African Refugee Youths' Stories of Surviving Trauma and Transition in U.S. Public Schools

Background: An influx of youth with refugee status from war-torn regions such as Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan has changed the landscape of the American classroom. Scant literature addresses the lived experiences of predominately African refugee youth in learning spaces.  

However, the literature in host nations, such as the U.S., focuses the research on these youth from a trauma (e.g., war and conflict) perspective. Consequently the youth become defined by their trauma experience rather than their trauma being accounted for in their lived experience. Utilizing a phenomenological approach, the current study explored the experiences of African refugee students. Qualitatively, this study sought to answer two questions: 1) how do African refugee students describe their lived experiences integrating in U.S. public schools; and 2) how do African refugee students survive engagement with their American peers in an educational space.  

Methods: A combination of purposive and snowball sampling was used to recruit African refugee youth ages 18-22 (N=10) who attended various public (community and 4-year) colleges in the Western United States. The interview guide was pre-tested with two non-participating African refugee youth and modified to accommodate for cultural and language differences. This also allowed more latitude for the youth to determine the parameters of exchange. Interviews were conducted and recorded in English and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were independently coded by a two member research team. Analysis included the creation of a culturally relevant classification system of codes, themes and subthemes, and an ongoing discussion of developing themes until consensus was reached. Analysis involved member checking and analytic memos were also utilized.  

Results: Trauma was found to be a significant part of these youths’ lived reality, especially how they articulate enduring symptoms of trauma. Youth mentioned that it sometimes “feels like [they have] too much air in [their] brain…” which can be “hard to deal with” while trying to attain academic success. They discussed the ongoing interpersonal incidents of racism and discrimination by their non-refugee peers which they attributed to their social (i.e., race, culture/religion and language) sites of difference. Youth also spoke about culturally centered factors such as positive maternal parenting, religiosity, ethic/cultural solidarity including optimism and motivation for academic success as key to coping with negative experiences and sometimes hostile environments in school.

Conclusions and Implications: Youth in this sample “have an important story” in addition to “learning English.” This research provides initial insight into improving the lived experiences of African refugee students and explores the need for inclusive practices in schools that address the diverse concerns of youth at the margins of U.S. society. Results further attest to the need for culturally relevant interventions that are: responsive to refugee explanatory frameworks of mental health; offered to youth in a format that they are amenable too; in a non-stigmatizing and youth-friendly community setting and staffed by culturally astute school social workers. Consistent with emerging studies, results also suggest that interventions might be more acceptable if they respond to practical and social concerns in addition to the mental health needs of refugee youth.