Pamela Khairallah Assignment 2 18724211

Refugees are a diverse group who were forced to leave their country of origin because

of war, poverty or persecution. The majority has faced traumatic experiences before settling

in a country of refuge. In addition, many refugees have had no or an interrupted schooling

experience and therefore, do not have the basic reading and writing skills in their first

language (Brown, Miller & Mitchell, 2006; Oliver, Haig & Grote, 2009; Windle & Miller,

2012). Yet, they are expected to enter mainstream classes in Australia, adapt and solve critical

tasks while still acquiring the new language. Similar to refugees, teachers confront many

challenges when classes are populated with refugee students (Oliver et al., 2009; Windle &

Miller, 2012). In her article “Refugee action support: Crossing borders in preparing pre-

service teachers for literacy teaching in secondary schools in Greater Western Sydney”,

Naidoo (2012) considers the Refugee Action Support (RAS) program to equip preservice

teachers with the knowledge to teach students from refugee backgrounds, particularly

African, and facilitate their transition to mainstream classes in high school. This article will

be compared with Dooley’s (2009) article “Re-thinking pedagogy for middle school students

with little, no or severely interrupted schooling” which describes the responses to the

pedagogic needs of African refugees from middle school teachers. Both studies have

implemented qualitative approach; however, Naidoo’s (2012) research is a case study

conducted in 2010 while Dooley (2009) conducted an interview study. In terms of

implications, both researchers agree that the pedagogical approaches need to be revised but

Naidoo (2012) suggests that this can be achieved when schools, universities and communities

collaborate with each other whereas Dooley (2009) proposes that the whole school change is

imperative.

The purpose of Naidoo (2012) was to explore the effective teaching and learning

practices that benefit preservice teachers and meet the needs of African refugee students in

mainstream classes. This was demonstrated through the discussion of the RAS program
Pamela Khairallah Assignment 2 18724211

which is a school-community-university partnership program. Several studies with different

research methods have been conducted to evaluate this program, which adds credibility to its

benefits. For example, Ferfolja and Vickers’s (2010) and Ferfolja (2009) carried their studies

using quantitative and qualitative methods respectively. Their findings were similar to

Naidoo’s (2012). On the other hand, Dooley (2009) was more interested in exploring the

teaching strategies that teachers are implementing in English programs and mainstream

classes to meet the needs of this particular group of students. Not only Naidoo (2012) but also

Dooley (2009) devoted a section to explain why this study had to be undertaken and justified

her selection for African background students among other refugee students by stating that

there is limited information on how to teach students with no or disrupted schooling

background. According to Ryan, Coughlan and Cronin (2007), this section is crucial because

it states the significance of the study and how it can complement existing information on the

phenomenon.

Both researchers provided a comprehensive literature review; however, they differed

in the way they implemented it in their articles. Naidoo (2012) spared a section for her

literature review whereas Dooley (2009) embedded hers under the two sections “New

pedagogic needs” and “Critique of pedagogy for African students in the West”. Naidoo

(2012) and Dooley (2009) both searched for areas that have not been investigated (how to

equip preservice teachers and pedagogical strategies, respectively) and provided a critical

evaluation of the literature and findings, all of which develop an effective literature review

(Baker, 2016) and justify the purpose of their studies. In addition, they both examined

relevant and recent studies conducted in different countries to highlight the challenges that

African refugee students and teachers face in high schools on a global scale, which reflects

their search’ breadth (Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2015, p. 103). Overall, both researchers provided a
Pamela Khairallah Assignment 2 18724211

literature review that includes information about African refugee students’ needs and

challenges.

In both of the articles, data was collected from interviews; however, Dooley (2009)

conducted two rounds of interviews whereas Naidoo (2012) did not specify. In Naidoo’s

(2012) study, semi-structured individual (face-to-face) and group (focus group) interviews

were employed. Group interviews can be seen as a strength because they promote interaction

and dialogue among participants and the interviewer will be functioning as a “moderator or

facilitator” (Punch, 2014, p. 147), which helps reducing the power differential between the

participants and the interviewer. In Naidoo’s (2012) study, the chief executor conducted the

interviews in contrast to Dooley (2009) who led the interviews and drew on her own

experiences as a home-tutor. According to Gall et al. (2015), “direct interaction between

researcher and interviewee makes it easy for subjectivity and bias to occur” (p. 118). In

addition, both researchers did not mention how the information was recorded in contrast to

Ferfolja and Vickers’ (2010) who conducted a study similar to Naidoo’s (2012) but taped and

transcribed the interviews for analysis. This is the most accurate method for interview

recording (Gall et al., 2015, p. 118). Furthermore, Dooley (2009) stated some of the questions

she used for the interviews unlike Naidoo (2012) who only provided sub-titles about the

school, tutors and students’ perceptions of the RAS. However, this gives the reader an idea of

what the questions were. Yet, providing clear questions allows the reader to check for biased

questions (Gall et al., 2015, p. 214), which might have been implemented in the two studies.

Overall, both articles provided a thick description of their data collection process.

Naidoo (2012) presented her findings by focusing on the participants’ perceptions of

the program. She found that it raises the confidence of refugee students as well as improve

their academic performance in mainstream classes. In addition, it contributes to the

Pamela Khairallah Assignment 2 18724211

development of preservice teachers’ knowledge and understanding of the sociocultural

differences that African refugee students bring with them, which was the purpose of the

study. In addition, the training that the tutors completed, mainly around English as Second

Language (ESL) pedagogies, contributed to the success of the RAS program. However, she

did not articulate the strategies that the tutors were implementing when helping students, and

therefore, the reader cannot know if the tutors applied the same strategies from their training.

This could have led to future research (Gall et al., 2015, p. 566) to test the effectiveness of

these strategies. In contrast, Dooley’s (2009) findings articulate the teaching pedagogies that

specialised teachers were implementing as well as their benefits. She found that teachers were

connecting to students’ prior experiences and concepts so that the content becomes more

accessible for them. Although her purpose was to explore teachers’ pedagogical strategies,

she also found additional challenges that African refugee students are facing. This can be

added to the table of findings of Oliver et al. (2009), in which they presented the needs of

refugee students and possible solutions. The findings will also be used for the discussion of

the implications for the teaching practice. Overall, both researchers provided thick

description of findings in a narrative form that is typical in a qualitative research.

Both researchers conclude their articles by emphasising the need for specialised

teaching methodologies and pedagogies to help students with no or disrupted schooling in

their transition to mainstream classes. In terms of implications, Naidoo (2012) highlights the

need for collaboration between schools, communities and teachers if the needs of these

students are to be met. On the other hand, due to the fact that Dooley (2009) found that

African refugee students are unprepared for age-based placement, she recommends the

implementation of programs and strategies by both schools and teachers.

Teachers should differentiate between concept and content and link the concept to students’

prior knowledge. This has also been discussed by Baynham (2006) and Sarroub (2007) who
Pamela Khairallah Assignment 2 18724211

found that refugee students cannot make sense of the curriculum unless it connects to their

lives. In addition, all teachers are responsible for teaching the language and literacy even if it

is not related to their subject. They should not assume that students are familiar with the

vocabulary they are using. This adds to “all teachers are responsible for teaching the subject-

specific literacy of their learning area” Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting

Authority, 2013, p. 1). Yet, they have to teach students “conceptually deep and critical tasks

while helping them to acquire English and basic literacy skills” (Dooley, 2009, p. 16). This

can be achieved when teachers show high expectations and do not underestimate the

capabilities of their students. Acquiring a new language does not mean that students are not

gifted and talented. Moreover, as reported by the tutors in Naidoo’s (2012) study, breaking

down tasks, scaffolding and questioning are crucial to teach pre-literate students.

Furthermore, teachers need to be equipped with the teacher capital same as the one that the

tutors acquired through the RAS program. For instance, tutors in Naidoo’s (2012) study

reported that they were building trust and gained knowledge about the backgrounds and

experiences of refugee students. Thus, they learned and experienced diversity and cultures

differences, which enables them to think about future pedagogies to challenge the social

injustices. This can only be achieved if universities implement such programs for preservice

teachers to participate in because in mainstream classes they will not have the opportunity to

teach one-on-one students. Furthermore, through the school-community-university

partnership program, students can acquire social capital. Brown et al. (2006) reported that

non-English speaking students avoid social interaction with English speakers because they

are afraid to reveal their lack of competence. Therefore, teachers must recognise the reason

behind the silence of refugee students and encourage them to participate in discussion in the

classroom. Finally, Dooley (2009) suggests that foundations programs should be included to

teach academic skills. That is some of the academic skills are taken for granted such as
Pamela Khairallah Assignment 2 18724211

handwriting and active listening while in fact, many refugee students never held a pen.

Overall, it is important to ensure that schools and classrooms are a welcoming and safe place

for students, in particular refugee students and offer them the appropriate support.
In conclusion, both researchers have provided a thick description of their research

process to highlight the need of solutions and strategies that meet the needs of students with

no or disrupted schooling. Although the articles differ in terms of implications, they should

both be taken into consideration as they fill the gap in the field. Overall, addressing the

academic, social and cultural needs of these students is a challenging task, yet crucial to

promote inclusivity and equity. Therefore, further research in this field is required to raise

awareness and prepare teachers to deal with the challenges that students bring with them.
Pamela Khairallah Assignment 2 18724211

References:
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2013). Literacy.

Retrieved from http://v7-5.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities/Pdf/

Baker, J. D. (2016). The purpose, process, and methods of writing a literature review. AORN

Journal, 103(3), 265-269. doi:10.1016/j.aorn.2016.01.016

Baynham, M. (2006). Agency and contingency in the language learning of refugees and

asylum seekers. Linguistics and Education, 17(1), 24-39.

doi:10.1016/j.linged.2006.08.008
Brown, J., Miller, J., & Mitchell, J. (2006). Interrupted schooling and the acquisition of

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severely interrupted schooling. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 8(1), 5-22.

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Ferfolja, T. (2009). The Refugee action support program: Developing understandings of

diversity. Teaching Education, 20(4), 395-407. doi:10.1080/10476210902741239

Ferfolja, T., & Vickers, M. (2010). Supporting refugee students in school education in Greater

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TESOL in Context, 19(1), 23-38. Retrieved from

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