Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) Case Studies on Social Outcomes and Related Stories of Former Participants

• In Event: Roundtable Session (Tuesday I)
  In Refereed Round-Table Session: UREAG Round-Table

Proposal

"The emphasis on the 'students’ stories,' I think, is significant to the need to develop narrative thinking in students. It is through their stories that we understand how they relate to the world around them, how their past experiences influence their future aspirations how they interpret their present reality and how they envision education to play a role in their lives" (Ali, 2004).

The proposed study focuses on former Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) students who have attended government sponsored English programs. The researcher will conduct surveys, in-person interviews and focus group engagements. Through these interactions, the researcher will document the stories of participants where LINC programs had positive and/or negative effects on their lives, and whether the participants attribute their completion of English studies to their current status of employment, education, community integration, and/or volunteerism.

Connelly and Clandinin (1995) believe that “Thinking of life as a story is a powerful way to imagine who we are, where we have been and where we are going” (cited in Ali, 2004, p. 52). Although many studies focus on the in-class impact of learning on students (Fleming, 2007; Gormley & Gill, 2007; Geres, 2016), there are few studies which address the direct life impact on LINC participants once they have exited their respective programs. In Dempsey et al. (2009), the researchers made calls to bridge this gap since it is of interest to LINC educators and stakeholders alike to track the social outcomes of students.

In documenting these stories, we hope to impact educators and funders to appreciate the sacrifices and ultimately the contributions newcomers make to society. An account of events and outcomes will allow us to better understand the plight and barriers that newcomer students encounter. It will also inform stakeholders of the types of support structures needed after students complete a program.

At the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) Miles and Bailey-McKenna (2016) call for high school-aged newcomers to receive services “beyond school” so they may transition to the workforce and postsecondary, among other social outcomes (p. 125). These researchers continue their work at the CBE and identify the need for more data focusing on the educational outcomes (Miles & Bailey-McKenna, 2016).

Research Questions:
1) What are the trends of self-perceived impacts on students after exiting their respective LINC programs?
2) To what extent do former students attribute their participation in LINC to their lives now in terms of education, employment and integration?

A goal of this study would be to find commonalities in what former students attribute their LINC studies to when telling their stories. Given that Geres (2016) found common themes from her study’s participants, we may find similar themes around academic, family, and social supports being identified as crucial to social outcomes (p.71).

Stories of resiliency are not new in a socio-historical context (Centre for Newcomers, 2018), but the direct after-LINC impact is under-represented in the literature and should reported on, and, should have a voice.

Author

• Oscar Michael Vergara, University of Calgary