Authors: Xuemei Li, Antoinette Doyle, Maureen Lymburner, Needal Yasin Ghadi

Year of Publication: 2016

This study explored the issues around parental support for newcomer children’s transition to school in a smaller urban centre in Atlantic Canada where newcomer support is relatively limited. The findings revealed newcomer parents’ difficulties in understanding the school system, limited engagement with the school community, isolation from other parents, and barriers to understanding and connecting with other parents. Among these newcomers, refugee parents are particularly challenged. The authors conclude that newcomer children’s parental involvement needs to be viewed multi-dimensionally and that the creation of a commonly comfortable “mediated space” may be hampered by both cultural miscommunication and inadequate support.