The Lived Experience of Burmese Refugee Students in Higher Education

Overview: This presentation explores Burmese refugee college students’ resettlement approach and the role that social support plays in that approach. Highly educated refugees contribute to the economy of U.S. and have a better chance to resettle successfully with self-sufficiency. This study has implications for social work practices and the education.Proposal text: The United States is the world’s top resettlement country for refugees and the largest community of Burmese refugees lives in Midswest area. Many refugee families look to their college-age youth to enhance their well-being. Only one percent of refugee youth enroll in universities (UNHCR, 2016); however, 34% of youth around the world go to university (UNESCO, 2014). Higher education will be a bridge for refugees who want to be a leader in their communities and in the host countries. Refugees are people in need and social workers have the ability to help refugees successfully resettle in the United States. Social support is crucial for refugees and the role of social workers is important for refugees’ resettlement in the United States. Refugees need to build new social networks in the resettlement area. Refugees are socially isolated and face lack of social support in the host country (Simich et al., 2005).

So far, many studies about refugees focus on mental health and trauma. This tendency may limit refugees to be passive during the resettlement period. Targeting refugees’ mental health in research and among service providers was criticized because it may pathologize refugees (Colic-Peisker & Tilbury, 2003). To avoid considering refugees as victims, this study will explore the resettlement experience and resettlement style of Burmese refugee students in higher education in U.S.

This study will explore Burmese refugee college students’ resettlement approach and the role that social support plays in that approach. The purpose of this study is to learn about the experiences of Burmese students pursuing higher education in the U.S., especially their resettlement experiences and the role of social support. In order to study the refugee students’ resettlement approach and the role of social support, social support theory and conservation of resources theory are used to explain the importance of social support for refugee students’ successful resettlement. Both active and passive resettlement styles will be explored. A qualitative study will be conducted using in-depth individual interviews with Burmese refugee students in higher education. This study is cross-sectional, as the data for the study is being collected at a single point in time, rather than over a period of time. About 30 participants will be recruited for individual interviews and the interview data will be analyzed using thematic analysis.
This study has implications for social work practices and the education sector in relation to refugee students in community-level and higher education systems. This study will help the organizations for refugees to work more appropriately and effectively with refugee students. Moreover, it will be important to devising more appropriate services and aids for the refugee students thereby decreasing the issues and barriers that they face in the U.S. and increasing the chance of successful resettlement. Burmese refugee students’ experiences will shed light on their own perspectives about their resettlement experiences. Studying Burmese refugee students’ experiences will bring different perspectives about their resettlement approach and the role of social support.