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The social and cultural capital of refugee-background students: An Australian case for an ‘asset view’
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

The social and cultural capital of refugee-background students: An Australian case for an ‘asset view’

Ali Hayes and Laura Perry PhD
Issues in educational research, Vol.34(3), pp.1070-1088
2024
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Published277.86 kBDownloadView
CC BY-ND V4.0,  Open Access
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https://www.iier.org.au/iier34/hayes.pdfView
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Abstract

Sociology of education Migration Sociology of migration, ethnicity and multiculturalism
This study proposes a more nuanced understanding of the elements constituting refugees’ cultural and social capital to help education providers and policymakers develop a non-deficit view of refugees. Such an understanding, informed by empirical research, ought to shape the type of support that is offered to this cohort to facilitate successful participation in higher education. This paper deploys the concepts of cultural and social capital, habitus and field as articulated within Bourdieu’s theory of practice. The findings of this study favour an ‘asset view’ of refugees within the higher educational context. Using a qualitative research design, 20 participants who come from a refugee background were interviewed. It was found that cultural identity and embeddedness within community has a varied influence on the higher educational experience of people from a refugee background in Australia. Additionally, diverse learning environments and, even, generic support structures, help provide a positive higher educational experience for refugees. These findings complement current research suggesting that people who come from a refugee background possess a range of cultural and social capital which can be assets to their higher educational endeavours.

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