Resilience and Belonging: The Role of Counterspaces in Yemeni Youth Identity Formation

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 2:30 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Fostering Classroom Inclusivity With Trending Pedagogical Practices (Table 10)

Abstract

Little work has been done to explore how Arabs, specifically Yemeni youth in schools navigate the cultural shifts and elements of belonging. This chapter draws on ethnographic work that looks at how a group of Yemeni boys organized together to advocate for themselves in high school by creating inner systems of support, scheduling and carrying out meetings with teachers, administrators and other students, and finding allies within the school to support them in their journey of advocating for Yemeni students. By doing so students created a sense of belonging in the school that allowed them to successfully graduate while also leading counter spaces that called for centering students' voices, agency and more culturally aware teachers and culturally responsive teaching.

Author

• Orubba Almansouri, Graduate Center - CUNY