Navigating the tension: US refugee resettlement agency support of postsecondary access

Abstract In recent years, humanitarian crises have displaced millions of people across the globe. This mixed-methods project examines US refugee resettlement agency (RRA) support for displaced individuals seeking to access postsecondary education. Drawing on survey data and complemented with key stakeholder interviews, we characterize how agencies frame their current populations of clients and their interests in postsecondary education, as well as the projects, programs, and policies RRAs utilize to support displaced peoples’ access to postsecondary education. Through the lenses of neoliberalism and resource dependence theory, we capture how student aspirations inform postsecondary programming and the role of staffing, networks, and partnerships—pointing to the ways that agencies leverage discretionary space. In a real sense, RRAs intervene in neoliberal, exclusionary tactics to ensure that postsecondary education, while aligning with program participants’ aspirations, becomes centered within resettlement.