Schools’ and teachers’ roles and challenges in supporting the mental wellbeing of refugee youths: a qualitative study with Swedish teachers
Purpose Resettled refugee youths are increasingly entering host-country school systems and are at risk of poor mental wellbeing. Schools and teachers are often expected to provide psychosocial support to youths with refugee backgrounds, but the teachers’ views on this expectation are poorly understo...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2022-12-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2021.2007568 |
| _version_ | 1797960633194381312 |
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| author | Serena McDiarmid Natalie Durbeej Anna Sarkadi Fatumo Osman |
| author_facet | Serena McDiarmid Natalie Durbeej Anna Sarkadi Fatumo Osman |
| author_sort | Serena McDiarmid |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Purpose Resettled refugee youths are increasingly entering host-country school systems and are at risk of poor mental wellbeing. Schools and teachers are often expected to provide psychosocial support to youths with refugee backgrounds, but the teachers’ views on this expectation are poorly understood. We investigated the question: What do Swedish teachers believe is the role of (1) schools and (2) teachers in supporting refugee youths’ mental wellbeing? Method Four semi-structured focus groups were conducted with 30 Swedish educators from five schools. Interview transcripts were analysed and themes reflecting the key concepts were constructed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Seven themes were constructed. Three addressed the role of schools in supporting refugee youths’ mental wellbeing: Promoting Belonging, Offering Refuge, and Instilling Civic Literacy. Four addressed the role of teachers: Building Relationships with Students, Maintaining a Non-therapeutic Relationship, Connecting to Professionals, and Instructing in the Classroom. Conclusion Teachers believe that both schools and teachers play an important role in supporting refugee youths’ mental wellbeing and each contributes in unique ways. However, schools and teachers are not always successful in supporting refugee youth and teachers reported facing challenges such as unclear roles and a lack of resources. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T00:48:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ae62af143b8842d19e634822fd3903d1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-2623 1748-2631 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T00:48:10Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being |
| spelling | doaj.art-ae62af143b8842d19e634822fd3903d12023-01-05T12:01:27ZengTaylor & Francis GroupInternational Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being1748-26231748-26312022-12-0117110.1080/17482631.2021.20075682007568Schools’ and teachers’ roles and challenges in supporting the mental wellbeing of refugee youths: a qualitative study with Swedish teachersSerena McDiarmid0Natalie Durbeej1Anna Sarkadi2Fatumo Osman3University of WaterlooUppsala UniversityUppsala UniversityUppsala UniversityPurpose Resettled refugee youths are increasingly entering host-country school systems and are at risk of poor mental wellbeing. Schools and teachers are often expected to provide psychosocial support to youths with refugee backgrounds, but the teachers’ views on this expectation are poorly understood. We investigated the question: What do Swedish teachers believe is the role of (1) schools and (2) teachers in supporting refugee youths’ mental wellbeing? Method Four semi-structured focus groups were conducted with 30 Swedish educators from five schools. Interview transcripts were analysed and themes reflecting the key concepts were constructed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Seven themes were constructed. Three addressed the role of schools in supporting refugee youths’ mental wellbeing: Promoting Belonging, Offering Refuge, and Instilling Civic Literacy. Four addressed the role of teachers: Building Relationships with Students, Maintaining a Non-therapeutic Relationship, Connecting to Professionals, and Instructing in the Classroom. Conclusion Teachers believe that both schools and teachers play an important role in supporting refugee youths’ mental wellbeing and each contributes in unique ways. However, schools and teachers are not always successful in supporting refugee youth and teachers reported facing challenges such as unclear roles and a lack of resources.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2021.2007568mental wellbeingrefugee youthsteachersschoolsthematic analysis |
| spellingShingle | Serena McDiarmid Natalie Durbeej Anna Sarkadi Fatumo Osman Schools’ and teachers’ roles and challenges in supporting the mental wellbeing of refugee youths: a qualitative study with Swedish teachers International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being mental wellbeing refugee youths teachers schools thematic analysis |
| title | Schools’ and teachers’ roles and challenges in supporting the mental wellbeing of refugee youths: a qualitative study with Swedish teachers |
| title_full | Schools’ and teachers’ roles and challenges in supporting the mental wellbeing of refugee youths: a qualitative study with Swedish teachers |
| title_fullStr | Schools’ and teachers’ roles and challenges in supporting the mental wellbeing of refugee youths: a qualitative study with Swedish teachers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Schools’ and teachers’ roles and challenges in supporting the mental wellbeing of refugee youths: a qualitative study with Swedish teachers |
| title_short | Schools’ and teachers’ roles and challenges in supporting the mental wellbeing of refugee youths: a qualitative study with Swedish teachers |
| title_sort | schools and teachers roles and challenges in supporting the mental wellbeing of refugee youths a qualitative study with swedish teachers |
| topic | mental wellbeing refugee youths teachers schools thematic analysis |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2021.2007568 |
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