Effective Educational Approaches for Older Refugee Youth with Interrupted Schooling
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February 2020 Supported Transitions: Effective Educational Approaches for Older Refugee Youth with Interrupted Schooling NICOLE JOWETT With contributions from Ray Silvius, Abdikheir Ahmed, and Noëlle DePape Table of Contents Acknowledgements .............................. 4 Targeted Extended Learning and Extensive Supports for Transitional Programming ................... 23 List of Acronyms .................................... 5 Collaborative Partnerships for Executive Summary .............................. 6 Transitional Programming ................... 28 Recommendations ................................ 34 Introduction ........................................... 9 Conclusion ............................................. 38 Methodology ......................................... 11 References ............................................. 39 Experiences of Older Refugee Youth with Interrupted Schooling Appendix A: Transitional Programming in Winnipeg ............................................ 14 Formats and Case Studies ................... 42 Transitional Programming Appendix B: Manitoba in Winnipeg ....................................................16 Policy Summary ..................................... 46 Acknowledgements Thank you to the Child and Youth Refugee Research of refugee youth in Winnipeg. Your contribution is Coalition for funding this research, as well as to the deeply appreciated. University of Winnipeg and Immigration Partnership Winnipeg for supporting the project. ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS Many thanks to the project team of Ray Silvius at Nicole Jowett is a researcher and facilitator with a the University of Winnipeg and Noëlle DePape, background in direct and indirect newcomer support Abdikheir Ahmed, and Jessica Praznik at Immigration services. She currently works with newcomer- Partnership Winnipeg for your dedication to this work serving organizations to support coordination and and to this community. collaboration for settlement and integration services. Ray Silvius is Associate Professor in the Department Thank you to the Newcomer Education Coalition and of Political Science at the University of Winnipeg. His to the Research Advisory Group for your support. research interests include refugee settlement and Advisory group members include Kathleen Vyrauen, community-engaged research. He is the lead of Brahim Ould Baba, Sue Hoang, Paul Kambaja, Eunhee the Community Engaged Research on Immigration Buettner, Coralie Bryant, Bequie Lake, Tony Tavares, Network (CERI Network). Ibrahim Farah, and Maryam Rahimi. Thanks to Mustafa Mahdi for interpretation support and to Kathy Jaworski Abdikheir Ahmed has served as the Director of for transcription services. Many thanks to Scott Immigration Partnership Winnipeg (IPW) and as the Crompton for copy editing this report and to Amanda Executive Director of the Immigrant and Refugee Carvalho for designing it. Thank you to the Manitoba Community Organization of Manitoba (IRCOM), a Association of Newcomer Serving Organizations for refugee housing and settlement organization. He additional support with the report launch. has extensive experience working with immigrant and refugee communities in Winnipeg’s inner city Research was conducted with all Winnipeg-area and is a passionate advocate for immigrants and school divisions: Winnipeg School Division, Seven refugees in Canada. Oaks, Pembina Trails, St. James-Assiniboia, Louis Riel School Division, River East Transcona, and la Division Noëlle DePape is a refugee advocate and community scolaire franco-manitobaine. Thank you to all admin- builder who has worked as a Senior Project istration and staff who generously gave their time to Manager at IPW and as the Executive Director of participate in the project. IRCOM. Noëlle currently works in the Community Development Division at the City of Winnipeg where Finally, thank you to the youth, parents, communi- she is developing social policy for the City, including ty leaders, and community service providers who a Newcomer Welcome and Inclusion Policy and a shared their experiences and hopes for the education Poverty Reduction Strategy. 4 | SUPPORTED TRANSITIONS List of Acronyms CEDA Community Education Development LEAD Literacy, English, and Academic Association Development CDEM Conseil de développement économique LRSD Louis Riel School Division des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba NEC Newcomer Education Coalition CLB Canadian Language Benchmarks N.E.E.D.S. Newcomers Employment and Education CYRRC Child and Youth Refugee Research Development Services Coalition DSFM Division scolaire franco-manitobaine NYESS Newcomer Youth Educational Support Services EAL English as an Additional Language REDI Refugee Employment INS Intensive Newcomer Support Development Initiative IPW Immigration Partnership Winnipeg RETSD River East Transcona School Division IRCC Immigration, Refugees and SERC Sexuality Education Resource Centre Citizenship Canada IRCOM Immigrant and Refugee Community SIFE Students with Interrupted Formal Organization of Manitoba Education LAL Language, Academic, and Literacy WSD Winnipeg School Division FEBRUARY 2020 | 5 Executive Summary Older refugee youth with interrupted schooling face unique challenges due to multiple, interconnected Findings barriers beyond learning a new language. Students STRENGTHS AND CHALLENGES FOR with interrupted formal education (SIFE) have had YOUTH IN WINNIPEG limited access to quality education and tend to en- Many participants, notably youth themselves, un- ter the Canadian education system with language, derlined the resilience, experiences, and strengths academic, and literacy (LAL) learning needs. In of SIFE. Participants also described significant Manitoba, this group of youth represents a small challenges—particularly poverty and language but often high-needs portion of refugee students. barriers—which can put pressure on youth to earn an income and interpret for their families. The Newcomer Education Coalition (NEC) is an al- Communication with schools was a challenge, with liance of stakeholders from settlement and educa- many youths and families experiencing miscom- tion backgrounds that works collaboratively with munication about age eligibility for high school or other partners to facilitate more inclusive schools credit requirements for post-secondary education. for immigrant and refugee youth. Grounded in the Multiple youths and parents expressed a sense of community knowledge of the NEC, this research ex- disillusionment with the education system and de- plores some approaches to supporting older refu- scribed how a lack of communication and support gee youth with interrupted schooling and examines had serious repercussions for youth. the use of these approaches in a Winnipeg context. The research focuses on high-school-age youth, TRANSITIONAL PROGRAMMING 15-21, in Winnipeg-area school divisions with high IN WINNIPEG concentrations of students with interrupted school- As recognized by participants, older refugee youth ing. Through sharing community voices and using have individual strengths, needs, responsibilities, local, national, and international examples, this re- and preferences. Many of the involved administra- search provides constructive, community-informed tors, educators, and service providers underlined the programming and policy ideas that can address the importance of supported transitions with program- needs of this group of youth. ming that allows students to be challenged and prog- ress through a continuum of options. Transitional programming supports youth seeking further educa- Methodology tion and employment opportunities. Interviews with administrators were conducted to In Winnipeg, most school divisions congregate stu- give an overall understanding of available program- dents in magnet high schools to provide initial shel- ming, while focus groups with youth, parents and tered LAL classes and gradually transition students community leaders, service providers, and teachers into EAL and mainstream classes. Separate sites or provided diverse perspectives on the features of separate school programs for initial LAL program- effective programming. A reading of literature and ming are not in use in the public system. Local and program precedents gave broader insight into po- international examples illustrate how off-site pro- tential responses to meet the needs of youth. grams can provide intensive initial supports. For 6 | SUPPORTED TRANSITIONS in-school programs, some youths described a sense COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS FOR of stagnation in EAL classes, while others expressed TRANSITIONAL PROGRAMMING that the transition into regular classes was difficult Participants involved in supporting youth empha- and they often felt lost. The literature, and many ed- sized the need for collaboration among a range of ucators, stressed that targeted pre-exposure to lan- actors, particularly including mainstream teachers, guage is vital for youth to progress through academic refugee parents, and community organizations. Most and skill development. For example, there has been youths highlighted relationships with supportive some use of tutorial classes and language-support- teachers as a positive part of their school experienc- ed vocational programs. EAL-designated E-credits for es. Administrators and teachers explained that com- adapted courses were described by many educators munication and training with mainstream teachers is as a transitional tool. However, there was a lack of vital to supporting transitions within schools.