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TRANSCRIPT
This may be the author’s version of a work that was submitted/acceptedfor publication in the following source:
Schweitzer, Robert, Khawaja, Nigar, Hancox, Donna, & Mackay, Sasha(2018)Building inclusive schools: Strategies and learnings from Milpera State
High School.Queensland Government and Queensland University of Technology, Aus-tralia.
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Building Inclusive SchoolsStrategies & Learnings
from Milpera State High
School
A QUT Research project supported by an Education Horizon Grant.
Contents
Research team ............................................................................ 1About this booklet ...................................................................... 2Background to the research ....................................................... 3Knowledge-sharing ..................................................................... 4About Milpera State High School ............................................... 5Milpera Successes ...................................................................... 6Research Process ........................................................................ 7A Model for Building Inclusive Schools ....................................... 8Reflections ...................................................................................9Adaptation to New Environments ............................................ 10Social Support .......................................................................... 13Reflections .................................................................................16Belonging and Connectedness ................................................. 18Reflections ................................................................................ 19Summary .................................................................................. 21Bibliography .............................................................................. 22Reflections .................................................................................23
1
Research team
Professor Robert SchweitzerPrincipal ResearcherQUT Faculty of HealthSchool of Psychology and CounsellingE: [email protected]
Associate Professor Nigar KhawajaResearcherQUT Faculty of HealthSchool of Psychology and CounsellingE: [email protected]
Dr Donna HancoxResearcherQUT Creative Industries FacultySchool of Creative PracticeE: [email protected]
Dr Sasha MackayResearch AssistantQUT Faculties of Health& Creative Industries E: [email protected]
2
About this booklet
This booklet is designed to accompany the presentation Building Inclusive Schools: Strategies & Learnings from Milpera State High School.
Both the presentation and booklet are knowledge sharing resources designed to stimulate discussions about school and classroom inclusivity and belonging, especially as pertains to students from refugee and migrant backgrounds. The presentation shares insights and learnings developed through a QUT research collaboration and provides opportunities for audiences from DET schools to contribute their own knowledge.
These resources are underpinned by the principle that:
With appropriate resourcing and strategies, schools can effective-
ly address the unique challenges faced by students from refugee
and migrant backgrounds, enhancing school retention, academic success, and informing those students’ socio-economic successes in
adulthood.
Note: This presentation and booklet were developed through a QUT research project supported by an Education Horizon Grant through the Department for Education. These resources do not necessarily represent the views of the Department.
3
Background to the research
While students from refugee and migrant backgrounds are generally well-adjusted and performing well in school, this cohort can experience certain challenges. For example:
• students from refugee and migrant backgrounds can be up to 5 times more likely to drop out of school than others (Wong, Schweitzer & Khawaja, 2018).• students who drop out of school are likely to earn less & depend more on welfare benefits than adults who completed high school (Wong, Schweitzer & Khawaja, 2018).
This presentation and booklet aim to generate
discussions about how to
reinforce protective and preventative measures
that can support students
from refugee and migrant
backgrounds and offset these challenges.
4
Knowledge-sharing
1. To present the research: identifying what works for creating an inclusive school for students from refugee and migrant backgrounds in the context of Milpera State High School.
2. To prompt discussion: asking educators to draw on their own expertise and share with one another strategies and ideas around inclusive schooling for CALD students.
This presentation has two key objectives:
5
About Milpera State High School
Milpera State High School is located in Brisbane, Queensland. It is a specialised school focussing on the English language development and settlement needs of students of migrant and refugee back-grounds.
Students are from over 20 nations and all students speak languages other than English.
Most students spend between six and 18 months at Milpera before transitioning to mainstream schools.
6
Milpera Successes
• Students exhibit a high level of school connectedness and a sense of belonging;
• High level of socio-emotional stability, meaning they are open to learning;
• 94% School attendance;
• 95% attendance at School camps;
• 80% of Milpera students demonstrate high levels of resilience and mental wellbeing.
7
Research Process
This research was driven by the question: what works at Milpera
State High School?
The objective was to identify key factors for creating socially in-clusive classrooms for students from refugee and migrant back-grounds.
The data collected includes psychosocial, cognitive and academic data. Follow up data was collected at 12 and 24 months from main-stream destination schools.
Digital storytelling workshops were facilitated with teachers, par-ents and students as a means of identifying and expressing what works at Milpera State High School.
8
A Model for Building Inclusive Schools
What we found at Milpera:
9
Reflections
1. Individually, think about a time when you were in a new place and did not know anyone. Get in touch with how you felt at the time. Did you feel isolated or unsupported? Write down what you would have liked at the time.
2. In groups, think about how students from migrant and refugee backgrounds might be feeling in a new country. What social, emo-tional and practical support may be helpful for them?
• Social:
• Emotional:
• Practical:
10
Adaptation to New Environments
In this context, acculturation, or adaptation to new enviornments refers to supporting students to value their own heritage and culture and, at the same time, develop a capacity to understand and appreciate the values, beliefs and practices of mainstream cultures.
Milpera’s approach includes:
• an appropriate and student-centred curriculum;• dedicated settlement programs.
11
12
13
Social Support
Social support refers to being supported, accepted, and cared for within the school environment.
In the context of Milpera, social support involves the entire school community: staff, teachers, families and students.
Social support is offered through both people and programs.
14
15
16
Creating strong links between all members of the school communi-ty is vital at Milpera. At your tables:
1. Please go around the group and mention something your school does to include parents.
2. In what ways does your school nurture student to student sup-port? (Inc. student to student conferencing and collaboration)
3. Next, go around the group and talk about whether there are any connections with the broader community that are important to your school.
Reflections
17
18
Belonging and Connectedness
In the context of Milpera, school belonging and connectedness refers to students’ sense of school as a safe place, a sense of be-longing to a supportive community, and their sense of relaxation and happiness.
“We establish a place where people want to be” (Milpera staff member, interview May 28th 2018).
At Milpera, school connectedness is characterised by respect for cultural diversity, supportive staff-student relations and healthy peer interactions.
19
Reflections
1. What key themes or thoughts in the video were of particular interest to you?
2. A school’s interest in a student’s heritage and culture helps promote the student’s sense of belonging and connectedness to school, and this promotes self esteem. How does your school cele-brate students’ cultures?
3. As a group, brainstorm ways you could help students feel con-nected to the school (eg. Events or activities that would encourage students to feel “this is my space and I am comfortable here”).
20
Reflections
21
Summary
22
Bibliography
Khawaja, Nigar G., Allan, Emily, & Schweitzer, Robert D. (2017) The role of school connectedness and social support in the acculturation of cul-turally and linguistically diverse youth in Australia. Australian Psycholo-
gist, Online (Online), pp. 1-10. (In Press)
Khawaja, Nigar G., Ibrahimi, Omar, & Schweitzer, Robert (2017) Mental wellbeing of students from refugee and migrant backgrounds: The me-diating role of resilience. School Mental Health. (In Press)
Quinlan, Rosalind, Schweitzer, Robert D., Khawaja, Nigar, & Griffin, Jane (2016) Evaluation of a school-based creative arts therapy pro-gramme for adolescents from refugee backgrounds. The Arts in Psycho-
therapy, 47, pp. 72-78.
Tozer, Meryan, Khawaja, Nigar G., & Schweitzer, Robert (2018) Protec-tive factors contributing to wellbeing among refugee youth in Austral-ia. Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools, 28(1), pp. 66-83.
Wong, Charissa W.S., Schweitzer, Robert D., & Khawaja, Nigar G. (2018) Individual, pre-migration, and post-settlement factors in pre-dicting academic success of adolescents from refugee backgrounds: A 12-month follow-up. Journal of International Migration and Integration. (In Press)
23
Reflections
