Honoring Their Voices: Listening for Lessons in Oral Stories of Forced Migration

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 19
  In Roundtable Session: Stories of Immigration, Migration, and Education

Abstract

Amid the current global refugee crisis, many refugee children and their families are becoming part of our educational system. However, research about a family’s experiences before, during, and after resettlement is generally sparse. Usually, the existing research focuses on two moments of their experience: on their trans-migration experience or post-migration experience. But very seldom has there been research about their lives pre-migration.
This is a study of a Guatemalan family who migrated to the US as a result of civil unrest. Using a case study and narrative approach, I worked with the family to tell the story of their migration and the impacts to education during pre-, trans-, and post-migration. This study strives to honor the story of this family.

Authors

• Ana Aracelly Olguin, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Stephanie C. Sanders-Smith, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign