2015 Graduate
Student Research
Symposium in the
Faculty of Education
The role of
resilience: refugee
families, well-being
and adapting to
school in Canada
By Stephanie Yamniuk, PhD
candidate, Fac. of
Education, Univ. of
Manitoba
Agenda
 My
Background
 Overview and Research Significance
 Social Ecological model
 Attributes of well-being: positive mindset,
resilience, positive identity
 Meet the storytellers
 Risk and Protective factors for Refugee
families
 Methodology and Findings
 Advice for teachers (from refugee youth)
 Conclusion and Questions
My background in human
rights advocacy and education
 UNICEF
Canada
 Canadian Red Cross
 Teacher and educator on human rights
 Social Justice framework of teaching
 Have taught in diverse communities in US,
Micronesia, and Canada
 Current instructor at the U of M, in the
Faculties of Education and Human Ecology
 2011/2012 CMHRR Speaker series - spoke
on the Children’s Right to Participate
Overview and research
significance
 Research
Objectives: Based on a
phenomenological qualitative research
study I conducted in 2013, I plan to share
how well-being is a process, and includes
positive mindset, resilience, and positive
identity. Factors that impact well-being in
refugee families include individual
characteristics, family support, and
external support.
Social Ecological model
 Bronfenbrenner’s
ecological theory –
human development occurs in contexts,
and can only be understood in contexts
(Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Hamilton and
Moore, 2004).
 The key to this is to acknowledge and
understand that development is a
process, just as well-being is a process.
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological
Theory
http://earlychildhoodresources.com
Attributes of well-being in this
study: positive mindset,
resilience, positive identity
 Attributes
of a positive mindset will be
discussed (Brooks & Goldstein, 2003; Xu,
Farver, Change, Yu, & Zhang, 2006) as
well as resilience (Ungar, 2008; Rutter,
1993). Results will be shared based on a
social ecological model and the
importance of context on the
development and identity of refugee
youth.
Mindset (Dweck, 2009)
The
view you adopt of yourself
profoundly affects the way you
lead your life.
Attributes of mindset


A fixed mindset comes from the belief that
your qualities are carved in stone – who you
are is who you are, period. Characteristics
such as intelligence, personality, and
creativity are fixed traits, rather than
something that can be developed.
A growth mindset comes from the belief that
your basic qualities are things you can
cultivate through effort. Yes, people differ
greatly – in aptitude, talents, interests,
or temperaments - but everyone can change
and grow through application and
experience.
10
Resilience Theory (Condly, 2006;
Ungar, 2008; Black & Lobo, 2008)
Condly’s (2006)definition of
resilience
 One
definition of resilience is the continuous
ability to defy challenges of poverty, lack of
opportunity, lack of a high IQ or living in a low
socioeconomic status (SES), or living in
difficult circumstances.
11
Ungar’s (2008) definition of
Resilience

“Resilience is therefore both a process of the
child’s navigation towards, and the capacity of
individuals to negotiate for, health resources
on their own terms” (Ungar, 2008, p. 225).

“Resilience occurs in the presence of
adversity” (p. 220).

“Resilience is influenced by a child’s
environment, and that the interaction between
individuals and their social ecologies will
determine the degree of positive outcomes
experienced” (ibid).
12
13
Three factors that can be found in all
definitions of research on resilience
 Individual
traits
 Family supports
 External
supports
Individuals: Resilience mindset
 We
can build resilience in our students by
simply encouraging their individual
talents, and reinforce the positive mindset
that we believe that they have the ability to
succeed in school.
Brooks and Goldstein (2003)
14
Several factors that increased an
individual child’s capacity for
resilience and impacted their coping
skills (Boothby et al, 2006)
 school
as a vital social and academic
arena;
 self-efficacy and guarded optimism;
 recreational activities;
 role models;
 and friendships (cited from pp. 119-124).
15
Family influence on resilience
 The
second factor which research has
shown to impact resiliency in children is
family dynamics and the quality of
relationships that children have with
family members.
16
17
Common factors that are evident
in resilient families (Black & Lobo,
2008, p. 38):
 positive
outlook;
 spirituality;
 family member
accord;
 flexibility;
 family
communication;
 financial
management;
 family time;
 shared recreation;
 routines and
rituals;
 a support network
External Support – in the context of
a school community
 The
third factor which impacts the resiliency of
a child can be the external supports that effect
him or her. This is where the school community
can show its strengths and supports with the
goal to integrate families into the school
culture and community. Research has shown
that it is best when the family as a whole is
being supported (Condly, 2006).
18
 Schools
can be protective and safe places for
children and adolescents to develop and build
resiliency skills. “The positive experiences that
children can get from school may involve
academic success, sporting or musical
achievement, assuming responsibility in the
school or developing positive relationships
with teachers and peers” (Brackenreed, 2010,
p. 116).
19
Positive identity
 “When
I was young, I liked to walk around
by myself. I would come back late in the
evening and my mum would scold me
saying I walked a lot… I was very
adventurous you could say.”
 “[My
friends would say] that I’m happy
cause even though I go through a hard
time, I always laugh and they are like,
“what’s up with you, like when you are
going through a hard time, why are you
still laughing?... like sometimes, I’m
different. I am my own me.”

“I’m kind of like a sports man. I like track. I play
soccer and I used to play basketball and
volleyball. I wasn’t interested in track back home
but here, some teachers they saw me running in
Phys. Ed. so they convinced me to run. I went for
first practice but I didn’t make it for the first [track
meet] because it was around 6 AM, I woke up at 7
AM… I kind of stopped but then I went for another
meet and I won some ribbons for the first and
second, and then I’m like, I should continue unto
now and last year I made it to Canadian
nationals.”
 “I
am very respectful. My parents always
teach me, like in our culture, we have to
respect older people and there are some
older people that don’t respect you and
you’re like, ‘well if they want respect they
have to show respect’ cause you can
only show respect to people who want to
show to you… when you are older, that if
you want respect, you have to show
respect.”
Meet the storytellers
Names
Current
Grade
Gender
Country of
Origin
Religion
Yolanda
7
F
Burma
Christian
Lisa
12
F
Isaac
10
M
Thomas
7
M
Abi
10
F
Jacob
8
M
Hannah
7
F
Adam
10
M
Family
Structure
Mom and
dad and 2
siblings
Burma
None
Mom and
mentione 4 siblings,
d
dad works
in another
country
Burundi
None
Mom and
mentione dad and 4
d
siblings
Ethiopia
Muslim
Mom and
2 siblings
Afghanista None
Mom and
n
mentione 4 siblings
d
Somali
Muslim
Mom and
4 siblings,
father is
working in
another
country
Burma
None
Mom and
mentione dad and 7
d
siblings
Sudan
Muslim
Mom and
dad and 3
siblings
Age at
arrival in
Canada
Level of
Grade enrollment at time of
education prior to arrival in Canada
arrival in Canada
6
Kindergarte Grade 1
n
11
Grade 2
Grade 6
12
Grade 3
Grade 7
11
Grade 6
Grade 6
12
None
Grade 7
11
Grade 3 or
4
Grade 6
6
Kindergarte Grade 1
n
11
Grade 2
Grade 5
26
Risk and Protective factors for
Refugee families
27
A better understanding of
newcomers
•
•
Immigrants
A person who has
left their own
nation to live in
another country.
They have left by
choice, and not by
necessity (disaster
or war)
Refugees
•
A refugee is a
person who has left
for fear of being
persecuted for
reasons of race,
nationality, religion,
or membership into
a specific social
group (Fong, 2004).
Challenges for children
growing up in two cultures
At school
At home
Students are
encouraged to be:




Independent
Spontaneous
Outspoken
Aggressive
Students are
encouraged to be:




Modest
Respectful
Concerned with the
family as a whole
Speaking the
language spoken at
home (Fong, 2004)
Findings
Risk Factors
Protective Factors
 Communication
 Positive
 Lack
 Family
of social
capital
 Financial worries
 Loneliness
 Confusion about
Canadian society
mindset
cohesiveness
 Spirituality
 Hope
 Peer support
 Institutional support
Methodology and Findings
Inputs (from environments)
Outputs (as seen in individual)

Resiliency
Individual Characteristics and Attitudes
Micro:
 Family relationships
 Peer relationships
 Teachers relationships
 PV relationships – cultural broker
Acculturation
Exo:
Intercultural competence - An increased
acceptance of difference in others



Refugee camp environment
School environment
Neighborhood environment
Macro:
 Freedom and Belonging (in Canadian
society)
Empowerment and Identity
Mindset
Social Capital
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological
Theory
http://earlychildhoodresources.com
Advice for teachers
 “Try
to act a little more friendly to work.
Like … I need them to explain it to me but
then they explain again and I still don’t
get it.”
 “I
wish they did [ask more questions about
culture] so they can learn more about us.
That there are people out there that used
to live in refugee homes…”
 “When
the refugee kids first move here to
Canada, they are going to be really sad,
they are really scared cause they don’t
feel great and the teachers is like all they
have. Even though the student goes
through a hard time, they always try…”
 “Try
to talk with them when they are quiet
and ask them questions.”
 “…
like they [refugee students] they talk
outside but not inside class… I guess it’s
because they are used to back home
stuff, like the rules.”
 “Ask
the students whey they think about
their school [using] a survey… they don’t
get a chance to talk…like in my school,
some students want to have motor
classes. Working with cars and stuff cause
we don’t have that.”
 “Like
tell students to not like bullying them
or teasing them… Like the teacher would
tell the student and the students would
help that they don’t do that to the new
students… Like giving them more time, like
teaching them how to speak and to talk
with other students.”
Conclusion and Questions?
References
Black, K., & Lobo, M. (2008). A Conceptual Review of Family Resilience Factors.
Journal of Family Nursing, 14(1), 33-55.
Boothby, N., Strang, A., and Wessells, M. (2006). A World Turned Upside Down:
Social Ecological Approaches to Children in War Zones. Bloomfield, CT:
Kumarian Press, Inc.
Brackenreed, D. (2010). Resilience and Risk. International Education Studies, 3 (3),
pp. 111 – 121.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of Human Development: Experiences by
Nature and Design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Brooks, R. & Goldstein, S. (2003). Nurturing Resilience in Our Children: Answers to
the Most Important Parenting Questions. Toronto: McGraw Hill.
Coleman, M. (2013). Empowering Family-Teacher Partnerships. Thousand Oaks,
CA: SAGE.
Condly, S. (2006). Resilience in Children: A Review of Literature With Implications
for Education. Urban Education, 41 (3), 211-236.
Dweck, C. S. (2009). Mindset: How we can learn to fulfill our potential. New York,
NY: Ballantine Books.
Fong, V. (Ed). (2004). Culturally Competent Practice with Immigrant and Refugee
Children and Families. New York: The Guilford Press
Hamilton, R. & Moore, D. (Eds.) (2004). Educational Interventions for Refugee
Children: Theoretical perspectives and implementing best practice. New York:
RoutledgeFalmer.
Ungar, M. (2008). Resilience across Cultures. British Journal of Social Work, 38, 218235.