Sudanese young people building capital in rural Australia: the role of mothers and community

Abstract

This article draws on an ethnographic study that consisted of in-depth case studies of eight Sudanese young people of refugee background living in rural Australia. Prompted by concern over deficit views of young refugees that pervade educational literature, we aimed to understand what facilitates their successful resettlement into Australian rural communities. We were particularly interested in understanding the strengths, resources and capital they draw upon and generate through their participation in out-of-school social and learning contexts, as well as within family and community networks. Here, we focus on one of the study's participants, Samir. We highlight how his mother was instrumental in providing a safe and secure home environment where significant bonding capital was generated, as well as how she facilitated her son's participation in community and ethnic networks, thus enabling him to acquire bridging and linking social capital. We conclude by discussing the implications for schools and for research.

Keywords:

• Ethnography
• refugee integration
• social capital
• rural Australia
• refugee education

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the participants who generously gave their time to this study, and the support of the other research team members – Dr Jae Major and Dr Kiprono Langat.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Jane Wilkinson http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0727-0025

Notes

1. All names are pseudonyms.

2. We adopt the definition of a refugee as ‘someone who has been assessed by a national government or an international agency (such as the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)) and meets the criteria set out under the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees 1951(Refugee Convention)’ (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2008).

3. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) defines urban and rural localities on the basis of their population range. Regions are non-urban areas grouped on the basis of their remoteness from services (for further information see: http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/D3310114.nsf/home/frequently+asked+questions#Anchor7; see also: http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/pubs/factssheets/2011/fs201103.pdf). In this article, we use the term ‘rural' to describe all non-urban locations.