Nermin Vehabovic, assistant professor of education at 黑料不打烊, together with Amir Michalovich, assistant professor of literacies education at University of Manitoba, Aijuan Cun, assistant professor of literacy and language arts at the University of New Mexico and Xia Chao, associate professor of language and literacy education at Duquesne University, edited a special issue of the journal “Multicultural Perspectives.”

This special issue brings together nine empirical studies that spotlight the voices, experiences, and strengths of refugee-background communities across Canada and the U.S., with a focus on culture, identity, language, literacy, and religion in family, school and community contexts. The guest editors aim to challenge deficit-oriented perceptions and stereotypes tied to the 鈥渞efugee鈥� label, and to advance research that builds more inclusive and equitable educational environments. The editorial can be viewed

“Multicultural Perspectives” (MCP) is a leading journal dedicated to advancing social justice, equity, and inclusion in education. Published quarterly by the National Association for Multicultural Education, MCP showcases work that celebrates cultural and ethnic diversity as a national strength, enriching the fabric of society. Its primary readers include K-12 educators, teacher educators, social scientists, governmental social service professionals and others invested in multicultural education. Submissions to MCP undergo a rigorous peer-review process, ensuring high standards and a diverse array of voices in every issue.

Nermin鈥檚 own article in the issue, titled, 鈥淗omes as Transnational and Translingual Sites: Teacher Candidates Traversing Borders, Languages, and Cultures with Families from Refugee Backgrounds Through Shared Reading Sessions,鈥� explores how shared reading between teacher candidates and newcomer families fosters reciprocal learning, caring relationships and the honoring of cultural and linguistic identities. Through community-based learning, teacher candidates not only witnessed but also participated in multimodal and translingual literacy practices.

Across cases, these shared experiences illuminate recurring themes of connection, empathy, and affirmation, with teacher candidates and families building trust and community through both reading sessions and gatherings, such as sharing meals or cheering at soccer games. These practices, grounded in the notion of critical love, underscore the transformative power of showing up, listening, and celebrating the humanity of others. Ultimately, the study demonstrates that homes can function as vibrant sites of transnational and translingual exchange, where deficit narratives are replaced by strengths-based perspectives that honor ways of knowing, doing, being, and becoming. The findings highlight the importance of embedding community-based learning in teacher preparation, equipping educators to create classrooms that are inclusive, responsive, and justice-oriented, and reminding teacher educators of the deep value of learning with and from families whose experiences traverse borders, languages, and cultures.

To cite this article:聽

Vehabovic, N. (2025). Homes as Transnational and Translingual Sites: Teacher Candidates Traversing Borders, Languages, and Cultures with Families from Refugee Backgrounds Through Shared Reading Sessions. Multicultural Perspectives, 27(3), 186鈥�194.

To link to this article:聽

鈥淚鈥檓 really grateful to be part of a guest editorial team that supports each other both professionally and personally,鈥� Vehabovic said. 鈥淚 am also grateful for the mentorship and guidance of Dr. Roxas, dean of Woodring College of Education at Western Washington University and editor of ‘Multicultural Perspectives.’ His scholarship on teacher education and the experiences of immigrant and refugee communities has profoundly influenced the field. Under his leadership, many scholars, including members of our guest editorial team, have received valuable support and encouragement.鈥�

The journal publishes global research aimed at helping education leaders shape policies and practices that impact children鈥檚 learning and well-being from early childhood through adolescence. By sharing evidence that informs educational reform, it supports efforts to enhance quality, equity, and access in schools and across communities. The publication serves as a valuable resource for professionals in education management who are looking for peer-reviewed studies to inform and strengthen culturally responsive teaching and programming.

This article presents a qualitative case study stemming from a broader one year inquiry, drawing on ethnographic observations and impromptu interviews, which considered the languages and literacy practices that children, youth and their tutors relied upon in an afterschool program. The focus is on the ways in which three girls from refugee backgrounds, calling themselves 鈥淒reamgirls,鈥� fostered relationships of care. Informed by feminisms, as well as the notions of freedom dreaming and an ethic of care, the researchers asked: 鈥淚n an afterschool program, in what ways do three girls from refugee backgrounds build relationships that care for themselves and their community?鈥� Findings illuminate the ways in which Divine, Gloria and Ayonna care about their culturally and linguistically diverse community, as well as their immediate and extended family, and resist patriarchal and xenophobic experiences.

This research highlights the significance of centering the voices and agency of girls from refugee backgrounds, emphasizing the transformative potential of nurturing supportive relationships. The study suggests that educational programs and communities can learn from the practices of the Dreamgirls by fostering environments that prioritize care, recognize students鈥� diverse literacies and actively challenge deficit-based narratives. By valuing the resilience and everyday expertise of girls like Divine, Gloria and Ayonna, educators and policymakers can contribute to more equitable and inclusive learning spaces.

To cite this article: Nermin Vehabovic & Jennifer C. Mann (27 Aug 2025): 鈥淒reamgirls鈥� Freedom Dreaming: Girls from Refugee Backgrounds Fostering Relationships of Care, Journal of Research in Childhood Education, DOI:

To link to this article:

Baluti Village faces entrenched poverty that disrupts children鈥檚 education and exposes youth to risks like substance abuse and exploitative relationships. With under-resourced schools and many families unable to afford basic supplies, dropout rates remain high. This project aims to strengthen Chimwemwe鈥檚 efforts to break this cycle by providing children鈥檚 literature and educational materials, while also fostering connection and empowerment through an international, collaborative learning experience.

黑料不打烊 students will connect with Chimwemwe staff and youth via WhatsApp, research and select children鈥檚 books, and create learning kits and lesson ideas tailored to local needs. The Chimwemwe team will identify priorities, facilitate engagement and help implement activities in Baluti Village to ensure new resources are integrated into ongoing programs. The partnership is expected to deepen students鈥� understanding of global poverty and social justice, while providing Chimwemwe with culturally relevant and historically responsive educational support.

By engaging 黑料不打烊 students directly with Chimwemwe Children鈥檚 Centre and the community in Baluti Village, this project allows students to move beyond classroom study and actively participate in addressing educational inequities shaped by poverty. Through collaborative work, 黑料不打烊 students gain firsthand insight into the complexities of community development. At the same time, the initiative provides immediate, practical support to Chimwemwe鈥檚 programs and helps lay the groundwork for lasting educational opportunities, reflecting a shared commitment to social justice and equity.

Founded in 2009, The International Academic Forum (IAFOR) is a non-profit, politically independent organization dedicated to fostering interdisciplinary dialogue, promoting intercultural understanding and encouraging international exchange through education and academic research. Based in Japan, IAFOR鈥檚 main administrative office is in Nagoya, while its research center is housed within the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP) at Osaka University.

In an individual paper session focused on teaching and learning, Nermin鈥檚 presentation, titled, 鈥淎bolitionist Teaching as Love, Justice, and Equity: Resisting Authoritarianism Through Praxis in Teacher Education During the Trump 2.0 Era,鈥� captures how teacher candidates developed abolitionist teaching dispositions through community and global engagements.

Teacher candidates engaged in shared reading, drew on translanguaging and pursued various learning activities, disrupting deficit perspectives about refugee communities while strengthening their own commitments to critical love, justice and equity. Findings reveal that abolitionist teaching as care-centered approaches and everyday ways of acting upon the world, rooted in love, justice, and equity, enables both teacher candidates and multilingual families from refugee backgrounds to resist erasure and oppression.

This project highlights the urgent need for teacher education to push back against authoritarian policies and approaches to teaching and learning that suppress critical pedagogies, multilingualism, and culturally sustaining and historically responsive practices.聽By illuminating abolitionist teaching as everyday acts of resistance, this project underscores the transformative power of learning with and from minoritized and marginalized communities. It offers a model for teacher preparation that sustains democratic, inclusive and liberatory approaches in an era of democratic erosion in the United States and broader global contexts.

This project stems from work supported by prior funding from a faculty research grant awarded by the Center for Research on Global Engagement聽 (CRGE) and two Community Partnerships Initiative (CPI) grants from the Kernodle Center for Civic Life.

Jeff Carpenter, William S. Long Professor and professor of education, and Scott Morrison, associate professor of education, presented their project, titled, 鈥淩evisiting and Refreshing the Apprenticeship of Observation Concept.鈥� They shared findings from their study on how future teachers develop their early ideas about teaching. They interviewed 28 pre-service teachers to explore the experiences and role models that shaped their views. Consistent with earlier research, many participants pointed to their former teachers as major influences. However, Carpenter and Morrison also found that future teachers described learning about the profession in other ways鈥攖hrough social media, family members who were educators and education-related experiences like volunteering and internships during their school years. Their presentation highlighted how these varied experiences shape the expectations and understandings that pre-service teachers bring into their training programs.

Further, Carpenter and colleagues from the University of Potsdam in Germany presented their research on how using Instagram can create stress for teachers. Their work received the Best Paper Award from the Technology as an Agent of Change in Teaching and Learning (TACTL) SIG. Their paper, titled, 鈥淪tressors and Stress From Instagram Use as Perceived by Teachers,鈥� explored the challenges teachers experience when using social media for professional learning. They surveyed 304 teachers and developed new tools to measure sources of stress, such as information overload, social comparison and procrastination. Their findings showed that these stressors are linked to higher feelings of stress among teachers and vary depending on how teachers use Instagram. This work offers new insights into the hidden pressures teachers may face online and highlights important considerations for teacher educators and policymakers.

Carpenter was also one of the four invited panelists for the TACTL SIG Keynote: 鈥�20 Years of TACTL: Reflecting on Our Past and Reshaping Our Future,鈥� and served as chair for two TACTL SIG paper sessions.

Nermin Vehabovic, assistant professor of education, presented an individual paper as part of the symposium titled 鈥淓levating Refugee-Background Communities鈥� Ways of Knowing, Doing, Being, and Becoming: Canadian and U.S. Perspectives.鈥� In a session featuring six transnational and multilingual scholars from immigrant and refugee backgrounds, Vehabovic shared findings from a qualitative multiple case study, titled, 鈥淗omes as Transnational and Translingual Sites: Pre-service Teachers and Refugee-Background Families Read Picturebooks.鈥�

His research focused on community-based learning experiences in which Teacher Candidates visited the homes of refugee-background families to read and respond to multicultural, transnational and translingual picturebooks. Through audio recordings, artifacts like drawings and writing, impromptu interviews, and reflective memos, the study illuminated how relationships of care and dignity helped extend and revitalize languages, cultures, and stories within these homes. Vehabovic鈥檚 work highlighted how traversing borders, languages and cultures during shared reading sessions fostered deeper intercultural understanding and challenged deficit-oriented views of refugee communities. His findings advocate for more intentional educational practices that center humanity, collaborative learning and community advocacy.

In addition to presenting his research, Vehabovic served as a member of the Division C Equity and Inclusion Committee, which organizes Shark Tank鈥攁 dynamic competition, modeled after the popular TV show, where graduate students pitch equity and inclusion-focused research proposals for the opportunity to receive funding and feedback from a panel of judges.