Conflicts of Interest: A Case Study Exploring Constraints on Educational Leaders’ Agency as Representatives of Refugee Interests

Abstract

School-aged children comprise 35–40 percent of the annual influx of new refugees. Yet, refugee parents have limited avenues of political representation until they attain citizenship. As the vanguard of government, schools offer refugee populations opportunities for representation through the agency of the educational leaders. Deploying surrogate representation as a theoretical lens, this case study explored how educational leaders represented the interests of the refugee populations they serve. Findings suggest that educational leaders’ agency is curtailed by: (1) rational agency in conflict with policy incentives, and (2) inaccurate assumptions about the refugee population's educational preferences and interest in participating in educational decision making.

Notes

1. 8 U.S.C. 1521 § 411.

2. See Department of Health and Human Services Annual Office of Refugee Resettlement Report for fiscal year 2008 as reported to Congress in 2011.

3. See United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Retrieved from http://www.unhcr.org/3b66c2aa10.html

4. See United Nations General Assembly Resolution 429(V) of 14 December 1950. Retrieved from http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3b00f08a27.html

5. See United Nations General Assembly Resolution 429(V) of 14 December 1950, 30.

6. See U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Retrieved from http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=d84d6811264a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=d84d6811264a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD

7. The application fee for citizenship ranges from $595–$680 per person; see U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=480ccac09aa5d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD

8. The average hourly wage rate for refugee families is $9.90; see 2008 Annual Office of Refugee Resettlement Report, iv.

9. See Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services. Retrieved from http://www.brycs.org/aboutRefugees/refugee101.cfm