Newcomer education is the specialized teaching of refugees, migrants, asylees and immigrants who have resettled in a host country, with the goal of providing the knowledge and skills necessary to integrate into their country of refuge. Education is the primary way by which newcomers can adjust to the linguistic, social, and cultural environments of their new communities. Newcomer education aims to empower newcomers with a sense of self-efficacy and social integration, as well as giving them the skills to pursue employment or higher education. Newcomer education also aims to help address trauma, culture shock, and other negative effects of forced displacement. Education for newcomers can provide long-term prospects for stability of individuals, communities, countries and global society.
Background Newcomer education is a need with international implications. The Refugee Convention of the UNHCR in 1951 listed public education as one of the fundamental rights of refugees, stating that “elementary education satisfies an urgent need [and] schools are the most rapid and effective instrument of assimilation.” As of 2019, 149 states were party to this agreement.
There is significant difficulty in obtaining a total estimate of global newcomers. In 2019, the UNHCR estimated a global total of 26.0 million refugees and 4.2 million asylum-seekers. Of that total, 16.2 million applied for asylum in countries of refuge, and 1.1 million were formally resettled. According to the UN, 2019 saw a total of 22.8 million declared new immigrants worldwide. However, irregular or illegal migration may contribute upwards of 20 million to official totals.
While there is an increasing number of refugees forcibly displaced to host countries with hopes of beginning a successful new life, the lack of resources and countless obstacles prevent many from success in their education. Forcibly displaced persons are especially underrepresented in higher levels of education. In 2017, 61% of Refugee children were enrolled in primary school, compared to 92% globally.UNHCR. 2018. Turn the Tide. Refugee Education in Crisis, p. 14. 23% of refugee adolescents were enrolled in secondary education, compared to 84% globally. In 2016, 1% of refugee youth were enrolled at the tertiary level, compared to 34% globally.
Challenges and best practices
Newcomer students have a unique set of challenges in the classroom. Newcomers face cultural, linguistic, and social barriers to accessing classroom content, as well as the academic challenges of content comprehension and demonstration of mastery. Host nations are challenged to fulfill international commitments to respect the right to education for all. In order to provide effective education for newcomers, schools must meet a set of broad comprehensive needs as well as a set of specialized academic needs specific to newcomer students. Newcomer students may experience trauma from rape, war, psychological abuse, physical abuse, neglect, and involuntary displacement affects their learning abilities and development. Trauma imposes challenges in education for these students. Recognizing trauma among newcomer students is necessary to understand trauma-informed care and implement trauma-informed teaching practices to assist these students. This trauma-informed care is shifting the focus from what is wrong with a person to what has happened to a person in order to understand their current mental state and how it affects them in the present moment.
Additionally, legacies of institutionalized racism and xenophobia can be exacerbated in cases of refugee resettlement as explained by the theory of segmented assimilation; this theory posits that the assimilation of refugees is constrained by the existing racism of the host country. This results in ineffective refugee education, and disadvantages refugee children in both their social and educational environments. Better or full assimilation and integration of refugee children has been demonstrated to positively impact their education and development.
The education and quality of resources these refugee students are dealt with can completely alter the direction of their lives. Certain programs that are more supportive of refugee students and provide them the quality education they need in a way that is specifically tailored toward them reap positive results. One example of this can be identified in a case study where a young refugee student named Moussa attended a school with a tailored refugee-specific curriculum. Within Moussa's school which consisted of majority of refugee and minority students, it was found that “Black [refugee] students at Moussa's school were much more likely to graduate in four years than other black students citywide [New York], and the school fostered aspirations for college and professional success.” Specifically, when looking at the percentage differentiation between generic public schools in New York City and Moussa's specialized school, Black refugee students were 85% more likely to graduate as compared to the significantly low 60% that is present in other schools. Schools such as Moussa's that are specially tailored for students of refugee background have demonstrated significant benefits and appeal as compared to “normal” public schools. Within a program like this, they can be provided with a quality education that better prepares them for America. This is one of the countless similar schools within the United States that are specially designed to support refugee students.
These programs are critical to the growth and lives of refugees in the United States. While public schools across the United States have systems in place that provide support and resources for these types of students, they tend to fall under a "one size fits all" approach. However, as seen in other countries, “Recognizing the different levels of adversity students face, we have called this a triple disadvantage, which we understand may still be underestimating the range of experiences and challenges faced by immigrant families and their children”.Bilgili, Özge & Volante, Louis & Klinger, Don A. & Siegel, Melissa, 2019. "Confronting the challenge of immigrant and refugee student underachievement: Policies and practices from Canada, New Zealand and the European Union," MERIT Working Papers 2019-048, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT). Rather than boxing and categorizing refugee and newcomer children into generic groups with generalized methods of supporting them, specialized programs are needed to address the specific experiences of these students. Within schools like Moussa's, educators can spend more time recognizing the individual struggles of students and pursue specialized methods of education and support for them as compared to more normal public schools. These programs have been proven to have long-term positive effects on the lives of these students.
Research shows that addressing the specific needs of refugee and immigrant students, supporting their second language learning through more personalized instruction, adapting the curriculum in classrooms to be culturally relevant, and creating an environment of inter-student collaboration is key to cultivating their academic success.
Comprehensive needs Academic research suggests that newcomer students have a set of “comprehensive needs” that must be met as a precondition for language acquisition and academic success. These needs include secure housing, financial support, legal aid, mental health and trauma support, and social and acculturation support.Finn, S. (2019). High School Education for California Newcomers: Landscape Analysis and Policy Recommendations. Sobrato Family Foundation. The main issues faced by refugee students are related to multicultural adaptation, second language learning, assessment trends, and interventions. The need for school-provided mental health services for refugees, who have often escaped highly traumatic backgrounds, is also critical. Academic and career opportunities are beneficial for refugee students when paired with need-specific support programs for refugee and immigrant students.
Best practices for meeting comprehensive needs involve two phases: an introductory period and an ongoing support system. The introductory period includes a robust intake and cultural orientation process. An ongoing support system involves the provision of wraparound services and connections with community based organizations outside of the school context.
Intake involves an assessment of students’ language abilities, educational history, home and family situation, and physical and mental health needs. Schools can improve such an intake process by employing dedicated psychiatric social workers to help with assessments, as well as providing referrals to community resources and following up with families after the intake process is complete.Sugarman, J. (2017). Beyond Teaching English: Supporting High School Completion by Immigrant and Refugee Students. Migration Policy Institute. 2017. Social workers have also been shown to play vital roles in facilitating social inclusion in educational settings. Through their unique connections to students’ personal, academic, and familial life, these workers can advocate for them through supportive counseling, policy advocacy functions in their schools and communities, and case management.
Cultural orientation to school life includes formal explanations of expectations and requirements as well as ongoing informal conversations with peers or administrators. Orientation is especially critical for students with limited or interrupted formal education, as they may not understand the cultural and behavioral expectations of a school environment. During this process, it is important to introduce culturally specific ways of thinking about education. In the western world, these include understanding the emphasis placed on individual academic achievement and “viewing learning as a foundation for future learning[...] rather than solely as a tool for practical use."
Ongoing support involves the provision of wraparound services, such as onsite physical and mental health clinics, restorative justice systems, college counseling, nonprofit legal services, extracurricular student engagement, and trauma response teams. Often, schools partner with community-based organizations to ensure effective provisioning for these needs.
The trauma of violent experiences and the resettlement process, poverty, and resentment faced by classmates and students all lead to educational disadvantages that cannot be completely addressed by only providing academic resources. School administrations must utilize a comprehensive community-based approach when addressing the needs of refugee and immigrant students.
Academic needs Specialized academic programming for newcomers is beneficial to effective language acquisition and academic success. Sheltered instruction, content integration, and flexible scheduling have proven successful in improving graduation rates for newcomer students.
Sheltered instruction involves placing newcomer students in specially designed content classes, typically with smaller class sizes and more instructional support. This approach is recommended for newcomer students with limited literacy skills, especially those with partial or interrupted formal education. Sheltered instruction can also be used as a strategy to integrate newcomer students into formal education for the first year or years of their education, before joining broader ESL programs or general instruction classes.Short, D.J., and Boyson, B.A. (2012). Helping Newcomer Students Succeed in Secondary School and Beyond. Center for Applied Linguistics.