Creating a supporting environment in schools for students with refugee backgrounds in Australia

Over the past few years, the number of students from refugee backgrounds in Australia has been on the constant rise. Most youths with refugee background have had a range of traumatic experiences that compound the difficulties in adjusting to a new country and school system. This paper presents a study undertaken with students from refugee backgrounds and their teachers. Based on a qualitative approach, the study employed questionnaires (for teachers and students with refugee experiences), follow-up and focus group interviews (with the students). The project explored the academic and emotional issues that the students experience when adjusting to high school and the support they receive at school to cope with their transition. Results showed that students with refugee backgrounds experience a variety of difficulties and barriers to success that are often not recognised. Teachers indicated that there was a significant relationship between English language skills and academic achievement, recommended the provision of more efficient and flexible future pathways for older students and more time and resources to cater for the emotional and academic (particularly literacy) needs of their students. These findings highlight the need for greater efforts to meet the diverse needs of high school students from refugee backgrounds.