complex lives. The students narratives in this research give educators an opportunity to reflect on the ways we inspire and give hope to refugee students in our classrooms.<p>
As the researcher, I have interwoven my personal experiences with war as a daughter and a mother along with my personal practical knowledge (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000, p. 3) as the students EAL (English as Additional Language) teacher together with the students narratives. The goal of this study is to provide participants with an opportunity to have their voices heard and attended to, especially in light of current teaching practices and proposed school transformation in their high school. This narrative inquiry identifies ways in which refugee students exist on the borderlands in high school and areas in schools that require attention. At the same time, it contributes an understanding of what needs to change to provide responsive educational practices in high school.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:USASK/oai:usask.ca:etd-12192008-102733 |
| Date | 29 January 2009 |
| Creators | Fedorchuk, Arlene J. |
| Contributors | Pushor, Debbie, Murphy, Shaun, McVittie, Janet, Li, Yi, Ward, Angela |
| Publisher | University of Saskatchewan |
| Source Sets | University of Saskatchewan Library |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://library.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-12192008-102733/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Saskatchewan or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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