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Professional Practice Community Engagement – Reflection

Liverpool Girls High School is a multicultural secondary school located in South


Western Sydney. The school accommodates 937 female students; 88% of which
identify with a language background other than English (LBOTE). The refugee action
support (RAS) program saw me assisting students of refugee background in the English
classroom. The experience was challenging, but joyful and eye opening.

Approximately 57% of students at Liverpool Girls High School fall in the bottom quarter
of the Index of Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) and a further 27% fall into the
bottom middle quarter. The school has an overall ICSEA value of 933 (MySchool, 2018).
This is reflective of the educational disadvantage experienced by a large majority of the
students at the school. The previous experiences, language barriers, and often low-SES
background of refugee students, only adds to this disadvantage and their vulnerability
in the mainstream schooling system

The training provided prior to attending the community setting, provided well needed
insight into the troubles and hardships endured by refugees. The training
demonstrated the need for patience and compassion in dealing with refugee students
as well as providing useful tips for the teaching of, or the breaking down of tasks for
students.

To my initial surprise, refugee students were often the most eager amongst peers to
contribute to class discussions and tasks. Research and inquiry led me to understand
the appreciation which refugee students have for the educational opportunity they
have been granted. Although they may struggle to put their thoughts into legible
written or spoken expression, they are eager to complete set tasks to high standards.

My ultimate goal throughout this experience was to increase my skills in including


student of all abilities into classroom activities and developing a strength-based
approach for students of lower ability. While the participants in this particular
experience were of a single background (being refugee) and who’s low ability stemmed
from a developing familiarity with the English language, the experience was useful in
arming me with skills and pedagogies to differentiate instruction, particularly, in order
to reach a wider audience of differing ability.

The classes which I was welcomed in to, often considered the ability present in the
classroom and therefore had an allocated teacher’s aide present at each lesson
alongside a mainstream English teacher. Collaborating and engaging with experienced
colleagues helped to improve my own practice and dealing with students. They were
able to provide insight and advice stemming from experience as well as knowledge of
the students and abilities present in the classroom. Such engagement with colleagues
has proved extremely necessary in the creating and implementing of pedagogies
appropriate for the inclusion of students of all abilities, working towards increased
achievement.

The schools ICSEA value played a part in the determining of appropriate pedagogies
and materials that can be used in assisting participants. ICT devices were not often
available for classroom use, unless the class was held in a computer lab. This meant
that the definition or translation of particular words or phrases wasn’t always possible,
requiring careful and thoughtful explanation of certain tasks or content.

My overall experience with the RAS program at Liverpool Girls High School provided
well-needed insight into the Western Sydney student demographic. The community
engagement armed me with the appropriate skills to differentiate teaching pedagogies
and instruction to accommodate students of all backgrounds and abilities. This works
towards increased opportunity of achievement for refugee students.

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