Investigating the challenges that face refugee students in Newfoundland and Labrador - an educators' perspective

Flight, Garrett (2021) Investigating the challenges that face refugee students in Newfoundland and Labrador - an educators' perspective. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English] PDF - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Download (420kB)

Abstract

Using a series of semi-structured interviews to gather data, educators were asked to explore the struggles that refugee students face, explain how the current system is effective and ineffectual, and make recommendations for good teaching practices with this at-risk demographic. Extracted from twelve interviews from these educators, who all have experience teaching refugee students, were obstacles that are identified by three classifications: academic, social, and emotional. Hindrances and successes in the current refugee education model have been identified from the perspective of educators. Lastly, the study makes recommendations to improve the educational experience for all stakeholders and to create an environment where refugee students can overcome the massive challenges that they encounter. The participants teach and administrate from Grades 7-12 and have a vast range of experience. Results of the study were robust and many themes came from the data. These include recommendations of investing more resources (i.e. teacher allocation and training), building strong student-teacher relationships at a school wide level, participating in trauma informed practice, and implementing early intervention for students who arrive under the age of Grade 7.

Actions (login required)

View Item