Ukrainian youth researchers collaborate in multi-site refugee program

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A multilateral team consisting of Penn State, Leibniz University (Hannover, Germany), Galway University (Galway, Ireland), and Maria Grzegorzewska University (Warsaw, Poland) is currently conducting a multi-site study with Ukrainian Refugee Youth.

The study, taking place in Warsaw, Hannover and Galway is led by Penn State doctoral candidate Jamison Malcolm, UNESCO Research Fellow in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology and Education in the College of Agricultural Sciences. The collaborating institutions are also working with St. Barnabas Church Ukrainian Youth Organization in London, England. 

The program is based around a Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) curriculum called “Youth As Researchers (YAR).” In these programs, the youth lead all aspects of research from the beginning — including deciding what to research. Youth As Researchers was first developed by researchers at the University of Galway and at Penn State. YAR is a graduate-level, mixed methods research course distilled down to be accessible for young people (ages 14-25).

The youth participants choose a research topic of interest to them — usually something about their personal lived experiences within their communities. They then decide on the research purpose (influencing policy or practice), research methods and how best to disseminate their findings. Usually, the outcome is a documentary style video that can be distributed on social media and YouTube. 

The youth researchers in the program have chosen topics around the following ideas:

• Ukrainian refugee integration in Lower Saxony, Germany
• Educational and workforce development opportunities for Ukrainians outside of Ukraine
• Government corruption in Ukraine and efforts for reform
• The development of empathy between refugee and host communities in England 

In addition to the youth-led research topics, Malcolm is looking at the following topics in his own research:

• "The 6 C's of Positive Youth Development (PYD): Connection, Confidence, Caring, Character, Competence and Contribution"
• Empathy outcomes
• Compassion outcomes 

“This entire project has been the opportunity of a lifetime. It has been a profound privilege to work with such resilient young people, many of whom have gone through very traumatic situations because of the ongoing war in Ukraine,” said Malcolm. “Rather than becoming fatalistic or embittered, they have decided to become change agents in their communities. Many of them aspire to return to their home to rebuild their country after the war is over.”

Researchers from Penn State’s partner universities shared Malcolm’s sentiments.

“The project was a unique opportunity for young people from Ukraine who found shelter in Germany to find their peers with similar interests, explore and plan together,” said Nataliya Butych, a professor at Leibniz University of Hannover and a Ukrainian by origin.

“When we began the YAR project at Leibniz University, I wasn’t sure what to expect. How would the youth participants respond to it? Would their engagement be sustained? Would they get out of it what we hoped?” said Stephen Sechrist from the International Office at Leibniz University. “At the kickoff meeting, [Malcolm] explained the program and goals to an eager audience and invited them to brainstorm topics they would like to explore deeper. What followed was magical. His invitation sparked a lively discussion as the youth came forward with various ideas for research topics, some early in development, some well-developed. Small groups started to form around select topics and the project began to take a life of its own.”

Malcolm worked with the partner institutions in Warsaw, Hannover, and London to recruit Ukrainian youth for the project, train them through multiple in-person and virtual workshops, and facilitate youth-led decision making at every stage.

Feedback from the researchers has been very positive.

“I find this project really helpful because, me, on my own, I wanted to conduct research, but now I have more resources and I have professional help from people who actually know what they’re doing,” said one participant. Another participant is quoted as saying, “In this project we can change our minds and our opinions, which will be helpful for our lives.”

This project is just one of many impactful, ongoing partnership activities undertaken by Penn State, said Alexandra Persiko, interim director for Global Partnerships.

“Our office has strong, developing partnerships with the University of Galway and Leibniz in Germany,” Persiko said. “When Malcolm approached us about an additional partner university in Europe, we felt that Leibniz would be a perfect collaborator in this truly fascinating study.  We are grateful to him, and to our partner institutions, for engaging Ukrainian youth and addressing issues that have a very real impact.”

The youth researchers from all three sites have now been invited to UNESCO HQ in Paris for a commemorative event marking the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The event will include a Youth Research symposium where the youth researchers will present the findings of their studies to stakeholders and UNESCO delegates from all over the world.

The team is currently seeking sponsors who can help cover the cost of the youth to travel and participate. For more information on the program, or to become a sponsor, contact Jamison Malcom at jjm6100@psu.edu.