CALD SIG Webinar

Approaches to teaching and engaging students from refugee backgrounds in Enabling Programs: Students from refugee backgrounds (SfRBs) are entering Australian universities in increasing numbers, often via university pathway programs (enabling programs), often accessing them through university pathway programs, or enabling programs. Research has shown how higher education establishments have been slow to tailor support to the specific needs of SfRBs (Joyce et al., 2010; Lenette, 2016; Baker & Ramsey 2019) or improve their retention and progression in higher education (Kong et al., 2016; Molla, 2020). The workshop will introduce you to culturally responsive pedagogies and how they complement enabling pedagogies. We will then share research findings from a UniSA College based project that explored best practice approaches for teaching students from refugee backgrounds in the enabling space. The findings are drawn from conversations with academics and refugee-background students. In the second part of the workshop, we will explore trauma-informed pedagogies. We argue that the educational achievements of SfRBs can be enhanced when academic and peer support staff are responsive to the educational and socio-cultural experiences of students in the enabling spaces and the wider university.