It Takes a University: Martha K. Ferede

What is it like to be a refugee, fleeing from a distant land to the doors of a Western nation? For the answer lies in the voices of the refugees themselves.

“Right now is a tense time in terms of Canadian refugee policy and there is a lot of rhetoric, but how often do you hear the voice of the refugee in the discourse and debates?” Ferede says.

Ferede’s dissertation, It Takes a University, explores the social and academic integration experiences of refugees — largely coming from Kenya, Malawi, and Thailand, as well as Iraqi urban refugees from Syria — who were resettled directly into Canadian universities.

Ferede, a former fourth-grade teacher for first and second-generation immigrant and refugee children in a high-needs area in Toronto often saw a disparity between her students’ community and the education system. Many of her students' families had come from developing and war-torn countries and made homes in a high-poverty community representing over 100 nationalities and languages, she says.

“Despite significant challenges, it was also a place of hope where parents held high educational aspirations for their children. However, I soon learned that many were unaware about the process to and in tertiary education,” Ferede says. “[Observing] this disconnect solidified my commitment to understanding the challenges and experiences of newcomers in accessing and succeeding in universities and colleges."

By focusing on Canadian universities, Ferede’s dissertation is unique in that it will spotlight a program that is the only one of its kind in the world: the World University Service of Canada’s (WUSC) Student Refugee Program (SRP). Administered by Asni Mekonnen and Michelle Manks of WUSC, run by student volunteers, and financed through the Trillium Foundation, donors, and by students in higher education institutions across Canada, the

SRP enables refugees to resettle and pursue their post-secondary education at Canadian universities and colleges. Groups of student sponsors come together to form local committees, helping refugees with everything from setting up a bank account to understanding cultural nuances.

“SRP is a really powerful program,” Ferede says, noting that Canada is currently the only country in the world that allows for the private sponsorship of refugees. “Sponsoring refugee students into degree programs reimagines the university as a space for refugees’ academic, social, and personal growth and, perhaps, as a springboard for effective integration within the broader society. I believe that SRP could serve as a useful example for other countries searching for an effective way to integrate resettled refugees.”

Ferede’s study utilizes four different research methods: document and database review, observations, semi-structured interviews, and social network maps. Although it is not scheduled to be complete for another year, she recently finished the first round of interviews and is impressed by the resourcefulness, drive, and determination of the refugees she interviewed, many of whom view the SRP as their only way out of the refugee camps.

“I was fascinated by the role of technology in shaping the lives of the refugees,” she says. “They are using technology not only to mediate relationships they have, but to create relationships with family members they thought they had lost due to wars and displacement. It is amazing.”

In the end, Ferede not only hopes to share recommendations with WUSC that may help improve the SRP but also hopes to share the findings with education and immigration policymakers who require sound evidence to make informed decisions.

“For me, this type of research is not looking at pathology, but looking at agency, at people who have accomplished great things in the face of so much,” she says. “Immigrants and refugees are often clumped together in the literature, but in reality, the experiences and circumstances of refugees are unique. I believe they should be treated as such.”