“Language Alludes to Everything”: A Pilot Study on Front-Line Worker Experience with Newcomer Integration (2021)

What is this research about?

This study explored the perceptions that front-line workers hold regarding needs and experiences of newcomers settling in Calgary, to understand how systems that serve newcomers perceive, make sense of, and contribute to these experiences.

What did the researchers find?

The findings highlighted:

• front-line workers perception of their newcomer clients’ identity in connection to language
• newcomers' emotional burden and sense of belonging
• the challenges clients faced balancing everyday commitments
• front-line worker’s own role in cultural brokerage for newcomers

"This study considered the practice and values of the front-line staff working in agencies that served newcomers. This has not been widely focused on in the current literature. It was the staff members’ interpretation of the newcomer experience that impacted the services in which they managed and made decisions in to attempt to create an even more successful sense of integration for newcomers. This ongoing shift in reflection to practice furthered the need to consider and assess the knowledge translation within the social systems in which newcomers are active. Moreover, this research shed light on the complexity of elements that are at play in language acquisition within newcomer services. By uncovering front-line workers’ views regarding the current development of strategies, it may be possible to explore longer and shorter-term interventions that support the process of integration for both the service provider and the client. Finally, further research to explore the impact front-line workers and systems have on newcomers’ successful integration is indicated."