Refugee Action Support (RAS) Program: Research Evaluation 2009

The Refugee Action Support (RAS) program began in 2007 as a collaboration between the University of Western Sydney (UWS), the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation (ALNF), and the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Education and Training (DET). Its aim is two-fold. First and foremost, it provides targeted literacy and numeracy support to humanitarian refugee students who have transitioned, within the previous two years, from Intensive English Centres (IECs) to mainstream secondary schools. Second, it builds the pedagogical and cultural understandings of the pre-service teachers undertaking the Master of Teaching at the University of Western Sydney, who become tutors, providing support through individual and/or small group tuition in after-school tuition centres. RAS is overseen by a Steering Committee whose membership comprises key personnel across the three partner organisations. This report outlines the findings to date for the second year of the RAS project which began in 2008. This second year witnessed a significant growth in the numbers of secondary schools, pre-service teachers and refugee students involved in the initiative. Additionally, there has been considerable interest in the program from unrelated parties, ranging from the general public through to other education and not-for profit organisations both within NSW and from other states in Australia.