“And Not Any of Us Go to College”

Abstract

More than 125,100 refugees from Burma were resettled in the US 2010-2020. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) predicts another 14,000 Burmese will seek asylum in the US during 2023. Burmese refugees arrive with less formal education than other refugee groups and struggle to understand the US educational system, often resulting in students' dropping out. Refugee camp experiences, trauma, difficulty with English, and struggles of the resettlement process present major challenges to US Burmese students seeking higher education experiences. This chapter explores the educational difficulties, challenges, and personal successes of US Burmese refugees living in the Midwestern United States through oral history interviews. The goal of the study is to understand and explore education as it is experienced and perceived by Burmese refugees in the United States and explore existing challenges to their participation in higher education.