The discourse of education: a longitudinal analysis of office of refugee resettlement annual reports to congress (1980–2020)

Since the passage of the 1980 Refugee Act, the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) has played a central role in shaping refugee integration policy, including the provision and prioritization of educational services. While the ORR’s emphasis on self-sufficiency – largely operationalized through rapid employment – has been examined, much less attention has been given to how education is framed within the ORR’s policy discourse. This study fills this gap by analyzing how the ORR has conceptualized the purpose, access, and value of education across the P–20 continuum, with a particular focus on postsecondary education. Drawing on 40 years (1980–2020) of the ORR Annual Reports to Congress, we adopt a quantitative ethnography approach that combines epistemic network analysis with critical textual analysis to systematically examine discursive links among key educational themes, including K–12 education, English Language Training (ELT), professional recertification, technical training, postsecondary education, and self-sufficiency. Results show little evidence that education is seen as a separate path to long-term upward mobility. Instead, ELT is usually presented as a means of achieving immediate economic independence, often sidelining postsecondary education.