This document discusses a study on the experiences of South Sudanese refugee secondary students in Adelaide, Australia. It examines their experiences before fleeing South Sudan, adjusting to life and schooling in Australia, and the process of integrating into their new community. Key findings include the importance of the Dinka language and culture for students' identity and literacy development, as well as the need for personalized teacher relationships to support their learning. The study highlights the dual layers of students' identities incorporating both their home culture and new intellectual identities formed in school.
Integrating through language learning & teacher relationships
1. Integrating Through Language Learning & Teacher Relationships
Sandy, S. (2013). Donkeys can't fly on planes. Melbourne: Kids Own Publishing
Thomas, J. (2017). From Southern Sudan to Adelaide: learning journeys of refugee
secondary students. PhD thesis, University of Adelaide, Australia. Retrieved from
https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/handle/2440/111486
judithsthomas9@gmail.com
3. How many South Sudanese Refugee Students in Australia?
• CENSUS 2011: 19,369 total of ‘Sudan-Born’ in Australia
• CENSUS 2016: 7,694 total of ‘Sudan-Born’ in Australia
ABS 2012,2018.
4. How many South Sudanese Refugees in South Australia?
• CENSUS 2011 :1416- 7.3% of 19,369 total of ‘Sudan-
Born’ in Australia
• CENSUS 2016: 903-11.73% of 7,694 total of ‘Sudan-
Born’ in Australia
ABS 2012,2018.
5. What are the Issues for Refugee Students,
Integration & Language Learning?
• Understanding unique culture, prior learning & distinctive learning
patterns
• Disrupted Learning for South Sudanese refugee secondary students
• Limited Literacy of the Mother Tongue (ML)-Dinka affecting English
Language learning
• Role of the Teacher
6. How do South Sudanese Refugee secondary students describe their Learning Experiences?
Sandy, S. (2013). Donkeys can't fly on planes. Melbourne: Kids Own Publishing Jonathan Beal, file photo: ABC
South Sudan Adelaide, South Australia Mainstream Secondary School
7. How do South Sudanese Refugee secondary students describe their Learning Experiences? (Thomas J, 2017.)
Theories: Humanistic Sociology & Symbolic Interactionism
8. Qualitative Research : Open-Ended Interviews [19 students & 2 South
Sudanese teachers of Dinka] in English & Two Theories used:
1. Humanistic Sociology
• Study of cultural values: provide meanings from the actors’ words in
areas of social relations & cultural; linguistic; religious; educational
and sense of identity.
• Znaniecki, F & Smolicz, J.
9. 2. Symbolic Interactionism
• ‘I’ & ‘me’ concept of self & social interaction with others in the
process of learning
• Relationships with ‘significant’ and ‘generalised others’
• Mead GH & Blumer, H, 1969
10. 1.Prior to the Journey: Interview Questions
1. What are some of the things you remember learning before you
went to school? By Whom? Where? When? What? How?
• Use of Interviewer’s Prompts eg mother, father etc; jobs for boys, for girls; best learning
experience, worst/difficult learning experience/memorable and why
2. What do you remember about your first days at school? Tell me
about those first days. Where, Who were your teachers, What do you
remember doing, Like doing? Not like doing? Best memories/Worst
memories?
Use of Interviewer’s Prompts Classrooms? Teachers, Written materials, memory and repetition for
learning, Church, Bible, Role models, Getting into trouble
11. 2.The Journey into Mainstream Schooling: Interview
Questions
1. What are your feelings about coming to and living in Australia/South
Australia? What enjoyed the most? What will you remember? Who are
your friends? What have you learnt from them?
• Use of Interviewer’s Prompts List schools and years of attendance, Mother, father etc, first day at
school; role models, best learning/worst experiences. How would you compare living here with
living in Sudan? Informal and formal experiences?
2. What are your feeling about what you haven’t liked/enjoyed about
Australia/South Australia? Do you think you’ll always feel this way? What
was the most difficult to adjust to? Who helped you? How?
• Use of Interviewer’s Prompts List Living at home in the suburbs, shopping, the weather, the food,
leisure activities, food, family members, Making friends, role models, languages, sense of comfort
here?
12. 3.Integrating/Recovery : Interview Questions
1. What do you remember learning at secondary school here in South
Australia? Where, How, Who did you learn from? Experiences of
learning, Did friends help? How? What worked best/least for your
learning? How did it work?
• Use of Interviewer’s Prompts First days at school, ESL classes/support, Teachers etc,
working in groups, writing, assignments, homework, new languages, computers, library,
Maths, Science, Mother etc, learning English, Use of Dinka for the future? Connections
with styles of learning at home, views of Education in South Australia, Future career
path? Advice to newcomers
2. What are some of the things you’ve learned after arriving in South
Australia? What you’ve learned? When? Where? How and from whom? In
the Sudanese community?
• Use of Interviewer’s Prompts ESL classes/support,, First experiences, Enjoyed or not,
Writing and speaking, teachers, Arabic and Dinka, Community events and leaders, Role
Models, Church, Shopping, newspapers, Advice to newcomers-positives and negatives.
13. Background Forces: Actors or Recurring Major Themes
1. War or Threat of War (Past)
2. Visibility Issues & Self-esteem (Present)
3. Memory: Past & Present (Hopes for the Future)
14. 1.Prior to the Journey: Responses
• ‘’We all sit together [and] feel better’ (LF4)
• Learning skills [including spoken languages –Dinka, English, Arabic, Swahili;
herding animals etc] from mother (12/21, both parents), uncles and extended
family (16/21)
• Oral Traditions: stories, speaking, talking, visualisations & doing (NM3)
• Growing, selling crops and looking after animals
• Grandma on ‘marriage’ (NF1)
• Church every day; singing, dancing (NM2)
• ‘School’ was bad; memory and repetition; have to pass exams (NM3)
• Discipline (16/21) at home [‘being hit, ooh’, LM8] and at school
• Remember ‘running without shoes’; danger; survival with Extended Family
• Learnt Swahili in refugee camp at Kakuma (5/21)
15. 2.The Journey into Mainstream Schooling: Responses
• ‘We look different’ ; ‘Means a lot to know[Dinka]…means our culture is still alive’ (LF9)
• English language oral presentations & writing , Maths and Science; ‘difficult’ (NF1)
• Some teachers ignore or are surprised if you do good work; ‘expect us to be on the same level’;
no consideration of background’, ‘slow-talking’; free lessons are a waste of time (NM3, NF1)
• My SACE teacher was fantastic (NF1); Some teachers ‘never gave up’ (LM8); Ask teacher for
‘perusal ‘time (LM6); Teachers -‘Show me how to do things’(NM4); ‘not being able to use or bring
here what we did in Sudan’ (LF4).
• Group work can be a waste of time; students messing around & don’t do homework (16/21)
• Homework Club was helpful (NF1) /I didn’t bother about it (NM4).
• School rules:
• ‘Every way the teachers [were] sick of us. They don’t believe in our culture not our language, hair, natural colour, even
though other students have stripes and things.’(LF5).
• Cousins, elder brothers, sister, uncles, mothers[moral support] helped with homework (NM3)
16. 3. Integrating/Recovery : Responses
• ‘White kids’ and ‘white food’ (NM3).
• ‘Keep away from neighbours’(NM3)
• Living in strange suburbs (NF1)
• ‘Fearful of dogs in parks and going on buses’ (NF1)
• Sometimes go to Community events (NM4)
• The media: ‘in general, if it’s an African [offender] usually they just say it’s
the Sudanese offender’ (NM4)
• A Sudanese party is the ‘best’ (NF1)
• Importance of Dinka Language –being able to write- & Culture (21/21).
• Desire to qualify at school and ‘give back’ to South Sudan (19/21).
17. 1.Prior to the Journey: Southern Sudan & Background of Decades of War
• The Family[The Mother] & Moral Values including Discipline
• Learning-Informal of skills eg Art, Woodwork, Drumming, Dance &
Drama
• Languages & Oral Tradition
• Religion-church as the centre of social gatherings, cultural celebrations
and some language classes
• Formal ‘Schooling’
• Refugee Camps
• Sense of Identity-Collective Identity
18. 2. The Journey into Schooling & Life in Adelaide with constant issues of Visibility
• Arrival & displacement of the Family extended network
• Problems with the Media
• Limited literacy in Dinka and other languages such as English, Arabic & Swahili
• Compulsory requirement to learn, use and be literate in English
• NAP Intensive English classes for secondary refugee students
• Opportunities to study Dinka literacy in SACE subject: Languages & Culture
classes
• Opportunity to enhance ATAR score for tertiary options
19. 3.Integrating/Recovery: What the South Sudanese Refugee Secondary Students Needed
• Role models
• Importance of identity & the Dinka language
• Dinka Language Literacy to enable English Language literacy
• Church attendance
• Personalised Relationship with Teachers
• Appreciation and respect for their prior learning
• Unlock and utilise their natural Creativity
• Recognition of Dinka language & culture
21. OLD & NEW FORMS: Twin layers of Identity and Values
• Emergence of a new ‘intellectual’ or school Identity
• ALONGSIDE
• The long lasting memories of home culture, DL and moral values
• TOWARDS A
• Resulting Sense of Mission
22. Nyadol Nyuan
Commercial lawyer in Melbourne
Adut Akech, Valentino Fall
2018 Couture Fashion Show
Aliir Aliir
Sydney Swans
Akec Makur Chuot
AFLW Carlton
Role Models
Deng Thiak Dut
From child soldier to refugee lawyer
abc.net.au
Octopizzo Rapper
23. Journey Solution
1. How can Refugee South Sudanese secondary students learn ML Literacy?
2. How can these students be best supported in class in terms of literacy, school subject
possibilities & career directions?
3. What do Teachers need to know about these students to enable the fulfilling of their
Opportunities & Dreams for the Future?
4. How do these students learn effectively?
5. How can we educate our Community and promote Inclusion?
24. Call to Action
Compulsory Refugee Student PE Experience eg extending the RAS at UWS dss.gov.au
Clubs in Universities eg The United Voices, UWS & Neighbourhood Information Centres [Languages & Education]
Schools of Languages offering MLs combined with HSC recognition in all states
Ongoing compulsory Teacher Professional Development
Teachers mentored by STTARS
Careful Teacher structuring of school class groups & mobile phone/internet use
One on One or Paired Career Education mentoring for refugee students
Extended funding for Homework Clubs at Schools & in the Community
edmundrice.org.au Brett Williamson-ABC Adelaide
www.dreamstitches.org.au
25. Integrating Through Language Learning & Teacher Relationships
Sandy, S. (2013). Donkeys can't fly on planes. Melbourne: Kids Own Publishing
Thomas, J. (2017). From Southern Sudan to Adelaide: learning journeys of refugee
secondary students. PhD thesis, University of Adelaide, Australia. Retrieved from
https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/handle/2440/111486
judithsthomas9@gmail.com
Thank You !
