Ali Hayes

Despite an increase in the number of people from a refugee background settling in Australia, this group continues to be under-represented in higher education. This under-representation suggest that more can be done to make university education more accessible and inclusive. The assets that refugees possess and can utilise to successfully participate in and complete higher education are insufficiently elaborated. This presentation, therefore, elaborates on a key finding of this study, specifically the impact of multicultural diversity in Australian society on the successful higher education participation of refugees in Australia. The concepts of cultural and social capital, habitus and field, as articulated by Pierre Bourdieu, are used to interpret qualitative data collected during in-depth interviews with refugee-background participants. The findings suggest that facilitating social diversity within and outside of the classroom allows for people from a refugee background to maximise the utilisation of these assets.

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.