“Voices of Refugee Youth: Reflections on a Participatory, Youth-Centered Study”

• In Event: Education in Conflict and Crisis Contexts: Emerging Evidence Featured in the Journal on Education in Emergencies

Proposal

Involving young refugees within research processes has significant potential to address current gaps in refugee research in a rigorous, equitable and empowering way. This field note reports on Voices of Refugee Youth, a research initiative in Pakistan and Rwanda which aims to build the evidence base for post-primary refugee education, while also increasing young refugees’ access to and representation within this field of research. The purpose of this field note is to reflect critically on the participatory approach adopted within the initiative, in which young refugees work as co-researchers who advise, collect data, and contribute to deliverables. The article highlights the benefits of this approach, but also problematises and nuances it to offer valuable lessons around meaningfully involving refugees within the research process. The authors conclude that participation must be approached with flexibility, facilitating different levels of participation depending on the skill or knowledge level of the young refugees in question. Crucially, participation must be accompanied by rigorous training that responds to participants’ context and experience levels, and addresses ethical issues such as positionality-based bias.

Author

• Katrina Barnes, Jigsaw