Hard Yards High Hopes: The educational challenges of African refugee university students in Australia

Abstract

This paper considers the experience of a small group of young adults who were born in Africa, entered Australia under the humanitarian entry program, and are enrolled in tertiary education. It investigates the expectations and experiences of these students and the associated teaching staff at a South Australian university. This body of students comprises a diverse group of individuals, and their educational success is equally varied. In focus groups many of the students revealed a range of pressures such as challenges adapting to new educational contexts, high community expectations, and difficult home environments for study. Students recounted a mixed educational experience with staff as they interfaced with practical issues of seeking academic support, accessing study materials, and studying in another language. Perhaps reflecting the determination and self-reliance that has brought them to this point, they primarily speak of academic success as their own responsibility, as well as their best support being other students from the same background. An awareness of, and a response to, these issues may help to ease refugee students’ transition to tertiary study.