The Impact of One School Community on Female Refugee Adolescents and their Sense of Belonging

AbstractEducation is believed to play an essential role in creating a sense of belongingamongst adolescents from refugee backgrounds. This narrative inquiry study setsout to better understand the influence one Canadian school community plays inseven female adolescent students’ sense of belonging. Data were collected over afive-month period through two sets of interviews, observations and an art project.Findings indicate that a sense of belonging is best fostered by positiveteacher-student and peer relationships, the opportunity for youth to get involved inpositive ways within their school community, and through the availability andaccessibility of support services. Sense of belonging was inhibited by language andcultural barriers, as well as limited availability of support services. The femaleexperience was further challenged by familial responsibilities which limitedopportunities to participate in the wider school community.