Piloting Participatory Action Research: Community as Intermediary to Education Pathways of Congolese Refugee Youth

Objectives: This pilot participatory action research (PAR) is aimed at increasing educational opportunities for refugee youth by demystifying higher education and providing relevant information. The project also aims to develop empirical knowledge regarding refugee youth's life trajectories and barriers to higher education, which informs collective action to enhance educational policies and programs for refugee youth. Method: In collaboration with community and student organizations in a midwestern urban area of the United States, we organized a higher education pathway program for Congolese refugee youth and community leaders aspiring to pursue higher education. Seven individuals attended a 1-day program, with a workshop, campus tour, and meeting with university administrators, and participated, along with two others, in a life history calendar interview. This article analyzes the PAR processes and interviews with participants. Results: In addition to individual-level factors such as limited knowledge about college, various structural-level factors (i.e., school policies, procedures) impede education of refugee youth. Our analysis highlights the community as a source of both support and responsibility for refugee youth. Results show the need to educate the community about higher education but also the need to educate the university about refugee education and the community's pivotal role in doing so. Conclusions: Our findings offer a three-level (individual, structural, and community) framework of education pathways for resettled refugees. A critical analysis of how factors at multiple levels interact and produce unique challenges and possibilities furthers the field of refugee studies and also informs more holistic, sustainable policies and programs for refugee education. Public Significance Statement This study suggests that the refugee community is central in facilitating higher education pathways for refugee youth, by mediating between individual- and structural-level barriers. In addition, the study finds that the community is not only a source of support but also responsibility for refugee youth. The study also calls for increasing awareness for both refugee communities and universities / higher education institutions about college education success of refugee youth.