The Transformative Role of Higher Education in Empowering Rohingya Refugee Youth Across Educational Contexts: Pathways to Sustainable Futures

Abstract

Background: Higher education is widely recognized as an important pathway to empowerment, leadership, and sustainable development. However, Rohingya refugee youth continue to face significant barriers to accessing higher education because of the displacement, limited educational opportunities, financial hardship, and restrictive policies. Although a small number of Rohingya youth have accessed higher education in Bangladesh and abroad, little research has explored how these experiences have transformed their lives. Aim: This study aimed to explore how higher education shapes the personal empowerment, identity reconstruction, leadership, and sustainable community-oriented aspirations of Rohingya refugee youth across diverse educational contexts. Methods: A qualitative study using a narrative inquiry approach was conducted among 30 Rohingya refugee youth who were studying or had completed higher education across educational contexts. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted in English and Rohingya and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: The findings showed that higher education played a transformative role in participants' lives by strengthening their confidence, independence, critical thinking, leadership, and sense of identity. Participants viewed higher education as a pathway to overcoming the limitations of displacement while creating opportunities to contribute to their community through education, advocacy, research, and humanitarian work. However, they also experienced multiple challenges, including documentation barriers, financial hardship, language barriers, limited educational opportunities, mobility restrictions, and family responsibilities. Conclusion: Higher education is more than obtaining a university degree for Rohingya refugee youth; it is a pathway to personal empowerment, identity reconstruction, leadership development, and sustainable futures.