Helping Refugee Parents Navigate Education
Expressing concern to the parents may create a power struggle because the educators are trying to help, but it may come across as telling the refugee family that their way of doing things is wrong (Hurley et al. 2011). School policies may also conflict with various cultures, such as not allowing children to leave with other children to go home (Hurley et al. 2011).
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Other issues that can be frustrating for the parents include not understanding how to set appointments and the importance of being on time, complex school policies that may differ between settings, and procedures needing parental signatures (Isik-Ercan 2012). These can all be very intimidating to parents and cause them to withdraw from the school environment (Isik-Ercan 2012).
Similarly, many LLRB students are not familiar with the school day routines in the United States and do not receive the opportunity to develop their understandings of their social and cultural setting (Windle 2012). These students are also underprepared for the metacognition and learning strategies that are assumed of students as well as prior knowledge of subjects (Windle 2012).
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Low rates of Burmese children in childcare and preschool are attributable to the lack of knowledge of the importance of early childhood education and the limitation of bilingual opportunities (Isik-Ercan 2012). By missing early childhood opportunities, Burmese children still face language barriers which affects social belonging and academic success (Isik-Ercan 2012).
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A common issue that refugee families face is the lack of cultural competency among teachers (Hurley et al. 2011). Teachers express needing more education regarding various groups of people in order to gain knowledge of cultures (Hurley et al. 2011). Often, teachers will unintentionally offend parents due to lack of understanding (Hurley et al. 2011).
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Parents are also commonly concerned with the lack of halal food in their child’s schools (Isik-Ercan 2012). Due to the diets required by some cultures, children may not be able to eat the school provided foods (Isik-Ercan 2012). Often, refugee parents are unaware that they are able to request halal food or vegetarian options to be added to the school menus (Isik-Ercan 2012).
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Another common issue faced by parents is that educators may underestimate their children because of their social status and culture (Isik-Ercan 2012). Refugee parents on the other hand understand that their chances of being successful are unrealistic, but their children are seen to have a world of opportunities (Isik-Ercan 2012).
