As the number of students with refugee backgrounds grows, schools are facing many new challenges. How can school leaders ensure they provide a positive, supportive and inclusive education environment for these students and their families?
Monash’s Jane Wilkinson and Mervi Kaukko explain ways that schools can improve the education experience of students, and focus on strengths, rather than deficits.
Increasing numbers of students from a refugee background are changing the face of schools. With these new student groups come fresh challenges – both socially and academically.
These students have often spent long periods in refugee camps, been displaced from home and may be “visibly different” from the majority student population. Frequently they are lumped together with immigrant students, but their learning and social needs are very different.
It is important to work with refugee students, their families and communities in ways that are supportive and inclusive, but do not overlook the needs of other students. How this is done will depend on the individual circumstances and resources of each community. While each community is different, there are certain actions and practices that are consistent.
Best practice examples of building more inclusive schools
We look at seven ways you can support refugee students’ learning and build more inclusive schools, along with examples of best practice we have seen in three schools.
Regional High School
A large comprehensive secondary school in regional New South Wales which had previously been largely Anglo-Celtic in its student and staff demographic. In the 1990s and 2000s, an increasingly large number of students from refugee backgrounds from a range of African nations entered the school. The staff and senior executive were totally unprepared for this group of learners and struggled for some time to cope with the new reality.
Metropolitan Primary School
This school is located in Melbourne in an area of concentrated social disadvantage. It has a history of welcoming large numbers of students from refugee backgrounds to its school. The school itself is multicultural and multilinguistic and the staff and senior leadership team have a long history and expertise when working with diverse learners.
Outer Metropolitan Primary School
This school is located on the outskirts of Melbourne. In the past decade, the school has welcomed students and families from refugee backgrounds from one ethnic and religious community. There are no other refugee-background communities in what is otherwise a largely “white, Anglophone” area.
1. Raise awareness by using community members and staff with expertise.
Knowing your students, their backgrounds, their histories and their current situation is key to putting in place appropriate people and programs to support them.
Run regular awareness-raising sessions for staff using a range of personnel, including administrators, English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EALD) teachers and, most powerfully of all, staff or community members from the same ethnic, linguistic and/or religious group as the students.
Example:
When Regional High School first experienced large numbers of students from refugee backgrounds entering its school, the principal played a key role in managing the change.
- A series of sessions for staff were run where he showed a map of the countries from which the students came, went through a history of the countries and stressed the linguistic, ethnic and religious diversity of the students’ nations of origin.
- Leading members of the various communities where the students came from were invited to speak with staff and students, and shared stories about their journey to Australia. These sessions were scheduled on an intermittent basis for new staff.
- The language used by staff and students was monitored. Anything that stereotyped students from refugee backgrounds was not allowed. This included the phrase “African students”. At awareness-raising sessions, the principal patiently explained why this language was not appropriate and asked staff and students to hold each other accountable if they inadvertently lapsed into stereotypical language.
2. Appoint senior staff to handle the students’ overall needs.
Appointing a senior, respected staff member to take charge of the refugee-background students sends a powerful message that these students matter and will not be overlooked. The choice of that senior staff member is key.
Example:
Regional High School’s deputy principal had grown up in a highly multicultural community, was highly respected by staff and was extremely aware of the issues facing students from refugee backgrounds.
The principal appointed him to lead a program of academic and social support for the students which included:
- Appointing EALD aides from the students’ own religious, linguistic and ethnic background to work with EALD teachers and mainstream staff in the classrooms.
- Brokering citizenship activities for students from refugee backgrounds to participate in so they would feel welcomed into the school and would be able to fully participate in the whole school program. For example, two positions at Regional High School were nominated on the Student Council for a female and male student from refugee backgrounds.
- Holding regular “getting to know you” barbecues for refugee families and students (halal barbeque food was provided). The students had to invite at least one student from a non-refugee origin and were supported by EALD teachers to create invitations and practise conversation starters.
3. Get to know the students and their families and communities.
It is important for school leaders, EALD teachers, aides and mainstream teachers to work collaboratively with students, parents and their communities to support students’ learning programs.
Examples:
Regional High School
The deputy principal, EALD staff and teachers held regular meetings to discuss students’ progress so that any issues could be identified and to ensure that the programs put in place were supporting students’ learning needs.
Every student and their family met with the deputy principal when they first started school to gain a broader understanding of the students’ needs, background and any current issues school needed to be aware of. A consistent series of interview questions was asked that covered a range of issues. An EALD aide from the students’ community was always present to translate and provide background information.
Metropolitan Primary School
At the start of each year at each student meets one-on-one with their teacher. Teachers find out what issues the student might be facing and what their hobbies and interests are. This assists in devising appropriate and enjoyable learning programs for students.
Similarly, early in the year, staff meets one on one with every parent or caregiver and ask a similar series of questions. If caregivers are unable to come to the school, staff will visit them in the home. Ethnic aides provide translation and crucial background information.
The principal and/or assistant principal meet every new family and student in a process similar to the one described above for Regional High School.
4. Appoint, train and resource suitably qualified staff.
Schools in each state are provided with a strict formula for accessing EALD funding for trained EALD teachers and aides. This funding is limited and insufficient for the needs of many students from refugee backgrounds. Sometimes it may require thinking “outside the box”.
Example:
Metropolitan Primary School
The principal was particularly adept at gaining funds to support the diverse needs of their learners. The school had very high numbers of students from refugee backgrounds, which reflected high numbers in the local community. They have been generally able to provide sufficient numbers of well-trained EALD staff and aides.
Outer Metropolitan Primary School
There were smaller numbers of one community in their school and insufficient funds to employ an EALD teacher full time. Instead, the principal employed an EALD teacher part-time who worked for a year with the mainstream teaching staff, providing them with ongoing professional development in how to support students from refugee backgrounds in their mainstream classes.
Regional High School
This school did not have enough EALD students to run an EALD class. With approval from the Regional Education Office, the school brokered an agreement with the surrounding public schools that all EALD students of refugee background should enrol at Regional High School. This meant that the school was able to gain enough EALD students to staff an EALD class.
5. Encourage students to speak in their first language.
Don’t stop students from speaking in their first language in your classrooms. Don’t stop them explaining to one another in their first language what a concept is about. Don’t prevent them from speaking in their first language in the playground. Don’t tell parents that they should practise speaking in their host nation language at home. The opposite is true.
Recognising the crucial role that language plays in one’s identity is vital. Research shows students speaking in their first language as an asset not a threat.
6. Have clear policies and protocols to address racism
No matter how well you provide a supportive and inclusive environment, racist attitudes will always linger. Don’t deny racism exists – instead, model appropriate attitudes and behaviours from the top.
Draw on the state education system’s anti-racism policies and have clear policies for addressing these issues.
Example
Regional High School
This school had large “racism, no way” posters in many classrooms. The staff and students prided themselves on being a welcoming and inclusive comprehensive school.
The deputy principal was responsible for the anti-racism policy and called out particularly egregious forms of racism that a number of students experienced. Racist comments and attitudes were consistently addressed and called out, not ignored or minimised.
7. Draw on the strengths of community to support your efforts
Any work with students from refugee backgrounds needs to be part of a larger academic and social program that recognises and links to the strengths of students and their communities, so that they, in turn, can connect with wider society.
Students of refugee background are members of larger communities – their families, ethnic, religious and linguistic groups and social media – which have assets and strengths you should discover and draw upon.
Never underestimate the goodwill that lies in your local community. Seek out people and groups of goodwill, join with them and work together.
Example
Outer Metropolitan Primary School
The community was highly religious, had high levels of illiteracy and had experienced considerable trauma and violence before arriving in Australia. They were understandably frightened and wary of the local school.
The principal reached out to the community through their church. The principal regularly visited them in their homes, to ease concerns and gradually integrate them into school and the local community. She agreed that the school could become a place of worship on Sundays. A high-ranking member of the community who was married to the religious minister was appointed an EALD aide.
The community had expertise in horticulture and the school gained a small grant to establish a garden where community members could work with staff and students to grow and sell local produce.
The principal arranged for the local training provider for community members to undertake training and gain qualifications in horticulture.
Finally, the school realised that students were starting school with very low oral skills and virtually no literacy. They implemented a preschool-to-school program aimed at all preschool students but with a particular focus on students from refugee backgrounds.
The overall result has been a considerable rise in the academic skills of students and an engaged community who are able to cross the psychological borderline of the school gate and engage with the school.
Resources
Annas, Aminat, Kavi. Mohamed, Mohammed, Na Hay, Nasiya, Nathan, Parmina, Ro Han, Sithwat, Temira and Wahida (2018). Ali and the long journey to Australia. Produced in collaboration with Mervi Kaukko, Lara McKinley and Noble Park Primary School.
Kaukko, M., Wilkinson, J., Faine, M., & Gindiddis, M. (2016). Report of Alphabeenies Program.
References
Brown, J., Miller, J., & Mitchell, J. (2006). Interrupted Schooling and the Acquisition of Literacy: Experiences of Sudanese Refugees in Victorian Secondary Schools. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy 29: 2: 150-162.
Cassity, E., & Gow, G. (2005). Making Up for Lost Time: The Experiences of Southern Sudanese Young Refugees in High School – Programs and Practice. Youth Studies Australia 24: 3: 51-55.
Department for Education and Skills [DfES]. Aiming High: Guidance on Supporting the Education of Asylum Seeking and Refugee Children. DfES/0287/2004.
Ferfolja, T., & Naidoo, L. (2010). Supporting Refugee Students through the Refugee Action Support (RAS) Program: What Works in Schools (pdf). University of Western Sydney.
Ferfolja, T., Vickers, M., McCarthy, F., Naidoo, L., & Brace, E. (2011). Crossing Borders: African Refugees, Teachers and Schools. Deakin West, ACT: Australian Curriculum Studies Association Inc.
Harris, A. (2011) Neir Riel (Strong Girls): Transgression and Fugitive Spaces in Sudanese Australian Classrooms. Qualitative Inquiry 17: 8: 750-759.
Kaukko, M. Wilkinson, J. (2018a) ‘Learning how to go on’: Refugee students and informal learning practices. International Journal of Inclusive Education.
Kaukko, M. Wilkinson, J. (2018b) Praxis and language: Teaching newly arrived migrant children to ‘live well in a world worth living in’ TESOL in Context.
Kemmis, S., Wilkinson, J., Edwards-Groves, C., Hardy, I., Grootenboer, P., & Bristol, L. (2014). Changing practices, changing education. Singapore: Springer.
Lloyd, A., & Wilkinson, J. (2017). Tapping into the information landscape: Refugee youth enactment of information literacy and literacies of information in everyday spaces. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science.
Lloyd, A. & Wilkinson, J. (2016). Knowing and learning in everyday spaces (KaLieds): The role of Information literacy and literacies of information in supporting refugee youth learning outside school. Journal of Information Sciences, 42(3), 300-312.
Major, J., Wilkinson, J., Santoro, N., & Langat, K. (2013). Regional and rural Australia as a site of settlement for young African background refugees: a double-edged sword? Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 23 (3), 95-105.
Matthews, J. (2008). Schooling and Settlement: Refugee Education in Australia. International Studies in Sociology of Education 18: 1: 32.
Mills, C. (2008). Making a Difference: Moving Beyond the Superficial Treatment of Diversity. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education 36: 4: 270.
McBrien, J. L. (2005). Educational Needs and Barriers for Refugee Students in the United States: A Review of the Literature. Review of Educational Research 75: 3: 334.
McKenzie, K., & Scheurich, J. (2008). Teacher Resistance to Improvement of Schools with Diverse Students. International Journal of Leadership in Education 11: 2, 117-133.
Naidoo, L., Wilkinson, J., Adoniou, M., & Langat, K. (2018). Navigating complex spaces: Refugee background students transitioning into higher education. Singapore: Springer.
Oliver, M. (2012). Standing Up, Reaching Out and Letting Go: Experiences of Resilience and School Engagement for African High Schoolers from Refugee Backgrounds. The Australasian Review of African Studies XXXIII: 1: 151-164.
Santoro, N. & Wilkinson, J. (2015). Sudanese young people building capital in rural Australia: The role of mothers and community. Ethnography and Education, 11(1), 107-120.
United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (2010). Convention and protocol relating to the status of refugees. (pdf)
Vedoy, G., & Moller, J. (2007). Successful School Leadership for Diversity? Examining Two Contrasting Examples of Working for Democracy in Norway. International Studies in Educational Administration 35: 3: 58-66.
Whiteman, R. (2005). Welcoming the Stranger: A Qualitative Analysis of Teachers’ Views Regarding the Integration of Refugee Pupils into Schools in Newcastle upon Tyne. Educational Studies 31: 4: 375-391.
Wilkinson, J. (2018). ‘We’re going to call our kids “African Aussies”’: Leading for diversity in regional Australia. In Wilkinson, J. & Bristol, L. (Eds.). Interrogating educational leadership: Examining leadership as a culturally-constructed practice (pp. 54-74). Singapore: Routledge.
Wilkinson, J. (2017). Leading for social justice: Examining educational leading through a practice lens. In K. Mahon, S. Francisco & S. Kemmis (Eds.) Exploring practices through the lens of practice architectures (pp. 165-182). Singapore: Springer International.
Wilkinson, J. & Lloyd, A. (2017). The role of everyday spaces for learning for refugee youth. In R. Elmeksy, C. Camp Yeakey, & O. Marcucci (Eds.), The Power of resistance: Culture, ideology and social reproduction in global contexts (pp. 383-408). UK: Emerald Press.
Wilkinson, J., Santoro, N., & Major, J. (2017). Sudanese refugee youth and educational success: The role of church and youth group in supporting cultural and academic adjustment and schooling achievement. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 60, 210-219.
Wilkinson, J., Forsman, L., & Langat, K. (2016). Multiplicity in the making: Towards a praxis-oriented approach to professional development. In Wilkinson, J., Bristol, L., & Ponte, P. (Eds.), Professional Development: Education for all as praxis (pp. 38-62). London and New York: Routledge.
Wilkinson, J. & Langat, K. (2012). Exploring educators’ practices for African students from refugee backgrounds in an Australian regional high school. The Australasian Review of African Studies, XXXIII(II), 158-177.
Woods, A. (2009). Learning to be Literate: Issues of Pedagogy for Recently Arrived Refugee Youth in Australia. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies 6: 1-2, 81-101.
