Refugee Action Support
Assisting young refugees make a successful transition into Australian schooling.
Refugee Action Support (RAS) is a program that aims to provide effective support for adolescent refugee students as they grapple with the language and literacy demands of the classroom. Entering a new culture can be a daunting experience. The ALNF recognises the complexities that these young people face and understands why it is necessary to assist young refugees make a successful transition into Australian schooling.
Through the RAS program, the ALNF recruits, trains and places university students in schools with a high refugee representation to provide face-to-face learning support for adolescent refugee students.
The program involves a special three-way partnership that has been established between ALNF, DET and various universities through which students enrolled in teaching courses act as literacy tutors for adolescent refugees in one-on-one/small group settings. The university students gain course credit while working with the high school students.
An online resource library and discussion forum is currently under development so that tutors, students and teachers can access resources and post comments, suggestions and requests.
This project is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations under the Schools Assistance (Learning Together - Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Act 2004.
Participating Universities inlcude:
- The University of Western Sydney
- Charles Sturt University
- The University of Sydney
Participating Schools include:
- Schools participating in the RAS program cover the greater South Western Sydney region and the NSW Riverina region.
> View/download RAS Brochure (pdf)
> View/download RAS Structure (pdf)
Case Study
Pendo, a Wagga Wagga High School student who spent much of her childhood in refugee camps in Burundi and Tanzania, is a participant in ALNF's first RAS program to run outside of Sydney run in Wagga Wagga.
> Further information (weblink)
Recent News
Dec 21 - RAS 2009 end of year figures: 90% of identified participants improved to significant or outstanding levels
Another successful year can be recorded for the Refugee Action Support (RAS) program. ALNF would like to thank the energetic tutors and tireless school coordinators who make this program so successful. In 2009, a total of 239 student received support from 96 tutors. Of those receiving support, approximately 70% received support weekly. Initial reports indicate that 90% of identified participants improved to significant or outstanding levels in relation to reading, writing, and speaking and listening for classroom purposes.
More importantly, as one Coordinating Teacher reported, "Not only do the students benefit linguistically, they benefit on social and emotional levels, as they interact with an adult who shows that they care about their education." A fuller report of RAS 2009 will be available in early 2010.
Dec 2 - Wagga Wagga students celebrate RAS success
A fabulous end-of-year morning tea was hosted at Wagga Wagga High School on the morning of Wednesday, 2 December 2009 to celebrate the successful first cohort of the RAS program to be implemented outside of the Sydney area. ALNF would like to thank all involved in the local community who made this first semester such a fantastic experience.
> Further information (weblink)
Dec 1 - Charles Sturt University: ALNF program improving the literacy of teenage refugees in rural NSW
Since the middle of this year, 17 third year education students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) have taken part in ALNF's Refugee Action Support program in which they have worked as literacy and learning tutors for 26 teenage refugees enrolled at Wagga Wagga High School.
Eric Brace, ALNF Project officer: "The cornerstones of the program are two-fold. First, learning language and literacy is a social activity, involving lots of give-and-take between people as they negotiate meaning and practice skills. Second, it's important to have enthusiastic individuals from the community who are willing to lend a hand to help schools meet the needs of all students."
> View media release (weblink)
Nov 30 - Drama in the RAS program
November 2009 brought with it a troupe of skilled actors and writers for participants in the Refugee Action Support (RAS) program. From 19 - 30 November, nine actors and writers from Bankstown Youth Development Services (BYDS) conducted drama forums and writing workshops for students at seven of the nine RAS schools in Sydney. Keep an eye out for the next edition of BYDS's literary journal Westside Jr. You may be reading the published works of some RAS students!
> Further information (weblink)
Acclaim for RAS
The RAS program is regarded as a model of excellence and has been commended in numerous educational journals as well as being showcased at three National and International conferences in 2009.
Journal References
Bond, S. (2009). Learning support programs: education reform beyond the school. Fitzroy (VIC): Brotherhood of St Laurence.
Ferfolja, T, et al. (2009) Refugee Action Support (RAS) program: research evaluation 2009. Penrith (NSW): University of Western Sydney.
Ferfolja, T. (2009) The Refugee Action Support program: developing understanding of diversity. In Teaching Education. Vol 20. No. 4. pp 395 - 407.
Naidoo, L. (2009) Supporting African refugees in Greater Western Sydney: a critical ethnography of after-school homework tutoring centres in Education Research for Policy and Practice. Vol. 7 No. 3, October 2008. pp 139 - 150.
Naidoo, L. (2009) Developing social inclusion through after-school homework tutoring: a study of African refugee students in Greater Western Sydney in the British Journal of Sociology of Education. Vol. 30, No. 3, May 2009, pp 261 - 273.
Naidoo, L. (2009) A structuration theory analysis of the refugee action support program in Greater Western Sydney in Australian Journal of Teacher Education. Vol 34, 4, August 2009. pp 40 - 50
Naidoo, L. (2009) Refugee-centred education: making community engagement central rather than peripheral to pre-service teacher professional development in The International Journal of Learning. Vol 16, No. 5. pp 35 - 44.
McCarthy, F. and Vickers, M. (2008). Digital natives, dropouts and refugees: educational challenges for innovative cities in the Entrepreneur. Oct - Dec 2008. pp 1 - 9.
Refugee Council of Australia. (2009). Refugee young people and post-compulsory education and training: an annotated bibliography. Retrieved from http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au on 15 December 2009.
2009 Conferences
2nd International Conference on Service-Learning in Teacher Education, held in Galway Ireland on 25 - 27 June, 2009. (Presented by Dr Loshini Naidoo, University of Western Sydney).
16th International Conference on Learning, held in Barcelona, Spain on 1 - 4 July, 2009. (Presented by Dr Loshini Naidoo, University of Western Sydney).
2009 Australian Curriculum Studies Association Biennial Conference entitled Curriculum: a national conversation, held at the Hotel Realm in Canberra, ACT on 2 - 4 October, 2009. (panel included representatives from UWS and ALNF).
Useful Resources & Related Programs
Brotherhood of St Laurence's study into Learning Support Programs: http://www.bsl.org.au/pdfs/Bond_Learning_support_programs.pdf
Refugee Council of Australia's resource page on "young people and the refugee and humanitarian program": http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/current/youth.html
Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues, Guide for Teachers of Refugees: Resource Gateway for teachers working with refugee young people in Victoria: http://www.cmy.net.au/Assets/188/1/Resource_Gateway.pdf
A Great Program in Victoria: Learning Beyond the Bell, dedicated to providing support for young refugees: http://www.cmy.net.au/OSHLSPResources#tutortraining
Contact Information
Eric Brace
RAS Project Officer
Tel: 02 9362 3388
Email: eric.brace@alnf.org
208 New South Head Rd
Edgecliff NSW 2027
Participants in the RAS Wagga program
RAS tutoring in Western Sydney