The aim of this knowledge mobilization effort is to provide information and resources to teachers and administrators who are working with families from the war zones that the Canadian government has promised asylum to: Syrians, Afghans and Ukrainians. The anticipated outcomes of the online teachers’ manual is to primarily increase awareness of, and offer avenues to address, the psychosocial stressors experienced by recently arrived refugee children and youth.
This work is significant in that it aims to strengthen the capacity of elementary and secondary school communities to provide culturally appropriate support for war-affected learners and their families. The goal is to foster school environments which nurture refugee students’ mental health and well-being, thereby enhancing their educational and life outcomes.
Meet The Presenter
Dr. Sofia Noori, PhD
Dr. Sofia Noori became an Assistant Professor at UBC’s Faculty of Education, Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy, here in K’emk’emeláy̓ in 2022. She completed her PhD in 2020. Before coming to UBC, Dr. Noori taught classes ranging from K-12, college courses, undergraduate classes, and professional teacher training courses across the Greater Tkarón:to Area. She received the prestigious President’s University-Wide Teaching Award at York University in 2021.
Dr. Noori’s research and writing focuses on how refugee youth navigate schooling systems, in the aftermath of living in civil unrest or war, migration, transitory states, or refugee camps, and resettlement. Her work is informed by postcolonial theory and developmental psychology. She is working with educators from across the country to develop resources, materials, and strategies to help meet the academic and psychosocial needs of newcomer students from war zones.
