“I survive on people”: (Mis)recognising the value of social learning for mothers seeking sanctuary in Wales

Shobiye, Laura 2023. “I survive on people”: (Mis)recognising the value of social learning for mothers seeking sanctuary in Wales. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

Preview	PDF - Accepted Post-Print Version Download (5MB) | Preview
	PDF (Cardiff University Electronic Publication Form) - Supplemental Material Restricted to Repository staff only Download (130kB)

Abstract

My research sits within the sociology of refugee education literature. There is a small body of literature on specific gender and refugee education in England (Morrice 2007; Klenk 2017). There is, however, no published research exploring the experiences of women seeking sanctuary in Wales. Refugee education literature in Wales follows a reductive pattern for women and motherhood, with distinct experiences focused on childcare and caring responsibilities. My research seeks to take a step towards filling the gaps in research in Wales on refugee women and mothers and social learning. I seek to explore mothers’ experiences, taking a whole-person approach. Therefore, I approached my project as research with mothers, not on mothering. The scope of my work includes all their intersecting identities, not just motherhood. My research is epistemologically influenced by Critical Race and Feminism scholarship, particularly the concept of Intersectionality. Methodologically, my research is a qualitative study. I used dialogical and creative methods to explore the learning experiences of mothers seeking sanctuary in Wales. I generated data with 26 participants from four areas of Wales through 33 interviews, drawings, and remote photo elicitation. The data focuses on my participants’ particular subjective experiences and perceptions. I took a multi-modal, collaborative and iterative approach to my methods. I present my analysis in this thesis informed by representative, narrative and thematic approaches. My findings suggest that while my participants experienced marginalisation, discrimination and exclusion in education, social learning enabled ii them to survive, thrive, and live. For my participants, learning was not just a process of gaining knowledge or building capital but a social process that creates value through community belonging and personal identity. My collaborative approach with my participants means I have shared and disseminated early findings in refugee support communities with policy teams and Higher Education Institutions. My work, therefore, is part of a live, emerging shift in research, service provision, and policy development.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	22 November 2023
Last Modified:	22 Nov 2023 09:59
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/164130

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item