8.

Career Planning and Career Development

9. Teacher Self-Care
These themes are described in detail under RESEARCH FINDINGS: KEY
THEMES.

PURPOSE AND GOALS

Various programs and services have been introduced in Canada to address the
career needs of newcomer adults; however, there is a lack of research that
examines career decision-making for newcomer and refugee youth at the
middle- and secondary-school level. This research was designed to look
specifically at what educators and school counsellors could do to foster and
facilitate informed career decision-making for newcomer and refugee youth.
Because some schools do not have a designated counsellor, we intended to
develop resources and training materials that could be used by resource and
classroom teachers who also provide career-related services to youth. Research
conducted with immigrant clients suggested that many intra-individual,
relational, and contextual obstacles hindered adaptation to a new country (Elez,
2014). Research in Canada that focused on the educational needs of refugee
children noted a void in adequate career-development programs and services
for refugee children and youth (MacNevin, 2012; Stewart, 2017a, 2014, 2011).
We collected data from three cities across Canada—Calgary, Alberta; Winnipeg,
Manitoba; and St. John’s, Newfoundland—through observation, semi-structured
interviews, and focus groups. The project design included a reciprocal process of
investigating, learning, and problem solving with participants, investigators,
collaborators, and partners—we hoped it would be mutually beneficial to
community stakeholders and career-development counsellors and have an
impact on both sectors. The partnering of scholars, practitioners, government
representatives, and community organizations provided the foundation for a
long-term research program with the potential to expand in scope to include
additional provinces and cities. Through community forums and consultative
workshops, participants in this research program developed recommendations
for policy and practice—locally, provincially, and nationally. Together, this
interdisciplinary exchange of knowledge enhanced our understanding of the
Copyright © 2018. CERIC. All rights reserved.

complex career-development issues affecting newcomer/refugee students and

allowed for the development of best practices and principles with the potential
to improve the capacity of career practitioners and career counsellors. The
regional focus group consultations and the national/international dissemination
provided venues for the exchange of information, creation of new knowledge,
and sharing of findings. The overarching goal of this research was to provide

Stewart, J. (2018). Bridging two worlds : Supporting newcomer and refugee youth. CERIC.
Created from pusan on 2022-10-10 06:23:18.