Identity, Positionality, and Peer Social Networks: A Case Study of an Adolescent Refugee Background Student

This study aims at better understanding how an Iraqi refugee-background English learner (Fawzi) is positioned by his teacher and his peers, and how he positions himself as a member of a culturally and linguistically diverse American classroom. For that purpose, we adopt a mixed-methods approach to analyze qualitative field notes and interview data in addition to complementary quantitative peer social network data. Findings suggest that while Fawzi's teacher believes that he is an isolated "typical Iraqi man" who prefers to work alone, the social network analysis, field notes, and interviews suggest a more complex picture of his social relations and positionality that gradually shifts from the periphery of the classroom to a more central position throughout the academic year.