Exploring the perceptions of refugee children in Malaysia regarding family and socio-emotional empowerment

Kok, J. K. (Jin Kuan)¹, Van Schalkwyk, G. J. (Gertina)^2
1University of Tunku Abdul Rahman, Perak, Malaysia
²University of Macau, Macao (SAR), China

 

Submission type

Poster only

Scheduled

Hallway, 10-07-2019, 15:30 - 17:00

Keywords

Refugees, marginalisation, narrative research, social-emotional coping, educational needs

Summary

 

The percentage of refugee children in Malaysia has been growing in recent years with a quarter of the 149,200 documented refugees in 2017 below the age of 18 years. Refugees children are often marginalized in society becoming vulnerable and requiring special assistance to meet their educational needs, mental health care and social-emotional wellbeing. Employing the Collage Life-story Elicitation Technique (CLET) and a discovery-oriented narrative research design, we interviewed 20 refugee children from Myanmar at an educational centre in Kuala Lumpur exploring their perceptions of family life and social-emotional wellbeing. Findings from the in-depth thematic and narrative analysis revealed three themes pertaining to (i) family life as resource for social-emotional coping, (ii) individual aspirations and future perspectives, and (iii) social-emotional coping through interacting with compassionate teachers in the host country. Narrative research with children gives space for children’s voices and provide rich materials for teachers, parents and educators to better understand how to empower the child, and to plan accordingly for interventions where needed.

 

Auteurs