CHOICE IN TURBULENT TIMES: A CASE STUDY OF REFUGEE STUDENT EXPERIENCES IN QUASI-MARKETIZED EDUCATION SYSTEMS

Abstract

Across the face of the globe, there have been unprecedented levels of migration from displaced men, women, and children due to political, economic, or religious persecution. Nearly half of the 70.8 million people that are forcibly displaced globally are school-aged children under the age of 18. In the context of the United States, a portion of the refugees granted status are resettled to urban areas whose school districts implement varying degrees of school-choice, market-based educational reform. Especially for those refugee families which are newcomers to the district/marketplace, the process of selecting a specific school is likely wrought with gaps in information and/or misunderstandings regarding educational pathways. Coupling actor-network theory with critical theory, this dissertation focuses on refugee students’ experiences navigating, accessing, and attaining desired curricular opportunities within Saint Louis Public Schools (SLPS)—a large, quasi-marketized, school-choice district in St. Louis, MO. Using narrative inquiry, rich data were gathered from refugee participants regarding their pre-and post-resettlement educational experiences through in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Analysis of participant narratives revealed a parallel process of school-choice for many refugees and several crucial findings emerged that highlight the extent to which refugee students’ understandings regarding school options and educational pathways are rendered (in)visible for some, are racialized for others, and further demonstrates how underlying inequalities already present in under-resourced, urban school districts are often exacerbated by the introduction of neoliberal notions of choice and competition.