Structural barriers and processes of defunding of funds of identity of refugee-background children

ABSTRACT

Drawing insights from an ethnographic study with two young refugee-background children, this paper examines the multiple contexts that influence their identity negotiations during their first three years of resettlement to the United States. The analysis aims to expand the growing literature on funds of identity (FOI) with specific attention to structural barriers that defund their FOIs. The findings are categorised in three intersecting themes: 1) transnational and translinguistic funds of identity, which are challenged by xenophobia, monolingualism and social class barriers; 2) funds of intercultural identity, which are jeopardised by racial and religious exclusion; and 3) funds of academic identity in the home which are threatened by social class challenges. The paper concludes with the implications of the analysis for theory and practice.

KEYWORDS:

• Refugee-background children
• funds of identity
• defunds of identity

Acknowledgements

We are humbled by and grateful to all members of the family for letting us into their lives. We wish them the best as they continue to navigate life in the United States.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).