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Access denied: The challenges and barriers young adult refugees experience in attaining postsecondary education in Canada
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- Author / Creator
- Hassan, Zahro
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This study investigates the barriers faced by young adult refugees (YARs) in accessing higher education in Canada. Despite Canada's reputation as a refuge and its support for immigrants, YARs experience significant challenges due to interrupted schooling, financial constraints, language barriers, and difficulties in having their foreign academic credentials recognized. These refugees, a small segment of Canada's immigrant intake, face the lowest rates of postsecondary education access and higher dropout rates compared to other immigrants and Canadian-born students. Grounded in Critical Race Theory and Fanon's phenomenology, the study addresses two main questions: 1) What pathways to postsecondary education are available to YARs aged 18 to 35 in Canada? 2) How do YARs perceive and make sense of their experiences in the face of these barriers? To answer the research questions, this study draws on semi-structured qualitative data collected from interviews with fifteen YARs from Ontario and Alberta. Data was analyzed using the hermeneutic circle and Fanon's phenomenology to allow for a better understanding of how the phenomenon was experienced by individual participants. The findings reveal three main themes: constraints within the Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) program and neoliberal policies, systemic and individual racism, and gender-based limitations. The study argues that these barriers are deliberately embedded in Canada's immigration and educational systems, which prioritize economic immigrants and neglect the specific needs of refugees, thus impeding their access to higher education and career opportunities. This study calls for more inclusive immigration policies and enhanced support for adult refugee education by fostering better collaboration between educational institutions and the settlement sector, addressing systemic discrimination, and prioritizing the needs of refugees in policy and program planning.
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- Graduation date
- Fall 2024
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Doctor of Philosophy
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- License
- This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Library with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.