Research Library

The purpose of this qualitative arts-informed and play-based case study was to explore and better understand how young newcomer children use common childhood activities of play and personal art-making as tools or vehicles of communication, for exploration of their ideas and sharing perspectives, and to demonstrate what they considered personally significant about their everyday lives and experiences. The research study was guided by the following questions: 1) What are the personally significant experiences and influences in young newcomer children’s daily lives?; 2) How do young newcomer children use play and personal art-making to understand, negotiate, and make sense of experiences, and communicate the personally significant? and; 3) How do adults support young newcomer children’s play and personal art-making and their communication of the personally significant? The purpose of this qualitative arts-informed and play-based case study was to explore and better understand how young newcomer children use common childhood activities of play and personal art-making as tools or vehicles of communication, for exploration of their ideas and sharing perspectives, and to demonstrate what they considered personally significant about their everyday lives and experiences. The research study was guided by the following questions: 1) What are the personally significant experiences and influences in young newcomer children’s daily lives?; 2) How do young newcomer children use play and personal art-making to understand, negotiate, and make sense of experiences, and communicate the personally significant? and; 3) How do adults support young newcomer children’s play and personal art-making and their communication of the personally significant?
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This thesis examined the narrative abilities of bilingual, English L2 newcomer and immigrant children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and Typical Development (TD). Compared to the monolingual research, there have been fewer studies examining narratives in clinical bilingual groups, especially bilinguals with ASD, and no study so far has compared bilinguals with ASD to bilinguals with DLD. This thesis asked: (1) Is macrostructure an area of weakness in DLD? (2) Do children with ASD experience difficulties with structural language, i.e., morphology and syntax? (3) Are narrative skills requiring perspective-taking abilities equally vulnerable in ASD and DLD? (4) Do bilinguals with ASD and DLD use the second language input they receive to the same as bilinguals with TD? Identified differences between newcomer children with ASD, DLD or TD can be utilized to create tailored interventions. This thesis examined the narrative abilities of bilingual, English L2 newcomer and immigrant children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and Typical Development (TD). Compared to the monolingual research, there have been fewer studies examining narratives in clinical bilingual groups, especially bilinguals with ASD, and no study so far has compared bilinguals with ASD to bilinguals with DLD. This thesis asked: (1) Is macrostructure an area of weakness in DLD? (2) Do children with ASD experience difficulties with structural language, i.e., morphology and syntax? (3) Are narrative skills requiring perspective-taking abilities equally vulnerable in ASD and DLD? (4) Do bilinguals with ASD and DLD use the second language input they receive to the same as bilinguals with TD? Identified differences between newcomer children with ASD, DLD or TD can be utilized to create tailored interventions.
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This study explored the support and service experiences of resettled Syrian refugee parents of autistic children in terms of their pre- and post-migration. These lived experiences were investigated with participants (n = 3) through semi-structured interviews using interpretive phenomenological analysis. This study identified the supports and services parents received, their experiences with those services, their overall experiences with resettlement having an autistic child(ren), the implications of culture in support/service provision, and their perceived areas of service need during and after their resettlement in Alberta, Canada. Parents all had unique experiences that were delineated through clustered emergent themes and subsequently organized into a superordinate conceptual structure. The results of the study are discussed in the context of theory and relevant literature to elucidate and make findings applicable. Practical implications and future directions are discussed. This study explored the support and service experiences of resettled Syrian refugee parents of autistic children in terms of their pre- and post-migration. These lived experiences were investigated with participants (n = 3) through semi-structured interviews using interpretive phenomenological analysis. This study identified the supports and services parents received, their experiences with those services, their overall experiences with resettlement having an autistic child(ren), the implications of culture in support/service provision, and their perceived areas of service need during and after their resettlement in Alberta, Canada. Parents all had unique experiences that were delineated through clustered emergent themes and subsequently organized into a superordinate conceptual structure. The results of the study are discussed in the context of theory and relevant literature to elucidate and make findings applicable. Practical implications and future directions are discussed.
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Using PhotoVoice, this research explored the settlement experiences of refugee youth who have exited high school and are in a program designed by an Albertan school board to support their language and academic needs. Newcomer youth encounter profound academic and social stresses as they attempt to create a new identity and sense of belonging in their new home. This project examined what it means for refugee youth to recuperate a place of belonging. By focusing on the notion of belonging rather than barriers to settlement, the findings revealed that at the core of the youth’s efforts, connecting to people, especially in school, in addition to connecting to the natural world, fostered feelings of well-being and belonging. Educational implications include recommendations for schools and teachers supporting newcomer youth. Using PhotoVoice, this research explored the settlement experiences of refugee youth who have exited high school and are in a program designed by an Albertan school board to support their language and academic needs. Newcomer youth encounter profound academic and social stresses as they attempt to create a new identity and sense of belonging in their new home. This project examined what it means for refugee youth to recuperate a place of belonging. By focusing on the notion of belonging rather than barriers to settlement, the findings revealed that at the core of the youth’s efforts, connecting to people, especially in school, in addition to connecting to the natural world, fostered feelings of well-being and belonging. Educational implications include recommendations for schools and teachers supporting newcomer youth.
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About one in five Canadians is a former immigrant. In 2019, Canada welcomed over 340,000 permanent residents, 43,000 of whom came to Alberta.2 Starting in 2021, Canada proposes an ambitious plan to welcome even more permanent residents to Canada, increasing Canada’s population by more than 1 per cent every year for the next three years. Newcomers are an integral part of Canada; they support the local economy in towns and cities across the country by filling employment gaps and contributing their knowledge, skills and experiences to the community. Educated, skilled economic newcomers allow Canada to build its future economic capacity to address a shrinking labour force in the country. To help newcomers integrate in Canada, achieve their full potential and participate in the labour market and in society, the Government of Canada supports newcomers through settlement and integration services. The Settlement Program is characterized by a public-private partnership between the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), provinces and territories, municipalities and many partner organizations. Settlement services are delivered by a network of local organizations and service providers to all newcomers arriving in Canada, removing barriers to their full participation in life and work in Canada and providing them with the tools needed for a smooth and fast integration into their new home – Canada. To evaluate the success of its Settlement Program, the IRCC developed a Performance Measurement Strategy. The Strategy outlines some immediate and intermediate desired outcomes of newcomer settlement and integration, including newcomers’ labour market participation and income, their ability to use the official languages, their uptake of services, participation in the community and the program’s ability to meet and adapt to their needs. To measure the level of integration by newcomers and estimate the direct and measurable outputs of program delivery, the government often uses proxy variables (such as service uptake, naturalization rate, labour market indicators and newcomers’ own sense of belonging). The introduction of Express Entry system in 2015 changed the way Canada selects immigrants. Canada now prioritizes younger, educated individuals with work experience, strong English or French language skills and the ability to integrate in Canada. These immigrants have high human capital (intangible personal attributes such as knowledge, skills, training and experience). These highly-educated skilled economic newcomers prioritize employment integration above all in the hopes of putting their knowledge, education and skills into use upon arrival in Canada. However, once in Canada, many skilled economic immigrants struggle to quickly and effectively integrate economically. This varied economic integration occurs in part because Canada’s Settlement Program is slow to respond to the needs of high skilled economic immigrants. Additional opportunities of on-the job training and improvements to the system of professional accreditation would allow newcomers to contribute their knowledge and skills to the Canadian society while enhancing their skills and easing their integration. To achieve this, settlement services must be made more accessible for all types of newcomers by offering services much sooner in the immigration process and expanding the eligibility criteria for services beyond permanent residents to include temporary residents and naturalized Canadians. To understand newcomer integration from a local perspective, I address settlement and integration services in Calgary, Alberta. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and a cooling off of the natural resources market, the city is experiencing unemployment levels much higher than the national average. Newcomers in Calgary are especially impacted by the recession as they tend to experience higher rates of unemployment and underemployment. With the economy predicted to be sluggish for the next few years, settlement programs are more important than ever, especially as the Government of Canada prepares to welcome over 400,000 of newcomers annually until at least 2023, some of whom will arrive in Calgary. Afterwards, I also give a preliminary overview and evaluation of the Alberta Gateway Project. About one in five Canadians is a former immigrant. In 2019, Canada welcomed over 340,000 permanent residents, 43,000 of whom came to Alberta.2 Starting in 2021, Canada proposes an ambitious plan to welcome even more permanent residents to Canada, increasing Canada’s population by more than 1 per cent every year for the next three years. Newcomers are an integral part of Canada; they support the local economy in towns and cities across the country by filling employment gaps and contributing their knowledge, skills and experiences to the community. Educated, skilled economic newcomers allow Canada to build its future economic capacity to address a shrinking labour force in the country. To help newcomers integrate in Canada, achieve their full potential and participate in the labour market and in society, the Government of Canada supports newcomers through settlement and integration services. The Settlement Program is characterized by a public-private partnership between the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), provinces and territories, municipalities and many partner organizations. Settlement services are delivered by a network of local organizations and service providers to all newcomers arriving in Canada, removing barriers to their full participation in life and work in Canada and providing them with the tools needed for a smooth and fast integration into their new home – Canada. To evaluate the success of its Settlement Program, the IRCC developed a Performance Measurement Strategy. The Strategy outlines some immediate and intermediate desired outcomes of newcomer settlement and integration, including newcomers’ labour market participation and income, their ability to use the official languages, their uptake of services, participation in the community and the program’s ability to meet and adapt to their needs. To measure the level of integration by newcomers and estimate the direct and measurable outputs of program delivery, the government often uses proxy variables (such as service uptake, naturalization rate, labour market indicators and newcomers’ own sense of belonging). The introduction of Express Entry system in 2015 changed the way Canada selects immigrants. Canada now prioritizes younger, educated individuals with work experience, strong English or French language skills and the ability to integrate in Canada. These immigrants have high human capital (intangible personal attributes such as knowledge, skills, training and experience). These highly-educated skilled economic newcomers prioritize employment integration above all in the hopes of putting their knowledge, education and skills into use upon arrival in Canada. However, once in Canada, many skilled economic immigrants struggle to quickly and effectively integrate economically. This varied economic integration occurs in part because Canada’s Settlement Program is slow to respond to the needs of high skilled economic immigrants. Additional opportunities of on-the job training and improvements to the system of professional accreditation would allow newcomers to contribute their knowledge and skills to the Canadian society while enhancing their skills and easing their integration. To achieve this, settlement services must be made more accessible for all types of newcomers by offering services much sooner in the immigration process and expanding the eligibility criteria for services beyond permanent residents to include temporary residents and naturalized Canadians. To understand newcomer integration from a local perspective, I address settlement and integration services in Calgary, Alberta. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and a cooling off of the natural resources market, the city is experiencing unemployment levels much higher than the national average. Newcomers in Calgary are especially impacted by the recession as they tend to experience higher rates of unemployment and underemployment. With the economy predicted to be sluggish for the next few years, settlement programs are more important than ever, especially as the Government of Canada prepares to welcome over 400,000 of newcomers annually until at least 2023, some of whom will arrive in Calgary. Afterwards, I also give a preliminary overview and evaluation of the Alberta Gateway Project.
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Many African immigrants moving to Canada tend to experience deterioration of health with time in their host country due to the influence of multiple factors on their health care decisions. The purpose of this study was to understand the problems and decision dynamics relevant to Ghanaian adult immigrants’ health care choices with the first five to ten years of arrival in Calgary, Alberta. This research used a qualitative naturalistic approach with ten Ghanaian adult immigrants. Thematic analysis revealed that participants’ healthcare choices were influenced by their pre-and post-migration experiences, which informed their pathways to care. Participants provided insights about tensions among themselves and with health providers in making healthcare choices as they settled in a new environment. Further, there is a need to provide health education programs and a strong support system to facilitate better health choices and encourage health care service use among recent newcomers Many African immigrants moving to Canada tend to experience deterioration of health with time in their host country due to the influence of multiple factors on their health care decisions. The purpose of this study was to understand the problems and decision dynamics relevant to Ghanaian adult immigrants’ health care choices with the first five to ten years of arrival in Calgary, Alberta. This research used a qualitative naturalistic approach with ten Ghanaian adult immigrants. Thematic analysis revealed that participants’ healthcare choices were influenced by their pre-and post-migration experiences, which informed their pathways to care. Participants provided insights about tensions among themselves and with health providers in making healthcare choices as they settled in a new environment. Further, there is a need to provide health education programs and a strong support system to facilitate better health choices and encourage health care service use among recent newcomers
This publication has no Abstract to dispaly

The issue of refugee housing affordability in Calgary is one which needs attention. In the coming years, Canada is expected to increase its refugee resettlement targets to approximately 15% of its total immigration quota. Data provided by CCIS shows a concentration of refugees living in the far north part of Calgary, some small portions in the Southwest, and a large concentration in the Forest Lawn/Northeast part of Calgary. This study assumes that the largest motivating factor for resettlement in these areas is housing affordability, constrained largely by refugee settlement funding. A survey of refugee budgets, when compared to available mean and lower quartile rental data, mostly corroborates this assumption. Single refugees are likely to face housing affordability issues far more than their counterparts with children, primarily due to the lack of child benefits. Refugee claimants, those seeking asylum in Canada, were at the greatest risk for homelessness in Calgary. It is recommended that the federal government consider granting refugee claimants benefits, and that the primary mechanism for increasing refugee housing affordability should be increasing cash transfers, including the possibility of a national housing benefit, to all Canadians. The issue of refugee housing affordability in Calgary is one which needs attention. In the coming years, Canada is expected to increase its refugee resettlement targets to approximately 15% of its total immigration quota. Data provided by CCIS shows a concentration of refugees living in the far north part of Calgary, some small portions in the Southwest, and a large concentration in the Forest Lawn/Northeast part of Calgary. This study assumes that the largest motivating factor for resettlement in these areas is housing affordability, constrained largely by refugee settlement funding. A survey of refugee budgets, when compared to available mean and lower quartile rental data, mostly corroborates this assumption. Single refugees are likely to face housing affordability issues far more than their counterparts with children, primarily due to the lack of child benefits. Refugee claimants, those seeking asylum in Canada, were at the greatest risk for homelessness in Calgary. It is recommended that the federal government consider granting refugee claimants benefits, and that the primary mechanism for increasing refugee housing affordability should be increasing cash transfers, including the possibility of a national housing benefit, to all Canadians.
This publication has no Abstract to dispaly

In this thesis, I consider ethnographic conversations I had during fieldwork in Fort McMurray and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in 2016 with two sets of workers: Albertan trades-workers employed in the oil sands (pipe-fitters, welders and boilermakers) and Filipino/a Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) employed in the local service sector (cooks, caregivers and kitchen helpers). I analyse these workers’ self-reflections on their own work routines as providing a sightline into the ways labour market processes and regulatory frameworks are manifest in and negotiated through their lives. I suggest this is of broader significance for our understanding of the ways state-regulated labour markets re-fashion, and are re-fashioned by, the cultural identities of workers. In this thesis, I consider ethnographic conversations I had during fieldwork in Fort McMurray and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in 2016 with two sets of workers: Albertan trades-workers employed in the oil sands (pipe-fitters, welders and boilermakers) and Filipino/a Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) employed in the local service sector (cooks, caregivers and kitchen helpers). I analyse these workers’ self-reflections on their own work routines as providing a sightline into the ways labour market processes and regulatory frameworks are manifest in and negotiated through their lives. I suggest this is of broader significance for our understanding of the ways state-regulated labour markets re-fashion, and are re-fashioned by, the cultural identities of workers.
This publication has no Abstract to dispaly

Canadian research still tends to group people of African descent as Black without considering the difference in their countries of origins, socio-economic background, values and cultural context. This study examines the experiences of eight second generation youth of Western African descent in two major cities in Alberta as they navigate the identity formation process. Factors that influence their adoption of an identity, and the characteristics and importance of their adopted identity were also investigated. Narratives were gathered through interviews with the youth in Edmonton and Calgary. Experiences that contributed towards their adoption of their identity include parental influence, interaction with members of the Canadian society, and socializing with members of their parent’s cultural community. However, their adopted identities were not static, but fluid in nature leading to a hybridity in their identification. The study also includes implications of the results from the research study for immigrant parents, educators, policy makers, service providers, as well as recommendations for the future research. Canadian research still tends to group people of African descent as Black without considering the difference in their countries of origins, socio-economic background, values and cultural context. This study examines the experiences of eight second generation youth of Western African descent in two major cities in Alberta as they navigate the identity formation process. Factors that influence their adoption of an identity, and the characteristics and importance of their adopted identity were also investigated. Narratives were gathered through interviews with the youth in Edmonton and Calgary. Experiences that contributed towards their adoption of their identity include parental influence, interaction with members of the Canadian society, and socializing with members of their parent’s cultural community. However, their adopted identities were not static, but fluid in nature leading to a hybridity in their identification. The study also includes implications of the results from the research study for immigrant parents, educators, policy makers, service providers, as well as recommendations for the future research.
This publication has no Abstract to dispaly

This research explores the value of the federally funded Local Immigration Partnership (LIP) as it expands to Alberta and other provinces across Canada. While labour market demands make the recruitment and retention of immigrants a serious policy problem in smaller, more isolated centres, the existing academic literature has highlighted the importance of local settlement support services. In smaller centres, these services, if they are available, are delivered by a range of federal, provincial and municipal government agencies, acting in partnership with a range of Non-Governmental Organizations. There has been concern that there is a lack of cohesion in this policy network, which is particularly problematic given the network’s vital role in delivering services. Academic research indicates that relevant community actors are not sufficiently connected on immigration issues, and the LIP program has been designed as an information-based policy instrument, providing funding to help organize networked service delivery more effectively – this is seen as a low-cost strategy for improving immigration support in smaller cities. Regions of Canada vary in their strengths and in their challenges, and the LIP program’s focus on enhancing existing immigration-sector networks seeks to account for these differences. This project presents a case study of Lloydminster, Alberta to test the potential applicability and receptivity of the LIP program in a rurally located, economically booming, small Western Canadian city. Lloydminster’s immigration-sector network has improved on its own over time; but organizations on the periphery still feel disconnected, which is negatively impacting immigrant integration. From the data collected through this project, it is clear that a Local Immigration Partnership has the potential to improve the network in Lloydminster, and that the relevant community actors see real benefits in this approach to immigration policy. This research explores the value of the federally funded Local Immigration Partnership (LIP) as it expands to Alberta and other provinces across Canada. While labour market demands make the recruitment and retention of immigrants a serious policy problem in smaller, more isolated centres, the existing academic literature has highlighted the importance of local settlement support services. In smaller centres, these services, if they are available, are delivered by a range of federal, provincial and municipal government agencies, acting in partnership with a range of Non-Governmental Organizations. There has been concern that there is a lack of cohesion in this policy network, which is particularly problematic given the network’s vital role in delivering services. Academic research indicates that relevant community actors are not sufficiently connected on immigration issues, and the LIP program has been designed as an information-based policy instrument, providing funding to help organize networked service delivery more effectively – this is seen as a low-cost strategy for improving immigration support in smaller cities. Regions of Canada vary in their strengths and in their challenges, and the LIP program’s focus on enhancing existing immigration-sector networks seeks to account for these differences. This project presents a case study of Lloydminster, Alberta to test the potential applicability and receptivity of the LIP program in a rurally located, economically booming, small Western Canadian city. Lloydminster’s immigration-sector network has improved on its own over time; but organizations on the periphery still feel disconnected, which is negatively impacting immigrant integration. From the data collected through this project, it is clear that a Local Immigration Partnership has the potential to improve the network in Lloydminster, and that the relevant community actors see real benefits in this approach to immigration policy.
This publication has no Abstract to dispaly