Adult Refugee Learners with Limited Literacy: Needs and Effective Responses

Abstract

Adult refugees with limited education are a distinctive learner group with substantial and distinctive educational, social, and psychological needs. Working with these learners is a highly specialized activity, requiring high levels of educational skill and commitment. With a paucity of original research available about this group of learners, this study provides a systematic documentation of their distinctive needs as well as effective educational strategies for use with these learners. The study involved interviews with 36 adult refugees, two program coordinators, five course teachers, and six bilingual tutors from a community-based program in New Zealand. The challenge of working with these learners arises due not only to their experiences as refugees, but also as learners with minimal or no edu- cational experience. Their progress depends on a skilful development of “learning to learn,” acquiring basic literacy skills, personal confidence and transfer of these skills to everyday life outside the classroom.