Nesreen ElkordNesreen Elkord, a PhD student in education, is looking at how Canadian schools can ease the integration of Arab immigrants.

Student investigating educational integration of Arab immigrants

High school can be scary, confusing and emotional. But for a newcomer to Canada, that experience can be intensified when it’s accompanied by a language barrier and foreign culture.

Nesreen Elkord understands this better than most.

At the age of 15, she moved with her family from the United Arab Emirates to Halifax and was thrust into the Canadian education system.

“It was very challenging and difficult at times,” said Elkord, a doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Education. “It took me at least two years to be able to communicate with schoolmates and teachers within my school.”

It was this challenge that inspired her research at the University of Windsor into Arab immigrants’ perception of their high school experience.

The study focused on bridging the gaps in communicating cultural and educational values between Arab immigrants and the Canadian school community. Elkord followed seven students between the ages of 14 to 19 who arrived in Canada from seven different Arab countries.

“Imagine yourself being in a classroom where you don’t know the language being spoken around you, you are being introduced to new people, new culture, and new schooling system after you have left everything that’s familiar to you,” Elkord said. “It takes a lot of courage for these students to come out of their shells to adjust socially, and a lot of effort to become successful academically.”

And it’s an issue Elkord said is becoming more significant by the day.

According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, immigration rates in Canada have soared from 89,377 immigrants in 1983 to 260,404 in 2014. Citizenship and Immigration Canada also reported that one in every five refugees to Canada between 2008 and 2012 arrived from an Arab country.

“Given the influx of newcomer Syrian refugees in Canada over the past year or so, understanding the backgrounds, life circumstances, values, and traditions such newcomer youth bring into Canadian culture becomes a necessity,” Elkord said, adding it can be even more challenging for refugee students.

“Refugee families are forced to escape, while immigrant families choose to emigrate, which can affect the presence of all family members at time of immigration and preparedness for the move.”

Elkord said the issue of appropriate supports in the education system is heightened for her as a mother. The 37-year-old has a 16-year-old in high school, a 13-year-old in Grade 8 and an eight-year-old in Grade 2.

“Even though all my children were born here, they still face many of the same challenges,” she said.

There are a number of programs currently in place in Ontario to assist with integrating newcomer students into the classroom, but Elkord said there is still room for improvement.

She said educators could make high school more welcoming to Arab newcomer students by providing more culturally responsive learning environments. She said supporting Arab students’ social integration, while taking into consideration their “cultural traditions and restrictions related to their religious affiliations,” can augment the focus on their academic achievement and English language acquisition.

Another challenge Elkord discovered is that many newcomer students are hesitant to voice their concerns out of appearing ungrateful.

“They often feel a sense of shyness to even talk about the challenges they are experiencing because they feel that Canada has done so much for them,” Elkord said. “The whole reason we are even looking at the Canadian education system is to look at ways to make these newcomers better Canadian citizens.”

Elkord recently joined the Windsor-Essex Local Immigration Partnership, where she hopes to take the knowledge gained from her research and apply it to the partnership’s initiatives focusing on youth and immigrant students.

“I hope that insights from this study can help improve the teaching practices and societal relations and make a difference to these students,” she said.

Rita Issa holding coffeeForensics student Rita Issa picked up a free coffee and cookie courtesy of the Leddy Library staff as she studied for exams Thursday.

Library patrons enjoy gesture of appreciation

Receiving a free coffee and cookie Thursday in the Leddy Library helped Alyssa Calamita wake up for her pending exam.

“It’s a nice pick-me-up first thing in the morning,” said the fourth-year languages student as she entered the library’s lobby.

Leddy staff distributed hundreds of servings to patrons Wednesday and Thursday, hoping to alleviate the stress of final examinations and assignments. Proceeds of the library’s used book sale offset the expense of the Student Appreciation Day freebies.

First-year forensic sciences major Rita Issa said she was grateful for the gesture.

“I think it’s kind. They know what we’re going through,” she said as she selected a chocolate chip cookie — her favourite. “I appreciate what they do for us all the time.”

The display also featured a variety of binders free for the taking.

“We’re just passing them along for any student who might need one,” said Yvonne Arnowitz, executive assistant to the university librarian. “They’re perfectly good, but when we re-organized some offices, found them surplus to our needs. If students can use them, all the better.”

A new wellness campaign encourages UWindsor employees to “Take Charge of Stress.”

Wellness campaign aimed at taking charge of stress

More than a quarter of Canadian workers between the ages of 20 and 64 years describe their lives most days as stressful, according to a 2010 survey by Statistics Canada.

Now the Workplace Wellness Committee and the Department of Human Resources are launching a campaign encouraging UWindsor employees to “Take Charge of Stress.”

Lorraine Grondin, assistant to the dean of engineering and a member of the Workplace Wellness Committee, says

“Health Canada and other experts agree that being aware of and taking care of our mental health is as important as taking care of our physical well-being,” she says. “This starts with understanding stress, what causes each of us stress, and how to identify the signs that may tell us we are under too much stress.”

The campaign website offers information sheets designed to increase awareness of stress, explain sources of techno-stress, detail the health impacts and provide stress coping strategies. The site also connects employees to online tools which enable employees to assess their own level of stress and outlines a process for introducing stress coping strategies.

Visit the “Take Charge of Stress” website at www.uwindsor.ca/takecharge.

Mirella Ntahonsigaye buying coffeeMirella Ntahonsigaye, a master’s student of communications and social justice, makes a purchase from the Dividends outlet in the Odette Building.

Food outlets alter operating hours

Campus food service outlets are shifting their schedules this week to meet patron needs during exams. Find the most current hours at uwindsor.ca/food/.

Monday, to Friday, April 17 to 21

  • Crocodile Grill, Vanier Hall, 7:45 to 11 a.m. and 7 to 11 p.m. (5 to 11 p.m. Sunday)
  • Marketplace, CAW Student Centre, 8 a.m. to midnight
  • Tim Hortons, CAW Student Centre, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (closed Friday)
  • Brown Gold Café, Leddy Library, 9:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. (9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday)
  • Dividends, Odette Building, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (closed Friday)
  • Tim Hortons Express, Centre for Engineering Innovation, 8 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. (to 2 p.m. Friday)
  • Bru Alumni, 5 to 11 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday, April 22 and 23

  • Crocodile Grill, 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 5 to 11 p.m.
  • Marketplace, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (to 5 p.m. Sunday)
  • Brown Gold Café, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (closed Sunday)
  • Bru Alumni, 5 to 11 p.m.

The Bru outlet in the Toldo Health Education Centre is closed until September.