Refugee Youth Education Initiative
Team: Zayn Aabakil, Amina Conte, Andrea Feduzi, Stephanie Miller, Laura Summerhays
Supervisor: Mark Johnson
Semester: Spring 2007
NATIONAL REFUGEE YOUTH EDUCATION PROJECT INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE
Each year, tens of thousands of refugee children and youth originating from war-torn countries worldwide enter the United States. In Fiscal Year 2006, 47% of all refugees admitted to the U.S. were below the age of 21 - roughly 19,500 children. 1 Refugee children and youth arrive in the U.S. after enduring varying levels of conflict, trauma, and disruption to their education and lives. Meanwhile, parents and other caregivers generally struggle with English language ability, acculturation and financial concerns, and are oftentimes overwhelmed and unable to offer appropriate guidance to their children. Further, educators are not equipped to address the extensive needs of refugee students who perform below grade level, pose disciplinary problems, or exhibit high-risk behaviors.
This project will explore the intersections between refugee youth resettlement and traditional educational and other systems. Among other objectives, this project aims to strengthen the bridge between practical and theoretical work, as well as leverage wide-ranging partnerships, in order to promote positive development, participation, and leadership among refugee youth resettled in the U.S.
Students will develop creative and innovative programming models in the areas of mentoring, youth leadership, and academic enrichment - taking into account refugee history, age, gender, culture and resettlement location - including a toolbox containing curricula, arts initiatives, recreational activities, and events planning to serve as the basis for pilot projects across the IRC resettlement network. Core elements of various models of practice should include: needs assessment, community asset mapping, participatory strategies for design and implementation, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, and guidelines/resources tailored for youth, practitioners, families, educators, etc. Students may have an opportunity to field-test discrete pilot activities in collaboration with IRC New York's Refugee Youth Project.
Students will also analyze global statistics, trends, patterns, child protection issues, formal and non-formal educational programs, and promising practices concerning refugee youth and identify potential implications for stateside refugee youth programming. In addition, students will examine public policy including an in-depth analysis of the No Child Left Behind Act and its implications on refugee and youth and further develop national advocacy strategies aimed at redressing systemic deficiencies.
Project activities will focus on design and monitoring & evaluation within the context of refugee youth programming:
-Review current Monitoring & Evaluation literature, identify promising practices (including youth participatory and driven processes) for IRC's youth network, and develop user-friendly tools.
-Analyze IRC's Design, Monitoring & Evaluation (DM&E) framework and translate theory into practical application for refugee youth programming.
1 U.S. Department of State (2006). Some Facts About Fiscal Year 2006: 13, 115 children were under 16 years old and 6,430 fell between 16 to 20 years old. FY06 total refugee arrivals: 41, 269.
-Design a comprehensive model program framework for youth programming.
-Devise a concrete M&E blueprint for one of IRC's youth programs -preparatory work includes: thorough literature and key documents review; meetings with youth program staff; field trips to observe various youth program activities; interviews with key stakeholders; and possibly focus group meetings with designated youth.
-There may be opportunities to field-test M&E instruments.
-Design program start-up and implementation guidelines/checklists for diverse types of youth programming, including academic enrichment, college preparation, career development, arts, recreation, and youth leadership programs.
-Develop training materials and conduct trainings for designated IRC staff.
Refugee youth programming is a relatively uncharted field and resources developed for the IRC network are anticipated to be groundbreaking. We intend to share knowledge and resources with key stakeholders both locally and nationally.
This project will require self-directed students, as the IRC responsible person on this project, Jane Kim, works out of the IRC Seattle office. Besides weekly class project work, direct supervision from Jane will come through emails, teleconferences and a mid-semester New York visit.
Core Documents
Terms of Reference
Timeline
Final Presentation
Additional Documents
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