This paper offers a review of the research literature on the experiences of young children and their families who left Syria as refugees and resettled in Canada. We identify five key factors that influence Syrian refugees’ experience of social inclusion within the context of the public-school systems as well as unveil the silences in and across the current studies. The five factors are pre-arrival experiences, mental health, social supports, acquisition of English language skills, and lack of preparedness of teachers and schools. Based on limited availability of research, we outline needed research to better understand social inclusion of Syrian refugee families with young children in Canada. There is a call to pay particular attention to their educational and social encounters.

In this article, we explore the ideas of thinking with perplexity. We draw on Addams (1902) understanding of perplexity that is interwoven with ethics. Through turning toward a research study alongside teachers who engage with refugee students in a Canadian kindergarten classroom, we make visible how a turn toward perplexity disrupts our taken for granted knowing and holds open the possibilities for growth. Drawing on field texts, conversations, and reflective notes, we compose story fragments to unpack our understandings of perplexities.