What Out-Of-School Resources and Practices Facilitate African Refugee Students Educational

ASDD

What out-of-school resources and practices facilitate African refugee students’ educational success in Australian rural and regional settings?

Revised Report, March 2012

Authors: Jane Wilkinson, Jae Major, Ninetta Santoro and Kiprono Langat

“

The next...[photograph]...is just the road because I think that life is just a journey and it’s a long way ahead and the road’s really, don’t even have an ending unless you know yeah, that’s what I think... (Student participant)

So that’s a picture of me and it’s only half because that kind of shows my right side brain which is like really happy and like laid back and just sitting enjoying life... (Student participant)

”

We would like to express our gratitude to the students, caregivers, community personnel and advisory team who have committed so much to this project. We thank Charles Sturt University for the funding which supported this study. We would also like to acknowledge the support of Charles Sturt University's Research Institute for Professional Practice, Learning and Education (RIPPLE).

/ The Commonwealth Register of Institutions
and Courses for Overseas Students Provider Numbers for
Charles Sturt University are 00005F (NSW) 01947G (VIC) and 02960B (ACT)

Introduction: What was our study about?

This report is based on preliminary analysis of data collected as part of a 2011 pilot study conducted by Dr Jane Wilkinson, Associate Professor Ninetta Santoro, Dr Kiprono Langat and Dr Jae Major, from Charles Sturt University. The study investigated the out-of-school networks and practices that generated resources which contribute to educational success for Sudanese[1] refugee young people. The study asked the following key questions:

What are the practices through which Sudanese refugee students and their families negotiate their way into the discursive, material and social spaces of Australian rural and regional settings?
What types of capitalsdo students generate in out-of-school contexts in Australian regional and rural settings?
What social conditions enable and facilitate the generation of these capitals?
How do these capitals facilitate success for students at school?
What are the implications of these findings for Australian schooling, in particular, in rural and regional settings?

Case studies were conducted of eight Sudanese young people in two regional New South Wales towns, i.e., Wagga Wagga and Orange. We focused on young people who had been identified as educationally successful in their respective communities. We defined success in broad terms, taking it to encompass a variety of factors including:

•Family/community engagement and responsibility;

•Positive attitudes to learning in general;

•Belief in one’s potential to learn;

•Knowing how to learn and where to go to learn; and

•Formal and informal learning.

While we were interested in the educational success of Sudanese refugee young people, we deliberately focused on out-of-school activities and resources, for three reasons:

We understood educational success in broad terms, as noted above;
Research suggests out-of-school networks and activities, which build social and cultural capital, impact on and contribute to educational success; and
Our definition of educational success encompasses a notion of education as far broader than that which occurs in formal settings such as schools. In other words, in adopting this broader definition, we distinguish between notions of ‘education’ and ‘schooling’. The latter definition we view as a more narrow and restrictive view of education, yet it is a definition which is frequently mistaken in education policies as the sum total of students’ learning, with highly deleterious consequences for equity groups such as students of refugee origin.

Why focus on young Sudanese people in regional settings?

Since 2004, the Australian Government has sought to increase migrant and humanitarian settlement in regional Australia with the long-term goal of creating small but viable communities that will influence others to settle in the same location. Refugees of African origin make up a large proportion of those settled in regional NSW, and have been identified as one of the most underachieving groups in the Australian education system. This group has highly complex educational needs. Most have experienced extensive periods of interrupted schooling or have had no formal education at all, and many experience racism and discrimination after resettlement. Teachers are generally not well prepared to teach culturally and linguistically diverse students. This is particularly so in Australian regional and rural settings where communities have been relatively culturally homogenous and schools are unused to addressing the needs of culturally diverse students, let alone, refugee students with specific and complex learning needs.

There are limited opportunities for teacher professional development due to geographical isolation, few intensive English language programs, poor resources and often inadequate provision of services such as translators. These are significant factors that impede the educational progress of African refugee students in regional and rural areas.

There is substantial research about refugee families and young people that focuses on problems and barriers to successful integration. Indeed, much Australian research about refugees has focused on resettlement or education support projects with a view to suggesting how refugees can be better assisted, supported or integrated. There is very little research that explores how refugee communities are successful in their new environments. In this research project, we investigated the ways in which Sudanese refugee young people integrated successfully into life in regional NSW, and positively engaged in schooling. We explored the networks and connections that Sudanese refugee young people established, and how these contributed to bonding capital (i.e., connections within one’s extended family and ethnic community) and bridging capital (i.e. connections beyond family such as sporting groups, church etc). These two forms of capital have been shown to be critical to positive engagement in communities.

In exploring these forms of capital, we wanted to challenge the idea that all refugee communities and families are in marginalized and dependent positions within Australian communities. We focused on the ways in which Sudanese refugee young people and families took up the opportunities and support available to them to develop resources and capital that enabled them to experience success. We think that this can be transferred into educational contexts and contribute to positive engagement with schooling.

What were the details of the study?

This research project was based in two regional towns in New South Wales—Orange and Wagga Wagga. The towns were chosen because of their contrast in terms of refugee populations. Wagga Wagga is a designated primary resettlement centre where refugees are settled with government agency support. Orange is a secondary settlement centre chosen by refugee families after initial resettlement in other centres such as Sydney. This means there are differences in the sorts of facilities and services that are available in each setting, which provided a point of comparison and contrast.

Participants were recruited with the assistance of local agencies and education providers. Agencies and education providers were invited to suggest the names of young people and families they felt were successful in terms of active community participation, leadership and educational achievement. Potential participants and their families in Orange were invited to a meeting with an interpreter and the research was outlined. They were asked to provide contact details if they were interested in participating. Participants in Wagga Wagga were individually visited in their homes by two researchers, one of whom was a member of the Wagga Wagga African Elders group (WAfrica). Initially two participants in Orange were selected and three in Wagga Wagga. A further participant in Orange and two in Wagga Wagga were added later—comprising a total of eight young people and their families. Four were male and four were female. They were aged between 13 and 17 years. Six participants were Christian and two Muslim. Students attended a mix of public and non-government schools.

Data were collected in the following ways:

The young people were given a camera each and asked to take photographs of people, places and activities that were important to them, and that made them feel successful and good about themselves. These photos were used as a stimulus for interviews.
Each young person was interviewed twice over the course of the year.
Two interviews were also conducted with parents or caregivers, and one interview with a community person nominated by the young person whom they felt knew them well and could speak about their achievements. Community people included sports coaches, youth group workers, leaders of community groups the young person belonged to, family friends, volunteers and mentors.
We also spent time observing the young people in a chosen community activity, for example, sports practices and matches, cultural activities and youth groups.

Interviews were transcribed and analysed, along with observation notes, using situational analysis to identify the key themes and influences contributing to the young people’s sense of success. The major findings are reported below.

What were the key research findings?

The key factors for success identified by the three groups of participants, i.e., students, parents and community personnel, were as follows:

Church and associated activities
Family
Friends
Sport
Country town/regional setting
School

As this is a pilot study, we cannot generalise from these findings to all Sudanese students of refugee origin in regional Australia, but the identification of the majority of these factors is supported by other research conducted in this area. However, the importance of church and its associated activities is a new finding.

1. Church and associated activities

“[Youth group] activities is, like, Bible studies, playing games, sharing things that we did...”

Student participant

All six Christian students and their parents identified church and its associated activities as an important factor for students’ success. Church and its activities provided a range of supports and networks including:

Youth groups

These provided students with access to bridging capital via the formation of new social networks, an opportunity to make friends across a variety of ethnic and socio-economic groups and provided a bridge to the broader Australian community. Fun activities such as camps and excursions to Sydney with people who were perceived as ‘safe’ by family and students allowed young people to informally learn about Australian culture and its mores. In one group at least, the valuing of cultural diversity through student-initiated activities such as a multicultural concert, also appeared to be crucial to the group’s formation and well-being.

Faith

A strong sense of faith appeared to provide students with a sense of resilience and a set of values and beliefs shared with family and members of the broader Australian community that sustained them in adversity.

Access to networks which built on and extended family and Sudanese community networks

Church and its associated activities also provided young people with access to networks beyond family and friends within the Sudanese community, including access to diverse members of the Australian community whose high levels of education and professional standing meant they had high levels of cultural capital. Although not examined in this study, these networks may be very useful for young people as they seek advice re education, search for employment et cetera.

For the two Muslim families, the lack of a mosque or other suitable place at which to worship was an issue. While these families still experienced support and integration into the wider Sudanese community and at times attended church/related activities with their friends, they did not have the same level of access to faith-based activities or supports.

2. Family

“Family’s very important in life because they’re always there for you and stuff. Because you need them in your life in a way to go, like, you always need someone to be there for you. And we do stuff together...”

Student participant

All students lived with at least one parent as caregiver and all, except one, had at least one sibling living with them in the home. Three of the eight students had one parent as sole caregiver for the duration of the study. The remaining five lived with both parents. All young people had extended family living either in their regional town or within reasonable access to them (for example, Sydney) and talked of visits to extended family. The families also had regular contact with family members in Sudan. Characteristics of the families included the following:

Relatively intact and cohesive families: A relative sense of cohesion between parents, young people, siblings and extended family characterised the families. Research suggests links between cohesive families and students’ sense of well being, confidence, and ability to engage in community, all lead to higher educational achievement.
Extended family connections, for example, with family in Sydney, provided students with a range of different role models and at times, provided knowledge about Australian community and way of life.
Parental sense of agency—a number of parents (although not all)—appeared to possess high levels of agency such as knowing how to access key resources in the broader community. These included practices such as knowing about and how to apply for short term loans or grants to assist with buying a car, or funding children’s participation in certain activities. Such agency expanded young people’s opportunities, and access to activities, for example, sporting participation.

Local government and non-government agencies and the wider Sudanese community played a critical role in assisting families, contributing to family cohesion and ensuring a flow of information and support which strengthened families.

3. Friends

“They help me with my studies. Yeah, like sometimes we do homework together and stuff.”

Student participant

Friends included those from within the Sudanese community, extended family members such as cousins and those from the broader Australian community, including both Anglo-Celtic and other ethnicities. Church, school and sport were key areas that provided opportunities to form these friendships, as well as from within the Sudanese community itself. Friends appeared to provide:

Self esteem and a sense of inclusion (for example, one student reported being teased by other students at school but his ‘buddies’ provided him with a sense of belonging and the confidence to ‘answer back’ to those who teased him).
Access to bridging capital and in turn, other networks and resources (for example, one student joined a weekend sporting group as a result of school friends who played on the team. Another student gained a casual job as a friend told them the employer was looking for staff).

4.Sport

“I just feel confident...when I go to soccer...‘cause I think I have pretty good skills.”

“It helps me a bit with other things that I need to do in life, I guess.”

Student participant

Sport was significant for those who were supported to participate. It assisted in:

Building bridging capital through making friends of diverse ethnicities, as well as having access to potential role models and mentors such as coaches and administrators.
Fostering a sense of inclusion in broader community.
Building confidence, trust, team work skills, skills for engaging successfully with others.
There was some suggestion that it also helped children from outside the Sudanese community to gain a positive view of Sudanese young people because of their skills and contribution to various teams.

However, there was a worrying gender difference in access and uptake to sporting teams. The boys in the study were all currently playing sport and gaining financial and personnel assistance from sporting clubs (such as soccer groups) to do so. None of the girls were currently playing sport outside school but all the girls had played sport previously and reported enjoying it, being good at it and wishing to continue. However, unlike the boys, they were not gaining the financial and personnel support from the clubs that their families required for them to play (for example, money to pay for uniforms and membership).

5.Country town/regional setting

“Orange is good for kids, yeah, because not many, many kids take the outside home. In the Sydney all the time, kids outside go to shopping, go to bad.”

Caregiver

Living in a regional town appeared to be an underlying context that underpinned other factors that contributed to students’ success. A number of factors were suggested by the study. These included:

The smaller size of regional towns which may facilitate easier access and participation in activities such as sport due to less travel time, more easily established networks and connections (for example, one student became involved in playing a team sport as his neighbours had children his age who attended the same school, got to know him well and were able and willing to offer him lifts to sporting games).

Parents’ sense of a greater sense of safety and security in country town. The country was perceived as quieter, had fewer bad influences, and children were less distracted by outside influences (see above quotation).
The majority of families were from rural backgrounds and stated that they felt more comfortable in rural settings.

School

“I’m really loud because like I sing in the shower when I’m by myself... I am quiet in class, but like at recess or lunch I’m like crazy!”