Learning as moving through immigrating, settling, and documenting stories: Imagining possibilities for Canadian newcomer youth

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 1:45 pm - Gold 4
  In Roundtable Session: Navigating Borders: Learning, Equity, and Youth Agency in Transnational Contexts

Abstract

In this paper, we analyzed learning as movement through immigrating and settling, as experienced by eleven racialized newcomer youth in British Columbia who engaged in a YPAR documentary program. We built on the insights co-constructed with the youth using qualitative methods to document the program’s practices, which facilitated emotional configurations that enabled learners to make sense of their socio-spatial locations and move toward personal and social change. Three main themes supported our understanding of learning as movement: stories of mobility, explanatory stories and stories of becoming. We argue that through this YPAR experience, youth drew on their stories to identify common issues affecting racialized newcomers in Canada and imagined possible futures by creating documentaries and providing mutual support.

Authors

• Natacha Monestel-Mora, University of British Columbia

• Jennifer A. Vadeboncoeur, University of British Columbia