Refugee Parents’ Perspectives on Preschool Enrollment after Migration and Resettlement

Abstract

Using phenomenography, the researchers explored the perspectives of resettled refugee parents and why they chose to enroll their children in a large urban school district’s preschools. All of the participants were driven by intense desires to have a brighter future for themselves and for their children in their new country. All saw education as privilege and an opportunity to ensure more promising futures for their children—an opportunity that should not be left on the table. All the participants expressed an appreciation for the opportunities afforded them in the U.S. and hopes for a peaceful future. The participants’ backgrounds and migration experiences varied, but consistent across them were hardships and challenges. These influenced their decision to enroll children in an urban public preschool program in the hopes of increasing the likelihood of success for their children. Participants relied heavily on the support of refugee agencies. The researchers identified a need for local school districts to collaborate with resettlement agencies in developing a concrete plan for addressing the unique needs of refugee parents and children. This may include parent mentoring and using refugees to mentor/assist more recently arrived refugees in navigating the educational bureaucracies in their new country and school district.