Supporting Newcomer Youth Through the Process of School Integration in Canada: A Brief Report Highlighting Student Voices

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47634/cjcp.v55i4.70692

Abstract

Given that an increasing number of newcomer youth enter high schools in Canada each year, educational settings are faced with the challenge of creating programming and policies that promote a positive integration process. As part of a larger study that examined the integration experiences of newcomer youth, four participants were asked to offer advice for other newcomer students and for professionals working with this group and suggestions of ways to improve the current educational system. Analysis of these suggestions revealed four themes: (a) forming connections, (b) support from professionals, (c) appropriate placement, and (d) provision of additional resources and information. These themes highlight areas in which newcomer youth are lacking support and provide practical solutions to ensure that newcomer youth feel more connected to their schools and communities and supported through the process of school integration.

Author Biographies

Danielle J. Smith, University of Calgary

Danielle J. Smith is a doctoral student in the counselling psychology program at the University of Calgary’s Werklund School of Education. Her research interests include child and family relationships, immigration, and social justice practices in psychology.

Anusha Kassan, University of Calgary

Anusha Kassan is an associate professor in the school and applied child psychology program at the University of British Columbia. Her program of research is influenced by her own bicultural identity and is informed by a social justice lens. She is presently studying the impact of immigration across different communities. She is also conducting teaching and learning research that investigates multicultural and social justice competencies in professional psychology.

Tanya E. Mudry, University of Calgary

Tanya E. Mudry is an assistant professor of counselling psychology at the University of Calgary’s Werklund School of Education. Her research interests include relational practice and recovery-oriented approaches to mental health and addiction. She is also a family therapist and registered psychologist in the province of Alberta.

Rabab Mukred, University of Calgary

Rabab Mukred is a graduate of the counselling psychology program at the University of Calgary’s Werklund School of Education. Her research interests include identity, immigration, social justice, and multicultural counselling. She is currently working as a provisional psychologist in the province of Alberta.

Suzanne Goopy, University of Calgary

Suzanne Goopy is an anthropologist who has worked for many years in the area of health. She is an adjunct associate professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Calgary and a lecturer in the Deanery of Molecular, Genetic and Population Health Sciences at the University of Edinburgh’s Usher Institute. Her research interests have driven her, in collaboration with her colleague Anusha Kassan, to establish the ABBE methodology.

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Published

2022-01-18

How to Cite

Smith, D. J., Kassan, A., Mudry, T. E., Mukred, R., & Goopy, S. . (2022). Supporting Newcomer Youth Through the Process of School Integration in Canada: A Brief Report Highlighting Student Voices. Canadian Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, 55(4), 484–496. https://doi.org/10.47634/cjcp.v55i4.70692

Issue

Vol. 55 No. 4 (2021): Regular Issue

Section

Brief Report/ Rapport sommaire

License

Copyright is retained by the Canadian Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy.