Peer-reviewed article
We Are Here for the Future of Our Kids: Parental Involvement in Refugee Adolescents’ Educational Endeavours in the United States
María Gandarilla Ocampo, Cyril Bennouna, Ilana Seff, Michael Wessells, Mackenzie V. Robinson et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examines how refugee families from Iraq and Syria who resettled in the United States support their adolescent children's education. Researchers conducted focus groups with 30 adolescents, interviews with 30 parents, and spoke with 27 key informants to understand families' views on education and how parents engage with their children's schooling. Despite the challenges of resettlement and newcomer status, parents actively supported their children's education both at school and at home. The study provides recommendations for how schools and organisations can strengthen parental involvement in refugee families' educational efforts.
Key points
- Education remained highly valued by refugee families following resettlement to the US
- Parents engaged with schools and supported their children's learning at home despite newcomer status challenges
- The study centred the voices and lived experiences of 30 adolescents and their families
- Focus groups and in-depth interviews were used to understand family perspectives on education
- Recommendations offered for schools and organisations to support parental involvement
Limitations
The study is qualitative and exploratory rather than explanatory, so it cannot establish causal relationships or generalise findings beyond the specific families studied. It does not compare outcomes between families with different levels of parental involvement or measure educational achievement directly.
Abstract
Abstract Every year, thousands of young refugees and their families face challenges as they adjust to schools in the US. This article explores how families resettled to the US from conflict-affected, Arab-majority countries in the Middle East and North Africa region, such as Iraq and Syria, view education, and how parents support their children’s education following the experiences of resettlement. To centre the voices and lived experiences of these families, we analysed focus group discussions with 30 adolescents and in-depth interviews with 30 parents and 27 key informants. Analysis using constant comparative method and thematic analysis showed that, upon resettlement, education remained highly valued by families. Our study finds that, despite the challenges associated with families’ newcomer status, parents in this study provided educational support to their children by engaging with the school and with their children’s learning at home. We offer suggestions on how schools and organizations can bolster parents’ ability to support their children’s education.