Refugee background students transitioning into higher education: navigating complex spaces

This book examines the aspirations of refugee background students and accompanies them as they journey through the on-shore stage of settlement, enrolment and participation in the Australian education system. It begins with students' experiences of on-shore settlement, followed by the move into schooling and finally, the subsequent transition into Australian higher education. Transitioning into higher education is a challenge for many students, particularly for those from under-represented equity groups. For refugee background students, navigating in, through and out of higher education...  [+] Show more

This book examines the aspirations of refugee background students and accompanies them as they journey through the on-shore stage of settlement, enrolment and participation in the Australian education system. It begins with students' experiences of on-shore settlement, followed by the move into schooling and finally, the subsequent transition into Australian higher education. Transitioning into higher education is a challenge for many students, particularly for those from under-represented equity groups. For refugee background students, navigating in, through and out of higher education can be particularly complex and challenging. Drawing on case studies from longitudinal research into refugee youth and the academic and professional staff in schools and universities who support them, the book provides compelling narratives and insights into this journey. It untangles the complex nature of transition for students of refugee background in higher education, locating it within broader social trends of increasing social and cultural diversity, as well as government practices and policies concerning the educational resettlement of refugees.

Setting the context / Loshini Naidoo (pages 1-15); Contextualising the complex spaces of refugee youth transition into higher education / Loshini Naidoo (pages 17-33); Forced migration and displacement: understanding the refugee journey / Loshini Naidoo (pages 35-44); The prior life experiences of refugee youth / Misty Adoniou (pages 45-65); The role of schools / Jane Wilkinson (pages 67-87); Navigating the terrain of higher education / Jane Wilkinson (pages 89-110); Access and participation in the transition from school to higher education: the role of language / Misty Adoniou (pages 111-130); The role of communities in supporting refugee youth transition into higher education / Kiprono Langat (pages 131-155).

Edited excerpt from publisher's website with additional information.