Abstract
This chapter explores how a refugee support organization in the Midwestern United States supports the educational experiences of refugee-background learners from various countries in Africa and Asia. Researchers spent over a year as both observers and volunteers in a refugee support organization that directly interacted with students who were refugees. The study found that because refugee support organizations interacted directly with refugee families, parents, and students, they were well equipped to identify struggles students faced and assisted them in resolving those issues. The scholarship on the education of children who are refugees is centered on examining how school climate, pedagogy, and school resources can enhance the experiences of these refugees. There are missed opportunities with this focus because it overlooks how community-based organizations can and are already helping to improve the educational opportunities of children who are refugees. In this chapter we argue that schools, working collaboratively with community-based organizations, can create safe learning spaces for refugee-background students that improve their language learning and educational experiences.
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Bonney, E.N., Bonney, V.N.A., Sweeney, H. (2021). Schools Alone Cannot Educate Refugees, It Takes a Community. In: Warriner, D.S. (eds) Refugee Education across the Lifespan. Educational Linguistics, vol 50. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79470-5_2
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