African students from refugee backgrounds in Australian TAFE institutes: A case for transformative learning goals and processes

Abstract

Australian Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutes are perhaps the most heterogeneous of the nation’s educational sectors. However, TAFE institutes’ capacity to provide inclusive education is constrained by their curriculum focus and pedagogical practices and culturally premised assumptions that may inhibit learning for students from diverse cultural backgrounds and life experiences. This paper reports from a study that investigated the experiences of learning for African students from refugee backgrounds in TAFE institutes. Adopting phenomenological methodology, the study illuminates ways in which the students’ earlier and current experiences shape their learning at TAFE institutes. The findings indicate that, while greatly appreciating being in a safe environment, African students from refugee backgrounds nevertheless experience racial discrimination and social exclusion as they resettle in Australia. Also, the pedagogical practices at TAFE institutes do not always recognise or accommodate the students’ socio-cultural backgrounds and refugee life experiences. In all, the ‘experienced curriculum’ created unhelpful dissonances for these students. Consequently, the paper argues that in order to benefit more fully from their educational experiences in TAFE and also to effectively engage more in the wider Australian society activities, including employment, these students require particular interventions from these institutes and those who teach in them. It is proposed that a social inclusive transformative learning approach intervention is required for African students from refugee backgrounds to attain meaningful educational outcomes in TAFE institutes.