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Introduction

With the amount of refugees entering Australia increasing, it is important that the education

system addresses their specific needs through programs designed to tackle their diverse

needs. Research is constantly undertaken in order to assess the most effective approach to

assist refugee student learning. Australian schools are constantly tested as the growing

number of refugee students arrive with a range of complex experiences and barriers that

affect their learning outcomes. For example, limited English and low socioeconomic status is

one of the main barriers refugee students have to education. These barriers limit refugee

student's educational opportunities if schools do not improve their education directed for

these students. Therefore it is vital to undertake research to integrate an approach for these

students not only for educational opportunities but as an advocate for social justice. In the

article 'Refugee action support: Crossing borders in preparing pre-service teachers for literacy

teaching in secondary schools in Greater Western Sydney', Naidoo (2012) explores the

initiative and effectiveness of the Refugee Action Support Program (RAS) influenced and

modelled by the school community and university partnership. This article will be compared

with Ferfolja's (2009) article 'The Refugee Action Support Program: developing

understandings of diversity' which is very similar and tackles the same approach as Naidoo

(2012), but extends the study to incorporate diversity in the larger context. In this essay, both

articles will be evaluated according to their strength and weaknesses and provide an insight

on its findings. The implications for teaching practices will also be discussed.

Critical Evaluation of Research Literature

The purpose of Naidoo (2012) study is to address the educational needs in particular the lack

of English skills of refugee students and whether the RAS program assists these students to

academic success. Similarly, Ferfolja (2009) explores the RAS program but draws on the
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principles of academic service learning' (p. 395) and expands on the aspect of diversity

awareness and the significance of teachers to understand the need of diversity. The RAS

program is an initiative of the University of Western Sydney combined with the Australian

Literacy and Numeracy Foundation and the New South Wales Department of Education and

Training. Both articles discuss the importance of the RAS program and the effectiveness of

the program. The sole purpose of the RAS program is to provide tutoring to refugee students

not only for academic success but a combined learning of "issues related to education in the

community" (Naidoo, 2012, p. 269). The refugee students face difficulty in adjusting to the

standard requirement of the curriculum because they have had a disrupted schooling

experience (Naidoo, 2009, 2012). Beck (1999) discusses the importance and refers to it as

essential for refugee students to have supplementary support outside school hours (p. 108).

Naidoo (2012) study demonstrated that the RAS program increased student's self-esteem and

confidence thus allowing them to succeed academically, enjoy and engage in their learning.

Whereas Ferfolja (2009) explored how the pre-service teachers already had a wide

understanding of diversity and the issues surrounding, thus developing the important

relationship between student and teacher. Both of these articles concluded that the RAS

program allowed students to perform better academically and socially as well.

Both articles make reference to background research conducted in their literature review that

assists refugee studies in their learning and education. The similarity in their literature review

is the issue of language as a barrier for these refugee students to attain academic success.

Naidoo (2012) highlights the gaps in the literature review by giving an overview of previous

research that has been conducted on refugees. The gap being that none of the research before

focused on pedagogical strategies for teachers or the implications for teaching practices

(Naidoo, 2012, p. 268). Ferfolja (2009) adds to the issue of English being a critical barrier for

refugee students as being proficient in English takes more than four to seven years. Ferfolja
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(2009) also mentions the communities in which the research has been conducted but refers to

the gaps as limited reports on African students experience in Australia (p. 398). Naidoo

(2012) also discusses that research shows these students needs extra time in the classroom

which will improve their language. However this is not addressed in Ferfolja (2009). Overall,

both articles' review of literature contains information that is relevant to refugee students and

one that informs teaching practices as well.

The research methodologies utilised by both studies are similar that uses qualitative methods

and are discussed throughout. Qualitative methods is the key to understanding individual

problems while at the same time takes into account the strengths of the community and the

resources (Jason & Glenwick, 2015). Both studies conducted group interviews that were

semi-structured (Naidoo, 2012; Ferfolja, 2009) which allows a certain flow to the discussion

and it is also designed to be adaptable based on the responses of participants (Jason &

Glenwick, 2015). However, Naidoo (2012) utilised individual interviews, face to face

interviews with teachers who were in charge of the classroom and with the RAS tutors

themselves and held focus groups with the refugee students. Unlike Ferfolja (2009) who only

held group interviews with the RAS tutors before and after they participated. Not including

the refugee student's as part of the research methodology can be seen as a weakness in

Ferfolja's (2009) study. As Naidoo (2012) conducted focus groups with the refugee students,

it provided quality to the study because it gave the raw responses and direct insights of the

students as to whether the RAS program was assisting them in their language and academic

success. Whereas Ferfolja's (2009) study neglects to include the feedback of the focal

participants the study was based on. Therefore it reduces the outcome and quality of the

program. Overall, both studies undertook methodological approach that gave insight into

refugee students. However, Ferfolja (2009) needed to provide more approached and the input

of the refugee students for a more reliable outcome of the RAS program.
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Both articles main aim was to determine whether the RAS program was effective for

improving refugee student's literacy and language skills and their overall academic success.

The layout of the results was similar for both studies however Ferfolja's (2009) results were

focused on the evidence gathered by the RAS tutors and their experience before and after

their participation. Naidoo (2012) organised the results in sections with responses from the

school, teachers, RAS tutors and refugee students. The community and family involvement in

the program was seen as successful by the school because it provided support for the family

who did lack skills in English. The RAS tutors illustrated a sensitive and cross cultural

understanding which corresponds with Ferfolja (2009) study of diversity awareness. Ferfolja

(2009) had similar results in regards to the responses provided by the RAS tutors who

illustrated their awareness of diversity by containing cross culture understanding and building

a close relationship based on trust with the students. Both studies indicated that RAS tutors

incorporated reciprocal learning which allowed students to be comfortable with their tutors

(Naidoo, 2012; Ferfolja, 2009). This essentially breaks down the perception of prominent

discourses in the classroom that identifies the teachers holding the power (Ferfolja, Ullman &

Diaz, 2015). Both studies reveal that the power does not always maintain with the teacher but

can given to both teacher and students. Furthermore, both studies have demonstrated through

the evidence that the RAS program is an effective learning program.

Both studies concluded with a positive outlook on the RAS program and provided evidence

that illustrated the program to be effective for academic success. It was found that the

benefits were not only for the refugee students but also for the teachers and the RAS tutors

who are pre-service teachers (Naidoo, 2012; Ferfolja, 2009). Ferfolja (2009) included the

importance of diversity and the vital role it plays in the classroom and including it in

pedagogical practices. The need for diversity awareness is essential because it allows a better

connection with students and creates an inclusive environment for the students. However, the
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importance of diversity awareness was not included in Naidoo's (2012) study. Nevertheless,

Naidoo (2012) discussed factors that were neglected by Ferfolja (2009) such as the direct

input of refugee students and whether they found it effective in their learning or not. On the

other hand, Ferfolja (2009) highlighted the wider context in which diversity plays a

significant role in developing understandings between the teacher and students. Without the

teacher's awareness of diversity, they will not be able to deliver the same knowledge to their

students by including it in their teaching practices. Overall, both articles demonstrated the

relevance of their results in proving that the RAS program was indeed effective.

Implications for teaching practices

It is empirical to discuss the implications for teaching practices in light of the research

undertaken to support and assist refugee students. In Naidoo (2012) study, the RAS program

initiative has demonstrated its effectiveness not only benefiting refugee students but the pre-

service teachers as well (p. 271). The school based community and university partnership is

vital for this program as it allows these institutions to work together and develop their

practices according to the needs of the refugee students. The pedagogical method that

influenced the RAS program was Vygotsky's theory of "zone of proximal development"

(Naidoo, 2009, p. 41) which allows students to practice different forms of language learning

to gain new linguistic skills. Naidoo (2012) provides insight into the implications for teaching

practices by providing support to the community and family members and strengthening the

links between them. Teachers need to include a wide range of strategies in their pedagogies

that addresses the needs of all diverse students. This is why Ferfolja (2009) highlighted the

importance of diversity awareness as that leads teachers to gain a better understanding of

their students and will help them to address the needs especially refugee students.
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Teacher is the key to creating an inclusive environment for all students and it must be part of

their teaching practices as it caters to the needs of diverse students (Taylor & Sidhu, 2012).

While both studies illustrate the effectiveness of the RAS program, teachers need to

incorporate these strategies in their actual classroom. While following the curriculum is

important, teaching practices should also incorporate modern studies and evidence based

research practically into their classroom. The number of refugee students are only increasing,

thus implications for teaching practices should be based on the needs for these students while

also maintaining the rest of the students.

In conclusion, both the research articles have demonstrated and provided insightful

knowledge on the Refugee Action Support Program that proves its effectiveness for the

refugee students. Both studies concluded that additional timing provided to refugee students

will assist in their academic success while also highlighting that teachers play a huge role in

these students' lives. Therefore, teachers must build towards a equitable and inclusive

classroom that caters for each students needs.

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References

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

Ferfolja, T., Diaz, J. C., & Ullman, J. (2015). The Unseen Half: Theories for Educational

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Gall, P. J., Gall, D. M., & Borg, W. (2015). Applying educational research: How to read, do

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