Reflecting on the experiences of Syrian refugee young adults in adult education in Quebec: The practitioners’ perspective

Abstract

Much research focuses on schooling for refugee children in resettlement contexts; however, limited research addresses young adult refugees (YAR) between 16–24 years in the adult education (AE) system. This paper strives to fill this gap by providing the perspectives of 12 AE practitioners who welcomed and worked with Syrian YAR in Quebec, Canada. Practitioners’ experiences and challenges faced with this refugee population reveal strategies needed to enable YAR to flourish and attain their objectives, including a call for systemic change in AE. Critical race theory and the capabilities approach set the conceptual framework guided by a narrative inquiry methodology. Semi-structured interviews provided the data that were thematically analyzed through collaborative work. From our understanding of the effectiveness of AE approaches for YAR, it is clear, based on the insights provided by the practitioners, that the face of AE has changed, and its current approach does not work for the YAR population.