Using discourse analysis focused on identity and politics, we analyze the narratives of two Congolese refugees to explore issues of access to higher education. Data for this analysis come from a larger ethnographic study of educational opportunities for refugees in one US city. The narratives that these participants tell reveal both the ways in which various institutional factors limited their access to higher education and the agentive ways in which these refugees advocated for themselves. Refugees' educational experiences and aspirations may be invisible to those in power in resettlement contexts, or those in power may question, doubt, or ignore such experiences and aspirations. As a result, various institutions act as gatekeepers to limit refugees' access to higher education.

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We present a discourse analysis of narratives from two adult Congolese refugees, focused on the influence of worldview (including cultural mindset, personal world, and perspective) on thinking about accessing higher education. We examined narrative structure (Gee 2011), subject statements, and Underhill's (2009) three elements of worldview in the narratives. Both participants held a cultural mindset that highly valued education, but their personal worlds and perspectives differed, perhaps explaining their different decisions about accessing higher education. Findings suggest implications for supporting adult refugee education, particularly their aspirations for accessing higher education.

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