Dialogical formations of personal and cultural self-understanding among refugees and asylum seekers in Portugal

Abstract

This thesis examines how refugees and asylum seekers in Portugal construct and negotiate their personal and cultural identities within institutional reception contexts. The study is grounded in Dialogical Self Theory and complemented by ecological, strengths-based, anti-oppressive, and decolonial perspectives, conceptualizing identity as a dynamic and relational process shaped by both internal meaning-making and external structural conditions. The research aims to explore how institutional environments influence identity formation, agency, and processes of belonging among refugees. To address this, an exploratory qualitative research design was employed, based on semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. The findings reveal that identity negotiation is strongly shaped by institutional constraints, including bureaucratic barriers, labour market exclusion, and imposed categorizations that often position refugees as passive beneficiaries. At the same time, participants actively resist these constraints through internal dialogical processes, reasserting agency, dignity, and future-oriented self-understandings. Identity formation emerges as a continuous negotiation between imposed identities and self-defined positions, mediated through relational experiences and social interactions. The study concludes that refugee integration should be understood as a relational and dialogical process rather than a linear or administrative one. It highlights the need for social work practice to move beyond deficit-oriented and treatment-based approaches, emphasizing agency, participation, and human rights. The thesis contributes to the development of a critical-reflective social work framework that supports self-determination and relational belonging within structurally constrained environments.