Kurdish Refugee Youth in Canada

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 20
  In Roundtable Session: Refugee Youth Experiences in Education

Abstract

This study explores the experiences of Kurdish refugee youth in Canada. The Arendtian notions of the right to have rights and public space, and Hall’s concept of state’s hegemony are necessary theoretical tools to examine the exclusion of refugee youths from the educational market and their statelessness in the nation-states. My methodology is a critical qualitative approach. Twenty young people, aged 15-30, were involved in this research. The findings of this study indicate that the refugee youths’ statelessness is the outcome of the state’s hegemony. The stateless refugee youths are also excluded from the educational institution. The study suggests that it is vital to question the state’s hegemony and its legitimization through education.

Author

• Dilek Kayaalp, University of North Florida