When Knowledge is More than Power
Academia can have a reputation for being out of touch with everyday people and practical realities, reserving knowledge for the “elite” and traditionally powerful.
In my most idealistic view of academia, and where I see it headed in some cases, its purpose is to discover new knowledge (research) in order to make a difference in the world - to bring about justice and healing. Going beyond the well-known phrase “knowledge is power” - and keeping it for the privileged few - this type of knowledge transforms power and instead centers those historically on the margins.
Education and youth-centered nonprofits like PAIR have a similar understanding of the transformative power that knowledge can bring. We focus on the educational and academic goals of our students, knowing the practical and positive impact their achievements can make. It opens up real opportunities not only for them but for our community as a whole.
However, much like in the world of upper academia and research, secondary and postsecondary education is not built for those farther from the centers of power. In Houston, this manifests in a number of barriers for refugee and other newcomer students. They are tasked with navigating new language, cultures, and socio-economic challenges in addition to new schools and education pathways. This is why PAIR goes beyond encouraging academic achievement into filling student gaps in language acquisition and social support.
While PAIR has held formal support programs for middle and high school students since its inception, support for postsecondary students occurred informally for many years. During this time, students returned to PAIR with questions about navigating a higher education system with which students’ family and friends were often unfamiliar. We also became aware of the discriminatory policies, barriers to financial aid and language support, and other challenges many former PAIR students experienced in a collegiate setting. In response, PAIR created the Global Ambassadors program in the summer of 2022 to assist refugee and other newcomer students in their first year of postsecondary education in either a 4-year university or community college.
Since then, the Global Ambassadors program has served 48 students in applying to colleges, securing funding, registering, and persisting through the transition to the first year of higher education. This support is conducted through specialized case management and practical monthly workshops covering topics essential for academic success in the collegiate environment. In the process of building our program approach, we’ve also discovered additional barriers our students are facing in their first year of university or community college as they navigate complex and often bureaucratic institutions.
"A refugee is someone who survived and someone who can create the future."
Amela Koluder
This is where the best parts of academia step in - where my idealistic hopes start being actualized. Over the 2023-24 academic year, a research team of master’s candidates at Texas A&M’s Bush School of Government and Public Service partnered with PAIR to conduct research that centers on refugee students and examines the barriers they face in higher education. The team achieved this by asking two primary research questions:
What resources support refugee student access to and success in higher education?
What is the current state and institutional policy landscape that informs refugee access to and success in higher education?
What state and institution-level policies may inform PAIR’s future advocacy for improving postsecondary access and success?
The practical answers to these questions are in the form of two key deliverables from the research team: a program support guide and a policy brief. To create the program support guide, the research team conducted, compiled and analyzed interviews with current PAIR Global Ambassadors students as well as utilized findings from their literature review and policy analysis. The policy brief dives deeper into institutional and state analysis, providing recommendations for advocacy on both of these levels.
Both deliverables contain key recommendations that PAIR can explore and implement moving forward. The program support guide includes recommendations to reframe the discussions around campus involvement, to expand upon the current PAIR college financial responsibility curriculum, and to build up a resource repository for future PAIR college students. The policy brief examined both education barriers and best practices in various states and higher education institutions, concluding that PAIR can advocate for refugee support such as extended English language training (currently very limited in Texas), multiple English proficiency testing options, and dedicated refugee support collegiate offices.
The research interviews indicate that refugee students find PAIR to be an invaluable resource in their pursuit of higher education - the above recommendations will assist in further improving PAIR as a resource and program, and will continue to be significant as the refugee and immigrant population grows in Houston. Between the months of September 2022 and August 2023, Houston resettlement agencies served 2,500 new refugee and SIV clients. Resettlement agencies are expected to double their numbers, anticipating nearly 5,000 new arrivals by the end of summer 2024 (Houston Refugee Consortium Quarterly Consultation FY 2023 figures). Furthermore, refugees are included in the nearly one-quarter of the Houston population that are immigrants, a crucial force in Houston’s economy and social fabric (Migration Policy Institute, 2023).
These figures become even more notable when considering the long term positive impact that education access and equity has not only for PAIR students, but for our communities and society as a whole. PAIR student interviews indicated that “most students express a commitment to careers involving service to others, particularly in social work and healthcare fields… Many students envision using their chosen careers to contribute to the well-being of others, regardless of their specific field” (Bailey II et al, 2024). PAIR youth represent the future of our city and country - young people ready to succeed for themselves, but even more ready to give back and lead others into a better world. This is a city and world in need of all their talents, unique perspectives, and passion within institutions of higher learning, all career fields, and beyond.
Knowledge gained from the research partnership with Texas A&M contributes to building this better future. Such knowledge really is power to PAIR staff and students, and more than that it can transform power by centering refugee students and providing direct tools to challenge and overcome old barriers to higher education and educational equity. At PAIR this is always a central goal; however, real, transformative change relies on a steadfast dedication to dismantling systems not built for those who are historically on the margins of our community. This new research informs and fuels that dedication, as crucial information from it can be used to improve and expand our programs, inform the public and our other partners, and potentially influence institutional and legislative change so that the work of supporting refugee youth can have an exponential effect. This is academia, education, and community partnership at their best - culminating in a relationship that makes a real, practical difference in PAIR programs but, more importantly, gives us the knowledge we need to truly transform power.
References:
Bailey II, T., Bryant, T., Cantu, C., Garrard, R., Hart, K., Johnson-McGowan, E., McVey, T., Peterson, N., Rapp, T., Slaydon, M., Wilson, H., & Zavala, Y. (2024). Refugee Access to Higher Education, Prepared for PAIR Houston. Texas A&M University Bush School of Government and Public Service. URL:
Houston Refugee Consortium, (2023).
Migration Policy Institute, (2023). New Profile Reveals Contributions of Immigrant Population to Houston Metro Area, Its Growing Diversity and Challenges. URL: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/news/houston-report-2023
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