Abstract
In 2018, Aotearoa/New Zealand increased its annual refugee quota to 1000. When refugees arrive in Aotearoa/New Zealand they spend six weeks in a resettlement programme. During this time, children attend an introduction to schooling. First language (L1) literacy support for children experiencing education in a medium that is not their Home Language has been identified as essential for children’s educational success. This knowledge is reflected in Principle 4 of the International Literacy Association’s Children’s Rights to Read campaign, which states that “children have the right to read texts that mirror their experiences and languages...”. In 2018, the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY)-Yamada Foundation granted funding to IBBY in Aotearoa/New Zealand (IBBYNZ)/Storylines to supply books in the Home Languages of the refugee children in the introduction to school programme. Over 350 books were sourced in a range of languages including Farsi, Arabic, Tamil, Punjabi, Burmese, Karen, Chin, and Spanish. In this article, the sourcing of these books and their introduction to children in a refugee resettlement programme is described. Interviews with five teachers in the resettlement programme concerning the use of the books and how children and their families have been responding are reported. Future programme developments are outlined.
Highlights
In 2018, Aotearoa/New Zealand increased its refugee quota to 1000 persons per year [1].When refugees arrive in Aotearoa/New Zealand they spend six weeks in a resettlement programme.During this time, the children attend a school at the refugee resettlement centre within the requirements and oversight of the New Zealand Ministry of Education
In 2016, the Storylines Children’s Literature Trust of Aotearoa/New Zealand, the New Zealand section of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), hosted the biennial congress of IBBY at which a number of papers described the extreme deprivation of their language and identity that is experienced by refugee children throughout the world
We found that books in some of the wide range of Home Languages of the refugee families arriving in Aotearoa/New Zealand were hard to access
Summary
In 2018, Aotearoa/New Zealand increased its refugee quota to 1000 persons per year [1]. In 2016, the Storylines Children’s Literature Trust of Aotearoa/New Zealand, the New Zealand section of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), hosted the biennial congress of IBBY at which a number of papers described the extreme deprivation of their language and identity that is experienced by refugee children throughout the world. This anomie was partially attributed to the absence of culturally contextualised books and stories in Home Languages. We will present the voices of five teachers describing their experiences in the early stages of this programme
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
