Date of Award

2020

Document Type

Africa

Abstract

While there is global research on the topic of adult refugee education, there is limited research into accessibility of education for adult refugees within King County, Washington. My research offers an analysis of educational accessibility in King County for refugees from the African nations of Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which together make up the largest refugee population in the area. I conducted interviews with representatives from the local organizations: Refugee Women’s Alliance, Refugees Northwest, Seattle Public Libraries, and Literacy Source in order to gain a better understanding of the strengths and challenges the organizations and refugees face regarding education. I argue that adult refugee education must be culturally aware and trauma informed in order for refugees to achieve the highest level of success. Additionally, a diversity of programs is necessary to meet all educational needs. In order to ensure that these types of programs are available within King County, city, county, and state governments must allocate more funding to refugee resettlement. The ultimate goal of this research is to advocate for refugee success and independence through education.

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