Contextualizing Voice in Refugee Youth Research

A focus on a study of the digital media experiences of unaccompanied refugee minors

Abstract

In recent years, increased attention has been placed on the situations of unaccompanied refugee minors (URM) living in Europe, and current research regarding their perspectives and voices has begun to foster greater insight into their daily lives. Despite this, there is a great lack of contextualization and critical examination of the production and use of their voices in research. This paper attends to this gap in research by focusing on the micro to macro contexts which give rise to their voices – particularly emphasizing power relations – and by exploring the multiple features of voice. It argues that greater significance and meaning in their statements come from the contexts in which they were produced in, and less in the abstract or literalness of their words or silences. This is demonstrated by drawing upon evidence from a study that was conducted with URM in Berlin, reflecting upon the methodological factors that were unique to conducting research with this group, and by addressing the larger discursive contexts in which their statements were situated in. Through this examination we uncover a greater range of possibilities for interpretations and meanings to their responses that could result into more comprehensive and fruitful insights into their lives. This paper advocates for greater reflexivity in research, which not only opens up more avenues of meanings and interpretations, but it can also help address issues of de-contextualization and misrepresentation of refugees, and can promote higher quality research