Matching Items (2)
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- All Subjects: Sense of Community
- Creators: Foroughi-Mobarakeh, Behrang
- Creators: Larsen, Dale
Description
Resettled refugees face numerous challenges including unsafe living conditions, loss of permanent shelter, adjustment to a new culture, loneliness, and separation from family, friends, and community. Of particular importance is the lack of a feeling of sense of community (SOC) within their new surroundings. SOC is not only worthwhile as an outcome of its own, but may also predict additional positive outcomes such as resilience and cultural adjustment. Literature has shown participation in sport can develop youth positively and build social skills, while studies in other regions of the world have also found a sport team setting to be a place for immigrants to experience SOC. In this study, I use a congruent mixed methods approach to both explore the experience of SOC for youth refugees in a soccer club, and examine the relation of SOC to resilience and cultural adjustment. Using photo-elicitation and semi-structured interviews with 11 youth participants, the qualitative portion of the study explored SOC among youth participants. Findings note the presence of SOC as matched to theoretical frameworks both specific to sport, and to a more general theory of SOC. Further data were collected through questionnaires distributed to club members. Results from the quantitative analysis indicate a significant positive relation between SOC and resilience, and SOC and perceived acculturation. This study’s contribution is to illustrate how refugee youth in a sport club in the United States experience SOC, and the impact of that SOC. Results suggest practical implications for sport managers who wish to provide positive sport experiences for youth refugees.
ContributorsFader, Nina (Author) / Legg, Eric (Thesis advisor) / Larsen, Dale (Committee member) / Klimek, Barbara (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Sense of Community is related to numerous positive outcomes for university students. The purpose of this study was to explore sense of community amongst low income students who received a last dollar scholarship. This study also sought to understand how students define community and how they interact with communities from their past (before university), present (since they started college), and how they envision their future community involvement after graduation. Through purposive sampling, six low income Arizona State University students were selected based on similar characteristics. The scholarship that they belong to selects them based on financial need, integrity, and prolonged commitment to community service. Using a qualitative narrative inquiry, I interviewed participants about their understanding and experiences with communities. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim for analysis. Based on the analysis, I identified three major themes: community as construction, community as nonlinear, and community as intersectional. Drawing from participants' definitions and experiences of community, I argue that community is a construction. In other words, individuals create their own constructions of community, and their actions vary based on that construction. Participants also experience their communities intersectionally, that is individual's experience their communities as coexisting and through multiple community perspectives, rather than as a single stand-alone entity. Finally, community does not exist as part of a linear time paradigm. Instead community is experienced in terms of relevance to the individual in creating meaning from that community. In addition to the above themes, I also examined participant perspectives of ASU as a community. Based on this research, I recommend that a platform be provided for students to engage in a dialogue about their understanding of community and interactions with communities. Moreover, I suggest researchers utilize intersectionality, constructionism, and non-linear time to frame future research on sense of community. This research is significant because it helps us understand student engagement, and offers a framework through which universities can provide students an opportunity to better understand their own sense of community.
ContributorsWhite, Misha Alexsandra (Author) / Foroughi-Mobarakeh, Behrang (Thesis director) / Legg, Walter Eric (Committee member) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05