The Refugee Education SIG is a group of people from the community, higher education, vocational education and school sectors who have an interest in supporting educational opportunities for students from refugee backgrounds.
The SIG has emerged from a recognised need for a coordinated approach to advocacy and networking to support the access and engagement of students from refugee and asylum seeking backgrounds in post-compulsory and higher education across Australia. It has originated from a special interest group at the Equity Practitioners in Higher Education Australasia (EPHEA) and a national symposium at the University of Newcastle, both held in November 2015, as well as regular national teleconferences exploring education pathways for young people seeking asylum and young refugees on TPVs and SHEVs hosted by the Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network (MYAN Australia) and the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) since November 2015.
Objectives
- Create greater collaboration and networks between institutions, practitioners and providers to achieve better outcomes for students from refugee backgrounds
- Share ‘best practice’ initiatives, research, interventions, programs and support mechanisms across Australia
- Share information about pathways into higher education available to students from refugee backgrounds and other culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) students
- Advocate with and on behalf of students from refugee backgrounds on issues that affect their ability to access, engage in and transition out of higher education
