How Educators can Empower Students Living with Refugee Trauma to Flourish at School and Beyond

Specialised therapies can deliver life-changing effects on young people living with trauma, helping to turn a disengaged student into one who is regularly putting their hand up in class and laughing with peers in the playground. By understanding the complexity of refugee and inter-generational trauma, educators and our government leaders can help ensure that young people from refugee backgrounds are confident learners and contributors to our communities.

When students living with trauma are not properly supported or engaged at school, the consequences can be serious. These include, but are not limited to:

• Disengagement from school
• Increased absenteeism
• Self-harming
• Increased risk taking
• Disruption in the classroom
• Complete withdrawal due to being unable to engage in learning
• Drug or alcohol abuse
• Becoming involved in the youth justice system

A One-Size-Fits-All Approach Does Not Work
Our research and analysis show that most refugee children or children seeking asylum are experiencing family-related stress and anxiety that impacts their daily lives. Children’s psychological situations are further challenged by prolonged visa uncertainty, and in Australia as of 31 December 2021, the average period of time for people held in detention facilities was 689 days.

It is much harder and costlier to try to fix a magnification of problems later in adulthood than supporting healthy development in childhood and adolescence. Trauma-recovery solutions like HEAL exist but need proper recognition and funding to have a tangible impact at scale.

With the right support, children and young people of refugee or asylum seeker backgrounds living with trauma can not only partake in school activities but can truly excel.

To see the impact of partnerships between schools and specialist agencies, we can turn to the NSW School Liaison Program funded by the NSW Government.  QPASTT’s sister agency STARTTS (Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors) works to promote systematic changes at the school level to improve the learning environment and healing outcomes for students of refugee backgrounds. The program works to build partnership and enhance capacity amongst the NSW Department of Education, Catholic Education and Association of Independent Schools NSW to receive enrolments from students from refugee backgrounds, including providing specialist consultation and professional learning to teachers, welfare staff and school leaders, and supporting schools to implement whole school approaches and systemic changes in schools.

STARTTS in Schools also provides trauma informed direct service programs and individual interventions through Child and Adolescent Counsellors and a team of specialist Youth Workers.

A 2021 evaluation of STARTTS in Schools included the following findings:

• 85% of participants felt more confidence to offer support to children and young people of refugee backgrounds.
• 97% of reported feeling happier as a result of participating in STARTTS programs.
• 87% of teacher responses indicated academic performance improvement as a result of participating in STARTTS programs.
• 80% of teacher responses indicated observing a significant positive change in the respect that participants showed towards themselves and others.

HEAL collects post-intervention feedback from both students and teachers. Teachers have advised that HEAL students are learning to better self-regulate with less outbursts of anger, they are relating better to others, have increased focus and concentration, and decreased their frustration in the classroom. Students have reported that HEAL was the only place they could discuss family concerns or share distressing memories and feelings.

The Power of Self-Expression
Expressive therapies that combine art, music, play and drama with psychological support make it easier for children and young people to process and heal from their trauma. It helps with navigating the challenges of settling and learning in Australian schools, particularly when English is not their first language.

For example, our work with art and expressive therapy with children from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds has proven to lead to students being happier, more well-connected, more socially engaged, more active in class, learning language skills at a better rate, working more independently, and generally enjoying school on a whole new level. The domino effect of this improved mood and overall well-being is better exam results, higher likelihood to graduate, and smoother transitions between different classes and tasks.

While not all teachers and educators may have the skills or resources to directly deliver support solutions tailored for the needs of a refugee child living with trauma, it is always in their realm of influence to help identify their needs and communicate their requirements to partners or specialists. If the pressure of helping all students living with refugee students sits solely on the shoulders of teachers, their pre-existing challenges with burnout and resource shortages will become further exacerbated. An industry-wide collaboration, however, will help all children identify and receive the supports they need to be their best selves in the playground, classroom, and beyond their school years.

Image by Noor Aldin Alwan