Syftet med studien var att undersöka och belysa hur ensamkommande asylsökande afghanska ungdomar upplevde meningsskapande i skolkontexten, och hur de upplevde betydelsen av lärares professionella relationella kompetens för sitt meningsskapande. Metoden för insamling av data var kvalitativ semistrukturerad intervju. Respondenterna bestod av 6 elever, på det individuella programmet och årskurs 1, från en mindre gymnasieskola i en liten svensk kommun. Ungdomarna hade vid intervjutillfällena kommit olika långt i asylprocessen, men hade alla erfarenhet av att ha fått minst ett avslag på sin asylansökan. Några av ungdomarna var papperslösa och saknade permanent boende och försörjning. Studien hade en abduktiv ingång med en öppenhet för olika teoretiska implikationer från insamlad data. Samtidigt fanns inom syftets ram ett intresse av att identifiera en eventuell skärningspunkt mellan det relationella perspektivets idé om lärares professionella relationella kompetens (se Aspelin och Persson, 2011) och Bourdieus (se 1991, 1999) teori om erövrande av socialt kapital (habitus), i det här fallet av ungdomarna i skolkontexten. Med inspiration från fenomenografin som analysredskap delades insamlad data in i olika kategorier som lyfte fram likheter och skillnader i ungdomarnas upplevelser och uppfattningar. Resultatet visar att de ensamkommande asylsökande afghanska ungdomarna, trots den komplexa asylsituation som de befann sig i, upplevde två viktiga grundförutsättningar för meningsskapande i skolkontexten. Den ena var att försöka tänka på framtiden och den andra var att kunna koppla bort svåra tankar kring asylprocessen för att fokusera på skolarbetet. Fokus på skolarbetet upplevdes av ungdomarna som möjligt eftersom skolan uppfattades som en trygg plats. Den faktor som av alla ungdomar ansågs som viktigast för meningsskapande var möjligheten att få ett uppehållstillstånd. Andra faktorer som upplevdes som avgörande var möjligheten att ingå i ett socialt sammanhang, samt lärarnas pedagogiska skicklighet. En faktor som upplevdes som viktig för en av ungdomarna, var möjligheten att kunna få bearbeta tidigare trauman. Ungdomarna hade alla uppfattningen att relationerna med lärarna påverkade och var av stor betydelse för meningsskapandet i skolkontexten. Det var dock för de flesta av dem oklart om denna uppfattning grundades på lärarnas professionella relationella kompetens eller om det handlade om en mera allmän social omsorg om ungdomarna. Flera av ungdomarna betonade dock att samma lärare som upplevdes som skickliga pedagoger även visade en stor social omsorg om eleverna, med tanke på deras livssituation.

The purpose of the study was to examine and illuminate how unaccompanied asylum seeking Afghan youths experienced meaning-making in the school context, and how they experienced the importance of teachers’ professional relational competence for the meaning-making. The method for collecting data was qualitative semi- structured interview. The respondents were six pupils from the individual programme and first grade from an upper secondary school in a small Swedish municipality. At the interview occasions the youths were at different points in their asylum processes, but all of them had the experience of getting at least one rejection on their asylum inquiry. Some of the youths were paperless and out of permanent accommodation and supply. The study had an abductive approach and an openness to different theoretical implications from the collected data. At the same time there was, within the scope of the aim, an interest in identifying an eventual intersection between the idea of the relational perspective about teachers’ professional relational competence (see Aspelin & Persson, 2011) and Bourdieu’s (see 1991, 1999) theory of conquest for social capital (habitus), in this case by the youths in the school context. With inspiration from phenomenography as analysis tool the collected data were divided into different categories which accentuated similarities and differences in the youths’ experiences and conceptions. The result shows that the unaccompanied asylum seeking Afghan youths, in spite of the complex asylum situation which they were in, experienced two different prerequisites for meaning-making in the school context. The first was trying to think about the future and the other was to be able to ignore difficult thoughts about the asylum process, to focus on school work. The youths experienced that focus on school work was possible since (the) school was perceived as a safe place. The factor that was considered as most important for meaning- making by all youths was the possibility to get a permission of residence. Other factors that were perceived as decisive were the possibility to be part of a social context, and the teachers’ pedagogical skills. A factor that perceived important for one of the youths was the possibility to be able to process trauma. All the youths had the conception that the relations to their teachers affected on and were of great importance for the meaning- making in the school context. For most of the youths it was unclear whether this perception was based on the teachers’ professional relational competence or a more general social care about the youths. Although, many of them emphasized that the same teachers who were experienced as skilled pedagogues also showed a great social care about them, due to their life situation.