Rasheedah O. Adams-Ojugbele’s research while affiliated with University of KwaZulu-Natal and other places

Background: The advent of democracy in South Africa brought about many changes in the education system. Policies and frameworks that guide the embracement of refugee children were formulated and later implemented. However, there are ongoing challenges experienced by this group and the incidents of poor access and quality of provision experienced by a larger population of refugee children, calls for urgent redress. Aim: This is a theoretical article that examines and analyses the education access, school integration and participation of refugee children. Setting: Focusing on refugee children in a primary school in South Africa. Method: Empirical study articles and reviews carried out on the education and resettlement of refugee children in their host countries between 2005 till date were randomly selected for inclusion in our analysis. Our intention was to understand how the education for refugees is generally conceptualised and the extent to which their lived experiences are captured. Result: Using Gibson’s theory of affordances as a lens, this article analyses the relationship between the new school environment and refugee children and evaluates the possibilities of sustainable learning for all. Conclusion: We argue for an expansive access, including social and academic support interventions that are balanced in terms of promoting the individual child’s abilities and needs for optimal development.

The development of children in an atmosphere that supports and promotes their socio-emotional, physical and cognitive well-being is imperative for the realisation of the sustainable development goal 4 for 2030. The school environment constitutes an important context where children learn and acquire both social and academic skills, through their interaction with adults and peers, materials and objects in their immediate environment. The aim of this article was to advance the debate on studies focussing on intervention programmes that support the school adjustment of refugee children in primary schools in host countries. Specifically, the article focussed on analysing the available school-based intervention programmes for refugee children in the primary school life. The article utilised the integration theory and the bioecological model of human development as lenses for analysis. The article picked on selected empirical articles and reviews for inclusion in the analysis. Findings from the analysis indicate that the primary school experiences of refugee children in different parts of the world are complex and vary. Whilst some refugee children enjoy inclusion in the primary school life, others are faced with varied challenges, which might impact negatively on their successful integration and adjustment into the school system. This article advocates for an inclusive intervention, where the different persons and contexts involved in the social and academic integration of refugee children interact in a manner that promotes and supports the specific social and developmental needs of refugee children for a favourable outcome.

Background: As populations of refugee children increase globally, strategies for providing quality and relevant educational experiences for this group of children has become a priority. This is because research suggests that refugee children tend to experience higher school dropout rates due to, among other factors, poverty, lack of shelter and inadequate nutrition. Aim: This article reports on an exploratory study of Grade R teachers’ interactions with refugee children in a child care centre in Durban and the ways in which these might contribute to the children’s readiness for Grade 1 in mainstream schools. Setting: The study was located in a Grade R class in a Durban refugee child care centre catering for children from neighbouring African countries. Methods: The study adopted a qualitative ethnographic approach involving classroom and playground observations, as well as informal open-ended interviews with the Grade R teacher and her assistant. Results: The findings suggest that several factors, including a high teacher–learner ratio (1:48), poor classroom management and pedagogical practices, inadequate and inappropriate resources and a lack of professional development opportunities for teachers influenced the nature of interactions between the refugee children and their teachers. Conclusions: The findings have negative implications for the children’s readiness for Grade 1 and beyond. The findings suggest that unless the provision of early childhood development and education (ECDE) in this centre is significantly improved, for example, by addressing the factors identified in the study, the refugee children in the facility will continue to be poorly prepared for mainstream schooling.