BRYCS - Spotlight September 2003

GETTING READY FOR SCHOOL:
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR REFUGEE CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES

Refugee children and youth face many challenges during resettlement in the United States. School can often represent the most important community outside the home. Providing a warm, safe, and stable environment can help to restore a sense of security for these children and assist them in developing self-sufficiency in their new lives.

The BRYCS Clearinghouse has a number of resources that address the many aspects of educational issues for this fragile population.

SOME OF THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE IN THE BRYCS CLEARINGHOUSE THAT ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN THIS MONTH'S FEATURED SEARCH INCLUDE:

Building a New Life: The Role of the School in Supporting Refugee Children investigates refugee children's experiences adjusting to life in England. Interviews and surveys involving refugee and non-refugee children ranging from early to mid-adolescence provided data on: children, war, and persecution; flight to safety; early days in Britain; starting school; the importance of English; coping with the past; and providing support for parents. Overall, teachers provided valuable support to refugees.

From the Classroom to the Community: A Fifteen-Year Experiment in Refugee Education describes a 15-year program that provided intensive English language and cultural orientation to half a million refugees living in camps in Southeast Asia. Funded by United States Department of State, the program was designed to prepare these refugees for life in the U.S., and its success led to the creation of smaller-scale efforts elsewhere in the world. Chapters cover: the importance of balancing the ideal and the pragmatic, with a closer examination of oversees refugee training programs in Thailand and the Philippines; distinguishing characteristics of overseas refugee training programs; practices, trends, and issues in training programs, including work orientation, programs for children as well as special-needs groups such as refugees with disabilities, and staff development; history of, obstacles to, and successful strategies of native language literacy; the needs of young adult Amerasians, including social and recreational activities as well as counseling; and winning partnerships between home and school, with emphasis on preparing refugees for elementary programs, family involvement, and effective strategies.

Meeting the Needs of Refugee Families and Their Children summarizes the results of interviews with Somali and Eritrean refugee parents about which community services they most used and most needed for their children. Based on a larger document that contains practice guidelines for resettlement professionals and social services agencies, this report concentrates on in-depth interviews conducted in 20 families’ homes in and around London. Among the key findings were that: (1) the parents felt a deep sense of isolation, insecurity, and fear; (2) a limited grasp of English and a lack of interpreters meant that parents could not take full advantage of education and health services; and (3) refugees’ unique physical and mental health problems, as distinct from those of migrants, were most often not recognized by either health and social services professionals or educators. Among the additional services the parents requested were: additional, long-term English language support for their children throughout their schooling; clubs for their children that combined play, cultural activities, English language support, and supplemental education; and health services aimed at the particular needs of refugees. The interview process also identified several types of successful services, including outreach to refugee communities.

Somali Refugee Youth in Maryland: Needs Assessment describes the purpose, methodology, results, and conclusions of a needs assessment of Somali refugee youth in Prince George’s County, Maryland, conducted during the 2000-2001 academic year. The primary purpose was to determine how the Somali youth were faring in public schools. Data were gathered from focus groups with the youth (in middle school, in high school, and recently graduated) as well as interviews with parents and such school personnel as guidance and outreach counselors, international student specialists, and ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teachers. Although the interviews and discussions indicated that the Somali youth for the most part were adjusting well to both American society and school, some themes and concerns emerged around the difficulty of feeling different from the other students as reflected in family life and religious beliefs, having academic or disciplinary problems, being teased and involved in fights, and facing an uncertain future. From the teachers’ perspectives, problems also arose because of the lack of ESOL teachers and the challenge of promoting parental involvement. Key conclusions included the importance of gathering information from and sharing it with key stakeholders and of increasing cultural understanding.

Immigrant Learners and Their Families: Literacy to Connect the Generations describes a culturally sensitive approach to family literacy in the United States that builds upon immigrants’ cultural heritage and the richness and complexity of lives to create a foundation for learning and communication. Chapters address: the theoretical underpinning of family literacy, which recognizes possible literacy deficits in both children and parents, as well as current research models and changing assumptions about literacy development; program design, including ways to support parents in promoting the school success of their children and techniques for fostering collaboration between schools and newcomer communities; distinguishing features of family literacy projects, illustrated by programs in California; successful strategies for school-family collaboration; the role of cultural brokers; the use of journal writing to promote writing in all learning situations; the role of language and literacy in multilingual families and the impact of immigration on literacy; guidelines for curriculum development; other case studies from around the U.S., including Florida, Texas, and New York City; and program evaluation on the part of both learner and educator as well as considerations for future programs.

Summer Bridge Programs: Supporting All Students examines how access to higher education has expanded markedly over the last thirty years. Remediation and support programs, including summer bridge programs, have grown in response to the needs of international students, non-English speakers and disabled students, and others who need help in gaining an equal footing with other students. The other main thrust of these programs is to retain these new populations within higher education. The summer programs offer a wide range of activities: academic support, study skills, career counseling, parent involvement, developing relationships on campus, computer literacy, and partnerships with business, communities, and K-12 educators. Individualization of the curricula and programs to the needs of each campus is essential. Every program should begin by developing a mission statement and goals that serve as the foundation of any evaluation, recognizing that it is not usually possible to offer all activities and to serve all populations. Bridge programs are also gaining support internationally, as other countries expand their higher education systems; many are looking to U.S. models, and our institutions need to support and nurture these programs.

This featured search in the BRYCS clearinghouse will lead you to more information about refugee children and education.