Affordances of in-School Video Production for a Plurilingual Adolescent with Interrupted Formal Education and Refugee Experiences: A (Hopeful) Case Study

Abstract

As Canada is increasingly committing to refugee resettlement, there is a critical need to understand how youth from refugee backgrounds can be supported to achieve their full potential in Canadian schools. This multi-year qualitative ethnographic case study explores the affordances of in-school video production for one plurilingual adolescent learner with significantly interrupted formal education and refugee experiences. Youth from refugee backgrounds have been shown to utilize digital multimodal composing (DMC), defined as the use of digital tools to make meaning in multiple modes (e.g., languages, images, sounds, gestures), including video production, to express their identities and strengthen relationships. However, few studies have explored the affordances of DMC specifically for youth from refugee backgrounds with interrupted formal education, at school in their settlement contexts. Guided by sociocultural and multimodal approaches to literacy, as well as an identity investment perspective on participation in learning, the study identifies three thematic patterns of video-production affordances: (1) overcoming the language barrier; (2) showcasing fluency; and (3) countering deficit perceptions. The study helps educators and teacher-educators better understand the affordances of in-school video production for youth from refugee backgrounds with significantly interrupted formal education.