Research Library

In response to recent refugee crises around the world, scholars have called for research on resilience among war-affected children and youth as an important area of focus that offers culturally and contextually relevant implications for effective support services. While empirical research on the resilience of refugee youth has been gradually increasing, the current scholarship still lacks social, cultural, and contextual sensitivity. As such, this dissertation research, which consists of three conceptually linked manuscripts, represents a purposeful attempt to address this gap by exploring the resilience of refugee youth in a postmigration Canadian context, with contributions to research, policy, and practice. Refugee youth were recruited from Calgary, Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto. Manuscript 1 centres on the definition of refugee youth resilience as it relates to postmigration resettlement and explores the theoretical connections between resilience and positive adaptation. This manuscript proposes a culturally and contextually relevant conceptualization of resilience from the bioecological lens, integrating the three intertwined developmental, acculturative, and psychological perspectives. Manuscript 2 focuses on a critical and extensive review of the extant literature on refugee children and youth. It synthesizes empirical evidence from scholarship on young refugees’ resilience and presents a host of biological, psychological, social and cultural determinants of resilience, which interact with one another across multiple levels of social and ecological contexts to determine adaptive responds to stressful experiences. Finally, Manuscript 3 reflects qualitative research on pathways leading to positive adaptation to a Canadian postmigration context to provide knowledge about the pathways leading to resilience among refugee youth. It outlines a classic grounded theory study that generated a substantive theory conceptually explaining the underlying process of positive adaptation from the perspectives of 15 Canadian refugee youth. Together, findings from this dissertation research spur integration of knowledge and strategies to inform practice and policies to mitigate risk and promote resilience in multiple systems that shape refugee youth adaptation over the resettlement course. In response to recent refugee crises around the world, scholars have called for research on resilience among war-affected children and youth as an important area of focus that offers culturally and contextually relevant implications for effective support services. While empirical research on the resilience of refugee youth has been gradually increasing, the current scholarship still lacks social, cultural, and contextual sensitivity. As such, this dissertation research, which consists of three conceptually linked manuscripts, represents a purposeful attempt to address this gap by exploring the resilience of refugee youth in a postmigration Canadian context, with contributions to research, policy, and practice. Refugee youth were recruited from Calgary, Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto. Manuscript 1 centres on the definition of refugee youth resilience as it relates to postmigration resettlement and explores the theoretical connections between resilience and positive adaptation. This manuscript proposes a culturally and contextually relevant conceptualization of resilience from the bioecological lens, integrating the three intertwined developmental, acculturative, and psychological perspectives. Manuscript 2 focuses on a critical and extensive review of the extant literature on refugee children and youth. It synthesizes empirical evidence from scholarship on young refugees’ resilience and presents a host of biological, psychological, social and cultural determinants of resilience, which interact with one another across multiple levels of social and ecological contexts to determine adaptive responds to stressful experiences. Finally, Manuscript 3 reflects qualitative research on pathways leading to positive adaptation to a Canadian postmigration context to provide knowledge about the pathways leading to resilience among refugee youth. It outlines a classic grounded theory study that generated a substantive theory conceptually explaining the underlying process of positive adaptation from the perspectives of 15 Canadian refugee youth. Together, findings from this dissertation research spur integration of knowledge and strategies to inform practice and policies to mitigate risk and promote resilience in multiple systems that shape refugee youth adaptation over the resettlement course.
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The Islamic State or Daesh led genocide against the Yazidi people – a religious cultural minority population in Northern Iraq- left thousands of Yazidis fleeing and in need of refuge. The majority of those forcefully displaced vanished in-between borders far from the “developed world”. About 1200 of the displaced refugees were initially selected to be resettled in Canada under the Survivors of Daesh program, out of whom about 265 were settled in Calgary, Canada. As they arrived in a cold foreign land, they found themselves wrapped around by services that although warming, surfaced a structure that pushed them to quickly become “economic” and “independent”. The scarcity of services provided and the expiration date on Yazidi refugee families’ federal income assistance, and most importantly the unfulfilled promise of family reunification put mental burdens on the already traumatized Yazidi community in Calgary. My thesis is based on qualitative analysis of in-depth interview data with 66 adult Yazidi women and 7 key resettlement agency women staff from CCIS, and observational and indirect data on women as Family Host volunteers (83% of all Family Hosts) who closely work with the Yazidi families. My analysis shows that what fills the gaps created due to insufficient budgets, delayed child support benefits, unfamiliar “mental support,” and confusing Canadian laws are what I call maternal strategies that Yazidi mothers, the service provider staff, and Family Host volunteers utilize to enable resettlement. The pressures from the Canadian neoliberal approach towards social services have been absorbed by Yazidi refugee women/mothers who have regularly been trying to smoothen the resettlement process for their families. The resettlement agency’s staff as well as the Family Host volunteers who are by majority women, also employ their own set of maternal strategies. By going above and beyond their duty descriptions and forming personal relationships that resemble familial connections and caregiving, these actors have played a significant role in moving the resettlement wheel for the Yazidi refugee families. Maternal strategies get woven into the larger Canadian institutional resettlement practice and discourse and are often overlooked. Nonetheless, these efforts are what have made the resettlement of Yazidi refugees possible in Calgary, Canada. The Islamic State or Daesh led genocide against the Yazidi people – a religious cultural minority population in Northern Iraq- left thousands of Yazidis fleeing and in need of refuge. The majority of those forcefully displaced vanished in-between borders far from the “developed world”. About 1200 of the displaced refugees were initially selected to be resettled in Canada under the Survivors of Daesh program, out of whom about 265 were settled in Calgary, Canada. As they arrived in a cold foreign land, they found themselves wrapped around by services that although warming, surfaced a structure that pushed them to quickly become “economic” and “independent”. The scarcity of services provided and the expiration date on Yazidi refugee families’ federal income assistance, and most importantly the unfulfilled promise of family reunification put mental burdens on the already traumatized Yazidi community in Calgary. My thesis is based on qualitative analysis of in-depth interview data with 66 adult Yazidi women and 7 key resettlement agency women staff from CCIS, and observational and indirect data on women as Family Host volunteers (83% of all Family Hosts) who closely work with the Yazidi families. My analysis shows that what fills the gaps created due to insufficient budgets, delayed child support benefits, unfamiliar “mental support,” and confusing Canadian laws are what I call maternal strategies that Yazidi mothers, the service provider staff, and Family Host volunteers utilize to enable resettlement. The pressures from the Canadian neoliberal approach towards social services have been absorbed by Yazidi refugee women/mothers who have regularly been trying to smoothen the resettlement process for their families. The resettlement agency’s staff as well as the Family Host volunteers who are by majority women, also employ their own set of maternal strategies. By going above and beyond their duty descriptions and forming personal relationships that resemble familial connections and caregiving, these actors have played a significant role in moving the resettlement wheel for the Yazidi refugee families. Maternal strategies get woven into the larger Canadian institutional resettlement practice and discourse and are often overlooked. Nonetheless, these efforts are what have made the resettlement of Yazidi refugees possible in Calgary, Canada.
This publication has no Abstract to dispaly

Researchers have traditionally examined and explored immigration and single motherhood in isolation from one another. In the research reported in this thesis, I adopted intersectionality theory as the framework to examine the lived experiences of single, immigrant mothers in Alberta, Canada. This includes investigating single motherhood and immigration in relation to the intersections of gender, ethnicity, social class within the context of cross-cultural transitioning, diverse mothering ideologies, and shifting social locations. The aim of the study was to gain insight into the challenges that single, immigrant mothers face and thereby to inform the provision of counselling services for them. The findings indicate that the single, immigrant mother participants’ lived experiences and acculturation processes were influenced by discourses related to gender, ethnicity, and mothering, from both their former world and their new world. Findings also revealed that single, immigrant mothers’ relationships with their children were affected by the intersectionality of their cultural identities. Service providers play an important role in supporting these mothers through their cross-cultural transitions; this study provides insights into how they can better address the specific and complex needs of this population. Researchers have traditionally examined and explored immigration and single motherhood in isolation from one another. In the research reported in this thesis, I adopted intersectionality theory as the framework to examine the lived experiences of single, immigrant mothers in Alberta, Canada. This includes investigating single motherhood and immigration in relation to the intersections of gender, ethnicity, social class within the context of cross-cultural transitioning, diverse mothering ideologies, and shifting social locations. The aim of the study was to gain insight into the challenges that single, immigrant mothers face and thereby to inform the provision of counselling services for them. The findings indicate that the single, immigrant mother participants’ lived experiences and acculturation processes were influenced by discourses related to gender, ethnicity, and mothering, from both their former world and their new world. Findings also revealed that single, immigrant mothers’ relationships with their children were affected by the intersectionality of their cultural identities. Service providers play an important role in supporting these mothers through their cross-cultural transitions; this study provides insights into how they can better address the specific and complex needs of this population.
This publication has no Abstract to dispaly

The settlement and integration of immigrants is a common policy focus for governments and researchers across the world. In Canada, these policies have become more relevant over the last twenty years. Still, most of the conversations about integration processes in Canada occur in the context of Canada’s largest and most diverse cities. In this thesis, I examine the settlement experiences of recent landed immigrants in Lethbridge—a small Albertan city. My analyses especially highlight the crucial roles that community support, length of residence, and admission class play in determining settlement outcomes of recent immigrants in Lethbridge, Alberta. Based on the data, it is safe to say that integration is promoted in Lethbridge, but immigrants still do not fare as well as the general population. The outcomes of integration process also varies depending on the lived experience of newcomers. For example, refugees are more susceptible to poorer outcomes of integration processes, while highly educated immigrants tend to perform relatively well. To increase the efficiency of integration programmes in Lethbridge, I propose to hire more immigrants to have their perspectives at the table in decision-making; increase access to and availability of relevant settlement information to immigrants; provide more mental health support; provide specific employment supports for economic immigrants; offer services to people without PR status. The settlement and integration of immigrants is a common policy focus for governments and researchers across the world. In Canada, these policies have become more relevant over the last twenty years. Still, most of the conversations about integration processes in Canada occur in the context of Canada’s largest and most diverse cities. In this thesis, I examine the settlement experiences of recent landed immigrants in Lethbridge—a small Albertan city. My analyses especially highlight the crucial roles that community support, length of residence, and admission class play in determining settlement outcomes of recent immigrants in Lethbridge, Alberta. Based on the data, it is safe to say that integration is promoted in Lethbridge, but immigrants still do not fare as well as the general population. The outcomes of integration process also varies depending on the lived experience of newcomers. For example, refugees are more susceptible to poorer outcomes of integration processes, while highly educated immigrants tend to perform relatively well. To increase the efficiency of integration programmes in Lethbridge, I propose to hire more immigrants to have their perspectives at the table in decision-making; increase access to and availability of relevant settlement information to immigrants; provide more mental health support; provide specific employment supports for economic immigrants; offer services to people without PR status.
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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’ healthcare 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 supportive 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’ healthcare 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 supportive system to facilitate better health choices and encourage health care service use among recent newcomers.
This publication has no Abstract to dispaly

Place is powerful in our life because to be human is to be emplaced. In the human geographic interpretation of place, a conceptualization of the emplacement of human experience has been underdeveloped for a long time. This dissertation contributes to this area of inquiry by adopting a phenomenological case study approach to examine family sponsored late-age Chinese immigrants’ lived experience and sense of place in Edmonton, Canada. The focus of this study is to explore the relationship between late-age immigrants and their places at different scales. This work presents how the research participants develop a relationship with place based on their subjective perceptions and experiences. Two studies are presented in this dissertation. Theoretically, this research contributes to a scholarly understanding of the role of place in human life by establishing two frameworks to illustrate the relationships between participants and their places. Substantively, the research challenges the stereotype of sponsored late-age Chinese immigrants in Canada by revealing their roles and contributions in both their families and in society. Place is powerful in our life because to be human is to be emplaced. In the human geographic interpretation of place, a conceptualization of the emplacement of human experience has been underdeveloped for a long time. This dissertation contributes to this area of inquiry by adopting a phenomenological case study approach to examine family sponsored late-age Chinese immigrants’ lived experience and sense of place in Edmonton, Canada. The focus of this study is to explore the relationship between late-age immigrants and their places at different scales. This work presents how the research participants develop a relationship with place based on their subjective perceptions and experiences. Two studies are presented in this dissertation. Theoretically, this research contributes to a scholarly understanding of the role of place in human life by establishing two frameworks to illustrate the relationships between participants and their places. Substantively, the research challenges the stereotype of sponsored late-age Chinese immigrants in Canada by revealing their roles and contributions in both their families and in society.
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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

Since the beginning of conflict in Syria, 52, 720 Syrian refugees were admitted to Canada between November 2015 and March 2018. Schools are one of the first and most impactful systems that young refugees enter and the quality of early school experiences significantly influences how successfully and quickly they settle. Yet, there is limited research examining the school experiences of refugee children. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the social, emotional, and academic adjustment experiences of newcomer Syrian refugee children between the ages of five to eight years within Edmonton schools. Following themes emerged during this study: (1) Role of Language in Adjustment, (2) Attitudes and Perspectives Towards Education, (3) Bonds and Relationships, (4) Initial Frustrations, Anxieties, and Fears, (5) Children’s Unique Strategies for Adapting in School, (6) Parental Involvement in the Schooling Process, and (7) Role of Personal Qualities in Adjustment. Since the beginning of conflict in Syria, 52, 720 Syrian refugees were admitted to Canada between November 2015 and March 2018. Schools are one of the first and most impactful systems that young refugees enter and the quality of early school experiences significantly influences how successfully and quickly they settle. Yet, there is limited research examining the school experiences of refugee children. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the social, emotional, and academic adjustment experiences of newcomer Syrian refugee children between the ages of five to eight years within Edmonton schools. Following themes emerged during this study: (1) Role of Language in Adjustment, (2) Attitudes and Perspectives Towards Education, (3) Bonds and Relationships, (4) Initial Frustrations, Anxieties, and Fears, (5) Children’s Unique Strategies for Adapting in School, (6) Parental Involvement in the Schooling Process, and (7) Role of Personal Qualities in Adjustment.
This publication has no Abstract to dispaly

This dissertation challenges the narrative of Canada as a welcoming and inclusive nation. Critical race theory and intersectional feminism provide a framework that assesses newcomer labour market experiences from the perspectives of two different stakeholder groups, immigrant professionals and service providers within the immigration settlement sector. The experiences of immigrant professionals, particularly people of colour, demonstrate a disproportionate risk of labour market exclusion. Sixty semi-structured interviews held in two mid-sized Canadian cities (Winnipeg and Edmonton) with immigrant professionals and settlement workers provided two different positions for understanding the barriers, challenges, opportunities and advantages thatencompass the immigration journey. Upon settlement, while many immigrants do well and secure career-related employment, over half of immigrant participants in this study experienced significant labour market barriers, disappointed expectations and un- or under-employment. Additionally, settlement services provided valuable assistance, but not necessarily the type of anti-oppression advocacy or specialized supports that immigrant professionals required. This dissertation also acknowledges the inherent conflicts that result from colonial capitalism itself. I argue that while this colonial project must be disrupted, newcomers should be able to live fulfilling and socio-economically stable lives and enjoy meaningful career-related employment opportunities. This dissertation challenges the narrative of Canada as a welcoming and inclusive nation. Critical race theory and intersectional feminism provide a framework that assesses newcomer labour market experiences from the perspectives of two different stakeholder groups, immigrant professionals and service providers within the immigration settlement sector. The experiences of immigrant professionals, particularly people of colour, demonstrate a disproportionate risk of labour market exclusion. Sixty semi-structured interviews held in two mid-sized Canadian cities (Winnipeg and Edmonton) with immigrant professionals and settlement workers provided two different positions for understanding the barriers, challenges, opportunities and advantages thatencompass the immigration journey. Upon settlement, while many immigrants do well and secure career-related employment, over half of immigrant participants in this study experienced significant labour market barriers, disappointed expectations and un- or under-employment. Additionally, settlement services provided valuable assistance, but not necessarily the type of anti-oppression advocacy or specialized supports that immigrant professionals required. This dissertation also acknowledges the inherent conflicts that result from colonial capitalism itself. I argue that while this colonial project must be disrupted, newcomers should be able to live fulfilling and socio-economically stable lives and enjoy meaningful career-related employment opportunities.
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