Refugees and equity policy in Australian higher education

Abstract

Measured in per capita terms, Australia has one of the most generous refugee resettlement programs in the world. This paper investigates the extent to which refugee status is recognized as a category of disadvantage in Australian higher education. Drawing on a scalar view of policy work and Fraser's notion of misframing, the paper assesses the policy visibility of humanitarian entrants. It compares sectoral equity provisions with national and institutional arrangements that target refugees. The findings reveal scalar misalignments. That is, although national educational and multicultural initiatives recognize refugee status as a category of disadvantage, refugees remain hidden from the sectoral policy view. However, in translating sectoral policies, many universities have managed to maintain a balance between compliant enactment of equity strategies and responsive adjustment of equity targets. The paper also highlights instances of policy misframingequity provisions that target refugees are characterized by issue omissions and deficit accounts. It is further argued that the convergence of scalar misalignment and policy misframing constitutes a structural factor of disadvantage that inhibits higher education participation of refugees. For Australia to fully integrate humanitarian entrants, there is an urgent need for a streamlined policy response to the educational needs and aspirations of the group.

Critical policy scholarship in education: An overview

“…Long-term social justice implications of the political rupture caused by populism and racial tensions (Castells, 2018) remain unknown and deserves a critical exploration. With the growing problem of economic, social, and racial inequality, education policy has also become a site of political struggle (Dorling, 2015;Molla, 2020;Reay, 2017). Moreover, climate change poses an existential threat.…”

Recognition and precarious mobilities: The experiences of university students from a refugee background in Australia

“…While research has identified the resilience of students from a refugee background and noted the strengths of their ambitions when given opportunities, too often the experiences and needs of these students are homogenised as deficiencies in higher education (Morrice 2013 ; Naidoo et al 2018 ). University practices focus on student deficits rather than strengths, and they fail to recognise the value of refugees’ prior experiences (Molla 2020 ; Perry and Mallozzi 2011 ). Policy disconnects also occur when language preparation and educational support are provided at levels too low for integrating refugees into higher education (Lenette et al 2019 ; Streitwieser et al 2017 ).…”

“…Since their legal status and membership of a place is uncertain; even those who do well in the school system in Australia and are selected for entry into the university system often decline the places they are offered because they cannot afford to enrol as an international student (Hirsch and Maylea 2016 ). Moreover, whilst Australia has a relatively generous refugee settlement programme, there is a mismatch between the multicultural initiatives at federal and state level and the relative invisibility of federal and state policies to promote multiculturalism at the sectoral level of higher education (Molla 2020 ). Many universities find that government policies that treat students from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds as high-fee-paying international students restrict their institutional ability to implement multicultural policies.…”

“…Consequently, universities have developed scholarship schemes funded from non-government sources to mitigate these effects for asylum seekers. Nevertheless, the participation of students from asylum-seeking backgrounds is very limited because of these policy misalignments (Molla 2020 ; Webb et al 2019 ).…”

“…In their synthesis of eight studies from the UK, Australia and Malta, Doireann Mangan and Laura Anne Winter ( 2017 ) identify (in)validation and (mis)recognition of the experiences of students from refugee backgrounds in higher education as central themes. Similarly, Tebeje Molla ( 2020 ) draws on Fraser’s theory of social justice and the concept of policy misframing to examine the question of the representation of refugees’ interests in Australian policies at federal, state and sector level with regard to who is included or excluded from the equity project of higher education. Morrice ( 2013 ) too highlights how Fraser’s conception of social justice as parity of participation reveals that the strengths students gain from their diverse experiences as refugees are not made visible in the policy discourses of higher education.…”