Loshini Naidoo | Western Sydney University (original) (raw)
Papers by Loshini Naidoo
This paper discusses the Refugee Action Support Partnership Project between the University of Wes... more This paper discusses the Refugee Action Support Partnership Project between the University of Western Sydney, The Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation and the NSW-Department of Education and Training (DET). The critical ethnographic method is used to evaluate the after-school homework tutoring centres as a vehicle of literacy development and youth transitions. Given the nature of strife and unrest in the African Continent, refugee children may have been unable to attend school before coming to Australia, or obtained only interrupted schooling at best. Since parents are unfamiliar with the education system and because many do not speak English, they cannot help their children as they would wish to, and children may be left to deal with difficulties alone. The School of Education at UWS offers service learning programs like the after-school homework tutoring centres, to deliver effective and sustainable support to schools so that refugee students can feel safe and begin to learn.
This article uses Gidden’s structuration theory to analyse the Refugee Action Support program in ... more This article uses Gidden’s structuration theory to analyse the Refugee Action Support program in Greater Western Sydney. The study shows that many refugee students in Australian high schools experience difficulty with academic transition in mainstream classrooms due to their previous experiences in war-torn countries. As a result of the trauma suffered, many refugees have difficulty adjusting to the host society. The problem is further exacerbated by the fact that many of the refugees may not previously have had any form of formal schooling. Their literacy development may therefore be impacted by both individual and structural factors. Structuration theory helps us understand how literacy was improved for these refugee students and how practice was mediated as a result of the Refugee Action Support program.
The aim of this chapter is to consider particular elements of the larger context for the developm... more The aim of this chapter is to consider particular elements of the larger context for the development of refugee education and within that larger context to explore a review of the literature. Context is not just the background against which refugee experiences occur; it is a collection of determining forces that affect the refugee experience in delicate and not-so-delicate ways. The context or setting, and the responses it engenders, can be challenging, and shapes forces that drive and mediate the personal experiences of refugees which will be explored in later chapters.
This paper discusses the role of community, non-government organisations and universities in assi... more This paper discusses the role of community, non-government organisations and universities in assisting secondary schools meet the needs of refugee students. On arrival in Australia, many African refugee communities experience high levels of stress particularly in adjusting to their new environment. The parents and students unfamiliarity with the Australian educational system creates not only cultural and social barriers for African refugee students but linguistic barriers as well. Given the difficulties experienced by refugee students in making the transition to mainstream classes and the lack of adequate teaching and learning resources for teachers in schools, this paper takes as its primary focus the complex needs of refugee students, the role of community organisations in meeting these needs, the implications for teacher preparation programs in tertiary institutions and the benefits of interventionist mechanisms like the Refugee Action Support program for refugee students.
This paper examines the current African National Congress education policy in South Africa using ... more This paper examines the current African National Congress education policy in South Africa using a methodological tool derived from critical theory (Jay, 1973; Wellmer, 1971; O’Neill, 1977; Held, 1980; Guess, 1981; Roderick, 1986; Kellner, 1989; McCarthy, 1978, 1991) since it has an emancipatory rather than a manipulative interest in critical inquiry. While much has been written on South African educational policy after the African National Congress victory in 1994, (African National Congress, 1994a; African National Congress, 1994b; Asmal and James, 2001; Carrim, 1998; Chisholm and Fine, 1994; Council on Higher Education, 2000a, 2000b; Department of Education, 1997; Maharaj, 1999; National Commission on Higher Education, 1996) but little, if any, has focussed on critical theory as a methodological tool. This paper examines the current African National Congress education policy in South Africa using a methodological tool derived from critical theory (Jay, 1973; Wellmer, 1971; O’Neil...
Teaching and Teacher Education
International Journal of Inclusive Education
Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning
International Studies in Sociology of Education
Refugee Background Students Transitioning Into Higher Education
The Journal of the World Universities Forum
Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 2017
Preparing pre-service teachers to address the disparities in educational attainment that occur in... more Preparing pre-service teachers to address the disparities in educational attainment that occur in settings with complex demographics such as high poverty and super diversity (Vertovec, 2007) require a theoretically driven contextual and spacial (Soja, 1996) understanding of disadvantage. This understanding highlights the structural and systemic inequalities that exist between the rich and the poor and limit social and economic mobility for disadvantaged students in schools. This paper uses a conceptual and spacial understanding to focus on the strategies implemented by a primary and secondary pre-service teacher program to support and improve pre-service teacher learning of disadvantaged schools. We detail approaches to learning that support pre-service teachers in attempting to consider how their own ethnicity and culture shapes practice and may disrupt the effects of poverty on educational outcomes to make a difference in the lives of their students.
The International Journal of the Inclusive Museum, 2011
The International Journal of Learning: Annual Review, 2009
The International Journal of Learning: Annual Review, 2007
Tamara Journal of Critical Postmodern Organization, 2015
Literacy Learning the Middle Years, Oct 1, 2011
This paper discusses the Refugee Action Support Partnership Project between the University of Wes... more This paper discusses the Refugee Action Support Partnership Project between the University of Western Sydney, The Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation and the NSW-Department of Education and Training (DET). The critical ethnographic method is used to evaluate the after-school homework tutoring centres as a vehicle of literacy development and youth transitions. Given the nature of strife and unrest in the African Continent, refugee children may have been unable to attend school before coming to Australia, or obtained only interrupted schooling at best. Since parents are unfamiliar with the education system and because many do not speak English, they cannot help their children as they would wish to, and children may be left to deal with difficulties alone. The School of Education at UWS offers service learning programs like the after-school homework tutoring centres, to deliver effective and sustainable support to schools so that refugee students can feel safe and begin to learn.
This article uses Gidden’s structuration theory to analyse the Refugee Action Support program in ... more This article uses Gidden’s structuration theory to analyse the Refugee Action Support program in Greater Western Sydney. The study shows that many refugee students in Australian high schools experience difficulty with academic transition in mainstream classrooms due to their previous experiences in war-torn countries. As a result of the trauma suffered, many refugees have difficulty adjusting to the host society. The problem is further exacerbated by the fact that many of the refugees may not previously have had any form of formal schooling. Their literacy development may therefore be impacted by both individual and structural factors. Structuration theory helps us understand how literacy was improved for these refugee students and how practice was mediated as a result of the Refugee Action Support program.
The aim of this chapter is to consider particular elements of the larger context for the developm... more The aim of this chapter is to consider particular elements of the larger context for the development of refugee education and within that larger context to explore a review of the literature. Context is not just the background against which refugee experiences occur; it is a collection of determining forces that affect the refugee experience in delicate and not-so-delicate ways. The context or setting, and the responses it engenders, can be challenging, and shapes forces that drive and mediate the personal experiences of refugees which will be explored in later chapters.
This paper discusses the role of community, non-government organisations and universities in assi... more This paper discusses the role of community, non-government organisations and universities in assisting secondary schools meet the needs of refugee students. On arrival in Australia, many African refugee communities experience high levels of stress particularly in adjusting to their new environment. The parents and students unfamiliarity with the Australian educational system creates not only cultural and social barriers for African refugee students but linguistic barriers as well. Given the difficulties experienced by refugee students in making the transition to mainstream classes and the lack of adequate teaching and learning resources for teachers in schools, this paper takes as its primary focus the complex needs of refugee students, the role of community organisations in meeting these needs, the implications for teacher preparation programs in tertiary institutions and the benefits of interventionist mechanisms like the Refugee Action Support program for refugee students.
This paper examines the current African National Congress education policy in South Africa using ... more This paper examines the current African National Congress education policy in South Africa using a methodological tool derived from critical theory (Jay, 1973; Wellmer, 1971; O’Neill, 1977; Held, 1980; Guess, 1981; Roderick, 1986; Kellner, 1989; McCarthy, 1978, 1991) since it has an emancipatory rather than a manipulative interest in critical inquiry. While much has been written on South African educational policy after the African National Congress victory in 1994, (African National Congress, 1994a; African National Congress, 1994b; Asmal and James, 2001; Carrim, 1998; Chisholm and Fine, 1994; Council on Higher Education, 2000a, 2000b; Department of Education, 1997; Maharaj, 1999; National Commission on Higher Education, 1996) but little, if any, has focussed on critical theory as a methodological tool. This paper examines the current African National Congress education policy in South Africa using a methodological tool derived from critical theory (Jay, 1973; Wellmer, 1971; O’Neil...
Teaching and Teacher Education
International Journal of Inclusive Education
Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning
International Studies in Sociology of Education
Refugee Background Students Transitioning Into Higher Education
The Journal of the World Universities Forum
Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 2017
Preparing pre-service teachers to address the disparities in educational attainment that occur in... more Preparing pre-service teachers to address the disparities in educational attainment that occur in settings with complex demographics such as high poverty and super diversity (Vertovec, 2007) require a theoretically driven contextual and spacial (Soja, 1996) understanding of disadvantage. This understanding highlights the structural and systemic inequalities that exist between the rich and the poor and limit social and economic mobility for disadvantaged students in schools. This paper uses a conceptual and spacial understanding to focus on the strategies implemented by a primary and secondary pre-service teacher program to support and improve pre-service teacher learning of disadvantaged schools. We detail approaches to learning that support pre-service teachers in attempting to consider how their own ethnicity and culture shapes practice and may disrupt the effects of poverty on educational outcomes to make a difference in the lives of their students.
The International Journal of the Inclusive Museum, 2011
The International Journal of Learning: Annual Review, 2009
The International Journal of Learning: Annual Review, 2007
Tamara Journal of Critical Postmodern Organization, 2015
Literacy Learning the Middle Years, Oct 1, 2011
Presented at the 2009 ACSA Biennial Conference entitled Curriculum: A National Conversation, held... more Presented at the 2009 ACSA Biennial Conference entitled Curriculum: A National Conversation, held at the Hotel Realm in Canberra, ACT on 2 – 4 October, 2009
Our purpose in this seminar is to ask: What does effective educational program for refugee students look like? And - second, to describe the work being done through our Refugee Action Support program - by the University of Western Sydney, the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation, and by UWS student teachers and the coordinating teachers in participating high schools.
This report documents the findings of an Australia-wide research project, Researching Parent Enga... more This report documents the findings of an Australia-wide research project, Researching Parent Engagement: A Qualitative Field Study, undertaken by the Centre for Educational Research, Western Sydney University in collaboration with the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY). A qualitative ethnographic approach explored parent engagement in contexts where little research has been done, focusing on Aboriginal, low-SES, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) parents, and parents of children with special needs. The research team were selected for their particular expertise in relation to these groups.
Research aims:
Aim 1: To explore the perspectives on learning of parents and educators of the four cohorts
Aim 2: To investigate the views on the roles of parents and educators in relation to children’s learning
Aim 3: To identify the barriers and enablers of parent engagement in children’s learning
Aim 4: To make recommendations for future actions in relation to the findings