SCHOOL OUTSIDE THESE FOUR WALLS: CONTESTING IRREGULARIZATION THROUGH ALTERNATIVES TO EDUCATION

• Authors: Aberman Tanya , Rico-Martinez Francisco , Ackerman Philip
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Over the last decade, Canada has witnessed a complete overhaul of its refugee and immigration processes, resulting in the unravelling of a longstanding history of humanitarian contributions. As migrants’ situations become increasingly precarious, and pathways for permanent residence are quickly eroded, one area of bordering that has importantly impacted migrant youth involves access to education. While there are a limited number of concessionary policies that promote some level of access at elementary and secondary levels (but none at the tertiary level), many youth remain burdened with feelings of being othered, disengaged and illegalized, throughout their educational trajectories (Uprooted Education 2016). The weight of this exclusion is exacerbated by additional factors including: fear of deportation, non-recognition of home country credentials, negative racialization, feelings of being derailed from their professional path, and other intersections of precarity and dispossession. This paper will explore the intersection of irregularization and access to Canadian education systems; it will draw attention to emerging solutions to these exclusions through community-driven, humanitarian and activist responses at all levels of education. Particular attention will be paid to the needs-based development of alternatives to education, highlighting the projects of a Toronto-based organization, the FCJ Refugee Centre. These projects are all unique in their capacity to value the diverse social locations of precarious status migrant youth as they attempt to navigate Canadian education systems.

Keywords

EN

MIGRATION; IRREGULARIZATION; EDUCATION,; CANADA; COMMUNITY RESPONSE

• Publisher: Wydział Studiów Międzynarodowych i Politycznych Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego oraz Polska Akademia Umiejętności
• Journal: Studia Migracyjne - Przegląd Polonijny
• Year: 2017
• Volume: 43
• Issue: 3(165)
• Pages: 131-143

Contributors

author

Aberman Tanya

• York University, FCJ Refugee Centre

author

Rico-Martinez Francisco

• FCJ Refugee Centre

author

Ackerman Philip

• The University of Toronto, FCJ Refuge Centre