Educational Continuity, Resiliency, and Allyship: Virtually Supporting Internally Displaced Ukrainian Students

Introduction: This study examined virtual supports for internally displaced persons (IDP), Ukrainian students, through a Peace Corps Virtual Service Project (VSP) through three interconnected autoethnographies. The first researcher, a Ukrainian NGO Project Coordinator and Board Chairperson, detailed her autoethnography in-country VSP leadership. The second autoethnography detailed a U.S. researcher’s Ukrainian VSP experiences with virtual teaching an IDP English and Resiliency Club, which involved ongoing synchronous Zoom and asynchronous Telegram interactions. It addressed Peace Corps goals to help (1) countries interested in meeting their need for trained people, and (2) promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served. The third autoethnography from a U.S. student researcher transitioning from the military into doctoral studies, highlighted the Peace Corps goal to promote better understandings of other peoples on the part of Americans. He examined experiences with an extra-credit activity for U.S. students to support IDPs through art. He created drawings with his children for the Telegram site, which involved familial talks about the war in Ukraine.

Goals/Methods:  This study engaged multimodal autoethnographic methods to answer the research question: How did virtual engagements help position allyship with Ukrainian students? Data sources included peer collaborations, Zoom classes, Telegram interactions, drawings, reflective journals, and poetry.

Results/Conclusions: Prior service helped to increase capacity for U.S./Ukrainian allyship. Virtual involvement deepened empathy, respect, and commitments between U.S./Ukrainian researchers. Ukrainian outcomes from this research included creation and development of (1) inclusive space for children and youth with disabilities who suffered in the war; (2) the latest educational and psychological approach in crisis conditions; (3) development of cooperation and communication between educators of Ukraine and the US with the help of modern Internet technologies though  Peace Corps VSP involvement.