Knowledge Translation to Support Early Learning of Refugee Children and their Families: Brief Report

This is a report of a three-year research project focussed on developing understandings and resources to support current and future community hubs and centres with the settlement and early learning of refugee students and their families. The project was born out of an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project that found the need to address the gaps and inequities in knowledge sharing for individuals working with refugee families in diverse contexts with diverse skills in metropolitan, regional and rural areas. Three states participated – New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria - across public and Catholic education systems and included Community Hubs Australia (CHA), Schools as Community Centres (SACC) and a privately funded centre not attached to a school. The goal was to identify knowledge, processes and practices, as well as resources on topics such as how to encourage participation of families least likely to become involved; to visualise what it is they are doing that is different, and why; to hear of other practices that they might be able to adapt; and to disseminate their work in order to make future hubs and centres successful. As such, this research aimed to empower those working in hubs and centres with resources and the knowledge needed to optimize refugee children's early learning opportunities for the best start to school, with a wider goal to strengthen family integration in Australian communities. We use the term integration to mean a multi-directional process that informs both the practices and processes of institutions as well as providing cultural orientation for families so that they get the best start in life (Klarenbeek, 2021; Spencer & Charsley, 2021). Drawing on interviews with hub leaders from 21 hubs over three years, schools and centers across New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, the research team developed a Knowledge Translation Framework. It captures the exceptional knowledge and practices of staff who support family settlement, early learning and transition to school for refugee children. The framework was translated into multimodal resources in the form of video pods, and an online database of current and desired web resources. Ongoing collaboration and cross-checking of materials occurred via video conferences and workshops for educators and community workers to enable knowledge sharing and collaboration, and to support professionals in their roles. The Knowledge Translation Framework and multimodal resources embed topics supporting children's early learning, development and wellbeing via play and playgroups for their school readiness and transition to school (ARACY 2015). The project conveys Ian Potter's education objectives of "supporting innovative programs delivered to young children (ages 0-8) that aim to improve school readiness as measured by the Australian Early Development Centre. The multimodal video pods, presented by Costa Georgiadis of the ABCTV's Gardening Australia program, bring to life the dynamic energy and achievements of the work done in hubs and centres to enable refugee families to 'settle softly'. Video conferences and workshops also provides effective strategies for educators and service providers to tailor supporting refugee children's school readiness, promote literacy and numeracy, play and friendships and parental self-efficacy and engagement in their children's education. These sustainable outcomes along with the systemic outcomes mentioned above align with the Ian Potter's other education objective of "supporting the development of evidence and shared measurement tools for the early childhood sector" as well as UN Sustainable goal 4-Quality education.