Presentation by: Julie White and Laurie Ford
Session: A | Time: 9:00 AM-9:40 AM | Location: Room 204A
Canada has long been a country that welcomes immigrants and refugees. In recent years our school in Canada, including British Columbia (BC), have seen an increase in the numbers of refugee students in our schools. Approximately 45% of refugees coming to Canada are under the age of 18 years. Higher proportion of refugees in Canada are children and youth when compared with all immigrants in BC and BC’s total population (Stats Canada, 2017). These students bring many strengths and assets that enhance the schooling experience for all students. However many also bring challenges unique to their life experiences as refugees. Even the most experienced teachers often acknowledge feeling unprepared to address the unique needs of this new group of students in our schools. Understanding not only the ways to most effectively meet the needs of the students in their classrooms but also learning culturally responsive approaches to working with the students and engaging their families in an education system new to the students and families is an area of practice where many educators are asking for more support. We are exploring ways to support educators in developing effective and culturally responsive ways to support refugee students and their families in BC schools. As a first step in our work, we are conducting a systematic review of the literature regarding practices that enhance the learning and mental health supports for refugee students in schools. Knowledge of these practices may prove helpful to education professional in BC Schools. A purpose of this roundtable discussion is to share highlights of the practices we have discovered in our review and engage in a discussion with BC educators around their experiences with the strengths and challenges of their work with refugee students and their families. It is our hope that through this interactive dialogue we can facilitate a plan to help move forward in addressing culturally responsive ways to support refugee students in our classrooms and engage their families in our schools.
Abstract: 591