Journal Article
- Title
- 'It felt like I was a black dot on white paper': examining young former refugees' experience of entering Australian high schools
- In
- Australian Educational Researcher
- Imprint
- vol. 40, no. 1, 2013, pp. 125-137
- Subject
- former refugee; Australia; belong; high schools; difference
- Abstract
Schools are often the first point of contact for young refugees resettling in Australia and play a significant role in establishing meaningful connections to Australian society and a sense of belonging in Australia. However, too little is known of how refugee youth encounter school in their new country. This article draws upon individual narratives of young former refugee's experiences of high schools. It explores the stories told by the young people of being identified as different and of negotiating ways of belonging in schools both academically and socially. It argues that it is how the school positions the newly arrived refugee students within mainstream school culture that opens up or restricts opportunities for inclusion in all aspects of school (in culture and pedagogy).