'Sometimes We Struggle, Sometimes We Push Back:' The Educational Experiences and Aspirations of Youth with Refugee Backgrounds from the Horn of Africa

This qualitative article focuses on the high school experiences and post- secondary education (PSE) plans of 57 youth with refugee backgrounds from the Horn of Africa living in Ontario. The article is guided by two conceptual frameworks. The first is an anti-oppressive approach , which helps us examine the structural barriers at school that prevent, impede, and discourage the youth from successfully transitioning to PSE. We then use Yosso's (2005) community cultural wealth framework to highlight the cultural capital that the youth bring from their homes and communities to navigate the challenges at school and embark on a pathway to PSE. Our findings show that while a significant number of the youth continue to face challenges, some are pushing back on the common narrative that Black African refugees are not capable of attending PSE. Keywords: youth with refugee backgrounds, Horn of Africa region, post-secondary education decisions, community cultural wealth framework, counternarratives, resistance Cet article est base sur une recherche qualitative se focalisant sur les experiences scolaires et les projets d'etudes postsecondaires de 57 jeunes issus de familles de refugies originaires de la Corne de l'Afrique vivant en Ontario. Cette etude est guidee par deux cadres conceptuels. Le premier est une approche anti-oppressive, qui nous aide a examiner les obstacles structurels a l'ecole qui empechent, entravent et decouragent les jeunes de reussir leur transition vers les etudes postsecondaires. Nous utilisons ensuite le cadre de reference de la richesse culturelle des communautes (Community Cultural Wealth Framework) de Yosso (2005) pour mettre en evidence le capital culturel que les jeunes apportent de leur foyer et de leur communaute pour relever les defis a l'ecole, et s'engager sur la voie des etudes postdoctorales. Nous arrivons a la conclusion que bien qu'un nombre important de jeunes continuent de rencontrer des difficultes, certains contestent le discours dominant selon lequel les refugies noirs africains ne seraient pas capables de poursuivre des etudes postsecondaires. Mots cles: jeunes issus de familles de refugies, jeunes refugies, region de la Corne de l'Afrique, Ontario, Canada, decisions en matiere d'education postsecondaire, cadre de reference de la richesse culturelle des communautes, capital culturel, contre- narrations, resistance
Introduction Canada leads the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as the country where the first- and second-generation children of immigrants have higher post-secondary education (PSE) participation rates than [...]