Adding the information literacy perspective to refugee integration research discourse: a scoping literature review

Eskola, Eeva-Liisa; Khan, Khadijah Saeed; Widén, Gunilla

doi:10.47989/irisic2009

Cited by 4 publications

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“…, 2021; Hick and Lloyd, 2006). Thus, information literacy can help to reduce the significant cultural barriers and facilitate the integration process by encouraging learning new ways of knowing in a new society (Eskola et al. , 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They needed more support to develop everyday information literacy according to the Scottish sociocultural context, for example, how to make a doctor's appointment with the GP rather than going directly to the hospital and how the local recycling housing system works. Thus, the literature suggests that information literacy is an important facilitator to integration (Eskola et al, 2020) and lack of information literacy can lead to various information problems for refugees to better integrate into a host country (Bradley et al, 2020).…”

Section: Lack Of Information Literacymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If they learn digital literacy skills according to the new sociocultural environment, they might be better able to deal with the problem of information overload (Kainat et al, 2021;Hick and Lloyd, 2006). Thus, information literacy can help to reduce the significant cultural barriers and facilitate the integration process by encouraging learning new ways of knowing in a new society (Eskola et al, 2020). Similarly, if they expand their social network from their own family to other local people, they can solve the problem of small-world and information poverty (Chatman, 1991) which will encourage societal integration better.…”

Section: The Role Of Information In Societal Integrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sociocultural barriers to information and integration of women refugees

Kainat

Eskola

Widén

2021

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PurposeThis study focuses on specifically women refugees' experiences of accessing information and how sociocultural barriers impact these experiences aiming to broaden the LIS literature of women refugees' information problems from sociocultural aspects. The socioculturally formed roles of a woman can impact the information practices of women refugees or cause certain information problems during the integration process. Hence, the research questions that drive this study are: What kind of information problems might women refugees face in a new host country? What kind of sociocultural barriers influence their information problems? How do they react toward these information problems?Design/methodology/approachThe study is designed based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with eighteen refugee women living in Sweden. The study is a part of a larger study in which authors intend to explore the information practices and integration challenges of almost 20 or more refugee women living in Sweden.FindingsWomen refugees face information overload, difficulties in understanding new communication culture and lack of appropriate sources and networks in a new country. These information problems are influenced by sociocultural barriers such as the role of women, national culture of “collectivism”, small-world and lack of information literacy. Women react in certain ways such as, stressing, panicking, quitting the tasks, wasting time and making wrong decisions which negatively impact the integration process.Research limitations/implicationsThe research has its limitations as it is conducted with a small group of women refugees, belong to specific Middle Eastern culture and cannot be generalized. Another limitation is that the interviews are conducted in English language (with sufficient language skill). However, conducting interviews in their mother language would have been an advantage.Practical implicationsPractically, the study provides awareness for official and private organizations, volunteers and policymakers dealing with refugees. The stakeholders involved in the societal integration process of refugees, must consider that women refugees are more prone to information problems due to certain sociocultural influences (i.e. “being a woman” and national culture) and need a separate plan than the male refugees. For instance, by increasing and offering intercultural opportunities at workplaces or schools can encourage the wider social networking for women refugees. The programs aiming to reduce the sociocultural differences among women refugees and the Swedes are needed to be included in the integration policy.Social implicationsThe study intends to help the refugees society and the Swedish society overall by improving the integration plan.Originality/valueThe findings related to the information experiences of women refugees have potential implications for research where the value of information in the integration process is explored. The study meets the gap in previous literature by presenting the gender specific views on information problems from sociocultural aspects. The study also provides future directions to understand how women refugees deal with potential sociocultural barriers to information in a new country.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Lack Of Information Literacymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Role Of Information In Societal Integrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sociocultural barriers to information and integration of women refugees

Kainat

Eskola

Widén

2021

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“…The framework consists of four levels, each entailing a set of domains (Figure 2). The refugee integration framework provides a conceptual basis for unifying, organizing, and understanding the positive and negative ways digital skills affect multiple aspects of refugees' lives in resettlement (Alencar, 2018;Eskola et al, 2020). The framework consists of four levels, each entailing a set of domains (Figure 2).…”

Section: Background: Digital Skills In Refugee Integrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This foundation represents the social contract between refugees and their host societies, constituting mutual expectations and obligations of integration. At this level, technology is valuable as a source of information about rights and responsibilities in the host society and a means of promoting the right to freedom of expression (Alencar, 2020;Bouffet, 2020;Eskola, 2020;Orrnert, 2020). However, there are rights-based concerns related to refugees' agency in producing and consuming digital content.…”

Section: Background: Digital Skills In Refugee Integrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of Digital Skills in Refugee Integration

Potocky

2022

IJIDI

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Two concurrent 21st-century phenomena—the nearly unprecedented number of forced migrants and the near ubiquity of information and communications technology—have given rise to increased scholarship in “digital migration studies.” One area of investigation in this emergent interdisciplinary field is the role of digital skills in refugee integration. Given the accelerated global reliance on technology resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the author conducted a state-of-the-art literature review to identify emerging issues and highlight research needs in this area. A search of 10 databases yielded 39 studies spanning the major resettlement regions (North America, Western Europe, Oceania), and including refugees from across the globe. The inclusion criteria were studies focused on refugees’ practical use of digital technology in integration, published from January 2020-April 2021. Exclusion criteria were studies on refugees in transit or protracted displacement, digital connectivity and accessibility, use of digital technology by humanitarian actors, software development, analyses of digital representations of refugees, public attitudes toward refugees as expressed in digital media, and literature reviews. Ndofor-Tah et al.’s (2019) Refugee Integration Framework was used to organize and synthesize the findings. The studies demonstrated how digital skills affect all domains of integration. Additionally, the studies confirm that many refugees in resettlement have limited digital skills for necessary integration tasks, such as navigating websites and assessing the credibility of online information. Limitations of this state-of-the-art review include its cross-sectional nature, having only one reviewer, and only published literature accessible online through public websites or subscription databases. An important emerging issue for future research is assessing, teaching, and learning digital skills among this population. The study's contributions to the knowledge base and theory, and its implications for information science scholars and practitioners and those in allied disciplines within digital migration studies, are discussed.

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Social inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers: The role of public libraries in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area

Serra

Revez

2023

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science

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Social inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers includes addressing their information needs. This research seeks to examine the role of public libraries in this process through the analysis of public librarians’ perceptions. Based on the constructivist paradigm, the case study method, and the semi-directive interview survey technique, 16 public municipal libraries in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (Portugal) are studied. The results highlight that these libraries do not identify forced migrants as their users. Still, they consider that the information needs and behaviors and the use of libraries by these communities are similar to those of economic migrants, with emphasis on the relevance of free access to the internet, foreign language resources, Portuguese language and digital literacy courses, and help to interact with online platforms. The gaps include the existence of few Portuguese courses for foreigners, a limited practice in assisting with job and housing searches, promoting health literacy, and inclusive collaboration with schools, as well as space, financial, and human resources constraints. To overcome these difficulties, librarians emphasize the motivation to fulfill the inclusive social mission of the public library, the universal accessibility and informal environment of the library, and its action to promote social cohesion and social capital. The respondents consider that the mission of public libraries is adjusted to the goal of social inclusion of forced migrants, but that there is room for improvement in the training of librarians. This research points to the need for more initiative-taking public library collaboration with existing inclusion networks. In conclusion, we seek to alert to the urgency of the involvement of Portuguese public libraries in the social inclusion of forced migrants, which will also contribute to their institutional legitimization.

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Adding the information literacy perspective to refugee integration research discourse: a scoping literature review

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Sociocultural barriers to information and integration of women refugees

Sociocultural barriers to information and integration of women refugees

Role of Digital Skills in Refugee Integration

Social inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers: The role of public libraries in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area

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