Adaptation for refugee students: A narrative inquiry of Burmese refugees in a Midwestern American school

Abstract

Due to the political turmoil in Burma, many Burmese families have sought assistance from the United Nations as refugees. Many of these refugee families have found a new home in the United States. As these families settled into their new communities, the children faced the challenge of entering an American school for the first time. This study examines the stories of four Burmese refugees who navigated the American educational system in a Midwestern school district. These participants' stories highlighted the dangerous journey they endured by leaving Burma and the challenges they faced in their American school. The findings of this research suggest that Berry's (1992) theory of acculturation does not offer varying levels of integration based upon the level of value found within a migrant for their original culture and the new culture. The author proposes that migrants who adapt through integration undergo a process of blending these different cultures called syncretic integration. This process can be categorized as either idle integration, enthusiastic integration, or shifting integration. The individual reevaluates the value of both cultures through transformational syncretism.