Reflections on COVID-19 and impacts on equitable participation : the case of culturally and linguistically diverse migrant and/or refugee (CALDM/R) students in Australian higher education

While the impacts of COVID-19 on education are yet to be fully realised, the equity implications of pivoting to remote learning are already clear. The decision to close schools exposed significant vulnerabilities in the education system (particularly in the public school system), with equity cohorts particularly disadvantaged (Wilson & Mude, 2020), and discussions of the ‘digital divide’ dominated the news cycle (for example, Duffy, 2020; Hunter, 2020). Such arguments are also relevant to the higher education sector, although the impacts on equity students are perhaps less visible because of assumptions about students’ independence and pre-existing expectations about using resources such as virtual learning environments and digital tools. In this article, we will reflect on the challenges from one particular group of students – Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Migrant and/or Refugee (CALDM/R) students1 – as a lens to unpack the ways that issues relating to cultural and linguistic diversity, financial disadvantage, mental health, unfamiliarity with educational systems and interrupted education have been magnified by the unfolding implications of COVID-19.