The multilayered character of newcomers’ academic identities: Somali female high‐school students in a US school

Drawing from the findings of a qualitative study with female refugee high school students from Somalia in the US, this paper attempts to provide a window to understanding the multilayered character of newcomer students’ academic identity construction. The students’ micro‐level processes of creating spaces for belonging at school are linked to their macro‐level extra‐educational connections at the societal and global levels. The framework presented attempts to sensitise educators to increase their attention to the global‐socio‐cultural contexts of education and strive to create spaces within schools for the recognition and facilitation of students’ complex identities.