Daily life and school engagement: An empirical study privileging the first-person perspectives of unaccompanied asylum-seeking adolescents in a Danish context

Abstract

Drawing on the tradition of the Danish–German school of critical psychology, this empirical study discusses seven unaccompanied asylum-seeking adolescents’ experiences of the process of applying for asylum in Denmark. By privileging the first-person perspectives of the adolescents, the authors explore the conduct of their everyday lives at the asylum centre and at school. The project’s findings emphasise the societal, political, social and spatial conditions that contribute to the lack of meaningfulness the adolescents experienced regarding their engagement in schooling. In conclusion, the authors reflect on the potential in privileging the first-person perspective in social pedagogical work.