Beyond Silence: Cultivating Literacy and Writing Among Immigrant and Refugee Youth Through Trauma-Informed Arts-Based Practices

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 7:45 am - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Conjuring Criticality and Community Through Youth's Multimodal Literacies

Abstract

This study examines the lived experiences that immigrant and refugee youth choose to write about in a community-based, trauma-informed arts literacy program. Through a 9-month qualitative inquiry grounded in critical literacy frameworks, seventeen youth aged 13-18 participated in six writing sessions at a refugee center. Using qualitative content analysis of writing samples and focus group data, four primary themes emerged: obstacles (language barriers, cultural disconnection, emotional burdens), transitions (continuous processes of adaptation and identity reimagining), identity (negotiations of belonging through cultural artifacts and memories), and emotions (complex feelings serving as sources of self-reflection and growth). Findings demonstrate that trauma-informed writing spaces enable youth to process difficult experiences, develop agency, and envision future possibilities while revealing their cultural wisdom and community strength.

Authors

• Angela M. Wiseman, North Carolina State University

• Haleema Khalil, North Carolina State University

• Majid Komasi, North Carolina State University