The refugee crisis has placed many countries worldwide under considerable pressure to accommodate and integrate large numbers of refugees. This is a contemporary reality, and South Africa is no exception. Refugee youth are a predominantly vulnerable group because of forced displacement. Their educational needs are not always met by already overburdened educational systems, which hinder the potential for integration and success. It is unquestionable that refugees experience emotional stress, inadequate social support, and trauma. Students are likely treated as a homogenous group, despite their diverse national, cultural, linguistic, ethnic, and racial backgrounds and circumstances (Sidhu and Taylor, 2009). They will respond to school differently, dependent on all these individual and contextual factors. Yet, they are undeniably resilient. There is increasing need for teachers who are reflexive, responsive, and who practice pedagogies of humanisation, compassion, hope and love. In this paper I focus on how refugee youth encounter school and social spaces and how we may address teaching diverse student bodies through theories of resilience and humanisation. In this interpretative study, I use narrative methodology, and draw on a group of 40 purposively sampled youth who attend English classes at a local church in Johannesburg. I report on their refugee narratives.

Authors:
Leila Kajee, University of Johannesburg, South Africa

About the Presenter(s)
Professor Leila Kajee is a University Professor/Principal Lecturer at University of Johannesburg in South Africa

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