“When I was Traversing Australian Schooling”: Lived Experiences in Understanding Refugee Education

Abstract

Over the past decade, the world has witnessed the highest number of forced displacements in history (UNHCR, 2020). Regardless of the complexities of displacement and the country of arrival, education has played a vital role in refugees' effort to rebuilding their life. However, education in permanent settlement countries, such as Australia, is problematic, adding to residual complexities of the individual’s previous displacement experiences. Australia’s policies and practices in the provision of education have been characterised by multifaceted problems despite its long history of refugee intake. Refugees’ voices and presence in education have been largely ignored, and their schooling experiences are yet to be adequately understood. To address these issues, the current study aimed to obtain an understanding of schooling experiences from refugees’ own voices who were former students aged 18-26 years. This qualitative study is informed by interpretive phenomenology (IP).

The methodological, theoretical, and practical implications of the study’s findings enhance understanding of schooling experiences. Methodologically, the findings show the importance of IP in the co-construction of knowledge between the participants and the researcher. Theoretically, the findings reveal the participants’ analysis, expectations, and contributions throughout their schooling. They analysed and contextualised their experiences to make sense of their everyday schooling. Their navigation of schooling showed their active contributions to the improvement of the educational and social conditions of refugees. Acknowledging refugees as contributors, rather than beneficiaries in education, can inform refugee education policies, practices and research, which can ultimately reduce the challenges and increase the quality of education.