March 22, 2015 - 14:29
I feel like we have talked a bit in Multicultural Ed about immigrant students in the classroom, but I don't think we have talked about refugee students. I think this is a very important distinction to make, given political, social, racial, and socioeconomic contexts. I think immigrating to another country as a child and having to take part in a totally foreign system of education is traumatizing enough; but having to leave politically/socially unstable countries and arriving to America, sometimes without parts of families or their friends is even more damaging and traumatizing. I do not think many schools cater to the needs of refugee students, not just in an English-learning context, but in mentally and emotionally supporting these students after going through potentially traumatizing experiences. I would like to explore what curricula/what schools are already doing and see what could be done to improve curricula and support mechanisms for refugee students.
Comments
refugee students
Submitted by jccohen on March 23, 2015 - 11:42 Permalink
jkang,
I agree that refugee students are a distinct population for many reasons, and of course there are many distinctions within that category. This is an area well worth looking more closely at in relation to schooling. I know some schools and districts with significant refugee populations have adjusted curricula and particularly other kinds of supports to address this population, and I think you'll tap into much of this via online resources - Harvard Ed Review and Anthropology in Education Quarterly are two that you might start with, and a more practitioner oriented journal like Phi Delta Kappan might also be helpful. I'll be very interested in where this inquiry takes you!