Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors should be congratulated for very important research in the area of exploring issues and potential solutions pertaining to refugee/migrant students through a participatory action research mentorship program. Extensive and up-to-date literature has been referenced, and the project appears to have generated transformative experiences and insights for the participants. The article could have been enriched by the participants voices in relation to the process and its transformative nature. For example, the results from the focus group assessment could have been integrated with the questions in paragraph 342-350. Giving prominence to the participants voices lies at the heart of the Participatory Action Research (PAR). It might also be helpful to the reader to appendix the scale questionnaire. It might be useful to explore the positive aspects participants seeking assistance with homework considering that the power relations in a classroom may make the teacher less accessible. Was there something about the mentorship program that made these teachers more accessible? It an unexpected spin off whose pros and cons are worth exploring. Overall, this is a brilliant project in terms of integration and belonging of refugee/migrant students in schools.

Author Response

Thank you for the comments and suggestions, which we have included in the paper. They helped improve our argument and main goal. 

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Mentorship in a school: a co-creation program to give voice to migrant children

This manuscript is a really important contribution to the discourse on the educational integration of refugee and migrant children, documenting the NEW ABC programme co-constructed with children through PAR in one Portuguese school.

It discusses peer mentoring relationships between Portuguese and long-settled students and migrant and refugee youths, organising collective events, and conducting training sessions.

At the outset, there is a useful discussion on definitions and understandings of migrant and refugee and its complexity. It would be helpful to reference the source for the following:

‘migrants are individuals who relocate to improve economic conditions, pursue education, or advance their careers’

This sentence below also needs a citation:

Schools and educators in Portugal recognise and appreciate the linguistic and cultural capital of student migrants and refugees, valuing their composite and plural identities.

 

A more detailed theoretical positioning drawing on the key theories mentioned in the discussion -acculturation and bidirectional integration - should be fore fronted in the manuscript.

More discussion on the concept of mentoring, peer mentoring more specifically, and the literature in this space is essential for framing this manuscript.

The project is described as utilising a co-creation approach, however, it is not entirely clear how that process worked specifically. Subsequent, to the focus groups how were materials co-developed with the young people? It is mentioned that the students helped in refining the pilot actions and had significant involvement in intercultural week. How many students were involved in the programme? How were they selected? Detail re their specific contributions are necessary here given the claims re co-creation.

In practical terms how did the mentoring relationship work. How many mentors and mentees were involved? How were students matched? How often did they meet?  

 

Discrimination is mentioned briefly. This is something that emerges in much of the research on migrant and refugee children’s experiences in schools and there is an opportunity here to elaborate.  How was this encountered by the young people and how was it managed through the programme.

The need for academic tutoring emerged through the mentoring programme and is presented as a misunderstanding by mentees of the mentoring relationship. But this presents an opportunity to respond to the academic needs of the refugee and migrant students …

Phrasing in places needs attention e.g. ‘to our end of knowledge’.

Overall, this is a very compelling argument for the introduction of peer mentoring and with attention to the feedback will make for a strong manuscript.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Thank you for the comments. We have carefully revised our paper to include your suggestions, which greatly improved the paper. 

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The contribution is very well and clearly written. It discusses current studies, introduces the program, and then presents the results of its own study. A central goal was to give a voice to students with a migration background and refugee students. At this point, I would recommend incorporating more voices/statements from students with a migration background and refugee students in the presentation of the results. Overall, it is a very good contribution.

Author Response

Thank you for the positive feedback and comments. We have included more statements from the participants, to give them voice, as the methodology requires.