Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Inclusive education for students with refugee experience: whole school reform in a South Australian primary school

  • Published:
The Australian Educational Researcher Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In recent years, there has been an increase in students with refugee experience in the UK, the US, Europe and Australia. These students face many barriers to education, and appropriately educating this diverse student population presents many challenges to schools and education departments. We argue that a whole of school approach that includes school structures, culture and pedagogy is needed to provide equity for students with refugee experience. This approach to reform requires that the ‘structures and programs [that] are designed for a dominant group’ (DETE, South Australian Curriculum Standards and Accountability Framework, South Australia 2001), and which disadvantage minority groups, are challenged and changed. Implementing such change raises many practical difficulties, and there are few documented examples of good practice. This prompted the authors’ ethnographic study of a South Australian primary school, with a New Arrivals Program, which positions itself as taking a whole of school approach to educational reform for refugees. This paper reports on the structural changes the school has implemented in its class organisation, staff roles and curriculum. We consider the effects of government funding and neoliberal education policy on these reforms.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Pseudonym used.

References

  • Arnot, M., & Pinson, H. (2005). The education of asylum-seeker and refugee children: A study of LEA and school values, policies and practices. Research Consortium on the Education of Asylum-Seeker and Refugee Children, Cambridge. http://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/download/AsylumReportFinal.pdf. Accessed 10 April 2008.

  • Bash, L. (2006). Identity, boundary and schooling: Perspectives on the experiences and perceptions of refugee children. Intercultural Education, 16(4), 351–366.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caldas, S. J., & Bankston, C. (1997). Effect of school population socioeconomic status on individual academic achievement. Journal of Educational Research, 90(5), 269–277.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cassity, E. A., & Gow, G. (2005). Making up for lost time: Southern Sudanese young refugees in high schools. Youth Studies Australia, 24(3), 51–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Choules, K. (2007). The shifting sands of social justice discourse: From situating the problem with ‘them’ to situating it with ‘us’. The Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 29, 461–481.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christie, P., & Sidhu, R. (2002). Responding to globalisation: Refugees and the challenges facing Australian schools. Paper presented at The Refugee Convention, Where to from Here? International Conference, Centre for Refugee Research, Sydney. http://motspluriels.arts.uwa.edu.au/MP2102pcrs.html. Accessed 15 April 2008.

  • Davies, A. Z. (2008). Characteristics of adolescent Sierra Leonean refugees in public schools in New York City. Education and Urban Society, 40(3), 361–376.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Department of Education and Children’s Services. (2007). Count me in!: A resource to support ESL students with refugee experience in schools, South Australia. http://www.decs.sa.gov.au/curric/files/links/Count_me_in.pdf. Accessed 10 April 2008.

  • Department of Education and Children’s Services. (2008). South Australia’s curriculum portal: New arrivals program, South Australia. www.decs.sa.gov.au/curric/pages/ESL/nap/. Accessed 21 March 2008.

  • Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. (2008). English as a Second Language—New Arrivals Programme, Arrangements for 2008, Canberra. http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/school_education/programmes_funding/programme_categories/special_needs_disadvantage/english_as_second_language_new_arrivals_programme/home.html. Accessed 26 September 2008.

  • Department of Education, Training and Employment. (2001). South Australian Curriculum Standards and Accountability Framework, South Australia. http://www.sacsa.sa.edu.au/index_fsrc.asp?t=About. Accessed 1 October 2008.

  • Department of Immigration and Citizenship. (2007). Population flows: Immigration aspects 2006–07 edition, Canberra. http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/statistics/popflows2006-7/ch8pt06.pdf. Accessed 9 April 2008.

  • DIAC. (2010). Fact sheet 60—Australia’s refugee and humanitarian program. http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/60refugee.html. Accessed 6 January 2010.

  • Due, C., & Riggs, D. (2010). Playing at the edges: Use of playground spaces in South Australian primary schools with New Arrivals Programs. Social Geography, 5, 25–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Employers for Educational Excellence. (2005). Oregon small schools initiative: Distributive leadership. http://www.e3smallschools.org/dl.html. Accessed 1 October 2008.

  • Esquivel, G. B., & Keitel, M. A. (1990). Counseling immigrant children in the schools. Elementary School Guidance & Counseling, 24(3), 213–221.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fransoo, R., Ward, T., Wilson, E., Brownell, M., & Noralou, R. (2005). The whole truth: Socioeconomic status and educational outcomes. Education Canada, 45(3), 6–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunton, A. (2007). Refugees in our schools. Teacher, 187, 16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, R., & Moore, D. (2004). Educational interventions for refugee children: Theoretical perspectives and implementing best practice. London: Routledge Falmer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harradine, J. (1996). What research tells us about school reform. National Schools Network Newsletter, 2(2), 4–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, D. (2005). A brief history of neoliberalism. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hattam, R., & Every, D. (2010). Teaching In Fractured Classrooms: Refugee Education, Public Culture, Community and Ethics. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 13(4), 409–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirk, J., & Cassity, E. (2007). Minimum standards for quality education for refugee youth. Youth Studies Australia, 23(1), 50–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lingard, B. (2007). Pedagogies of indifference. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 11(3), 245–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lingard, B., & Mills, M. (2007). Pedagogies making a difference: Issues of social justice and inclusion. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 11(3), 233–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lingard, B., Mills, M., & Hayes, D. (2000). Teachers, school reform and social justice: Challenging research and practice. Australian Educational Researcher, 27(3), 99–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Louis, W., Duck, J., Terry, D., Schuller, R., & Lalonde, R. (2007). Why do citizens want to keep refugees out? Threats, fairness and hostile norms in the treatment of asylum seekers. European Journal of Social Psychology, 37, 53–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matthews, J. (2008). Schooling and settlement: Refugee education in Australia. International Studies in the Sociology of Education, 18(1), 31–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McEachron, G., & Bhatti, G. (2005). Language support for immigrant children: A study of state schools in the UK and US. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 18(2), 164–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mickan, P., Lucas, K., Davies, B., & Lim, M. (2007). Socialisation and contestation in an ESL class of adolescent African refugees. Prospect, 22(2), 4–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, J. (1997). Language, membership and social identity. Paper presented at Australian Association for Research in Education Annual Conference, AARE, Brisbane. www.aare.edu.au/97pap/millj043.htm. Accessed 15 March 2008.

  • Olliff, L., & Couch, J. (2005). Pathways and pitfalls: The journey of refugee young people in and around the education system in Greater Dandenong, Victoria. Youth Studies Australia, 24(3), 42–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Palmer, K. (2000). Settling in. Inform, 3(1), 20–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Partington, G. (2001). From playschool to peer groups: Socialisation and socialising agencies. In J. Allen (Ed.), Sociology of education (pp. 109–128). Katoomba, NSW: Social Science Press, Katoomba.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, S. S., & Ladky, M. (2007). A survey of teachers’ and principals’ practices and challenges in fostering new immigrant parent involvement. Canadian Journal of Education, 30(2), 881–910.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pinson, H., & Arnot, M. (2007). Sociology of education and the wasteland of refugee education research. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 28(3), 399–407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reid, A. (2002). Public education and democracy: A changing relationship in a globalizing world. Journal of Education Policy, 17(5), 571–585.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rousseau, C., Drapeau, A., & Corin, E. (1996). School performance and emotional problems in refugee children. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 66(2), 239–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schleicher, A. (2006). Where Immigrant Students Succeed: A Comparative Review of Performance and Engagement in PISA 2003. Intercultural Education, 17(5), 507–516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smyth, J., McInerney, P., & Hattam, R. (2003). Tackling school leaving at its source: A case of reform in the middle years of schooling. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 24(2), 177–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tayebjee, Z. (2005). Young refugees in australia and their english language needs. Paper presented at Hopes Fulfilled or Dreams Shattered? From Resettlement to Settlement Conference, Centre for Refugee Research. http://www.crr.unsw.edu.au/documents/Young%20Refugees%20and%20Language%20Needs.pdf. Accessed 11 April 2008.

  • Taylor, S., & Sidhu, R. (2012). Supporting refugee students in schools: What constitutes inclusive education? International Journal of Inclusive Education. doi:10.1080/13603110903560085.

  • Thomson, P. (1998). Back on the borderline: The marginalisation of equity in federal schools policy. South Australian Educational Leader, 9(1), 1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu, S., Connelly, F. M., He, M. F., & Phillion, J. (2007). Immigrant students’ experience of schooling: A narrative inquiry theoretical framework. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 39(4), 399–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, Social Work and Social Policy, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2475, City East Campus, Adelaide, SA, 5072, Australia

    Danielle Every

  2. School of Education, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Karen Pugh & Robert Hattam

Authors
  1. Karen Pugh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Danielle Every
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Robert Hattam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Danielle Every.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Pugh, K., Every, D. & Hattam, R. Inclusive education for students with refugee experience: whole school reform in a South Australian primary school. Aust. Educ. Res. 39, 125–141 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-011-0048-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-011-0048-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation