Researchers: Joanne MacNevin (educator and Master's of Education student) & Carla DiGiorgio (UPEI Faculty of Education)

Research Summary: This research project proposes to look at what is currently being done in Prince Edward Island classrooms to best help learners from refugee backgrounds, including learners who have experienced interruptions in their education and have limited English proficiency. Research will be conducted on existing methodologies and strategies and exploring which could be further improved or developed to help teachers continue to successfully work with and teach these learners. Students who come from a refugee background, or who have experienced interruptions in their educational history, bring a great deal of cultural diversity to the classroom, which can provide invaluable learning experiences for both new and native Island students. These learners may also present teachers with unique challenges, for example, psychological or behavioural needs, and limited levels of literacy. Specialized teaching methodologies and strategies are necessary to help these students maximize their educational potential (Dooley, 2009).

Rationale for the Project: Having refugee learners in classrooms in Prince Edward Island is a relatively new experience for Island educators. Over the past five years, Island schools have experienced a significant increase in the number of newcomers who have arrived as immigrants or refugees. Most of these students speak a first language other than English or French, and while some have had the opportunity to study either or both of these languages, others experience these languages for the very first time upon their arrival in the classroom. As the number of learners from immigrant and refugee backgrounds increases, so does the need to provide teachers with practical, research-based practices so as to enable the teachers to best meet the needs of this new group of students.

Over the past two years especially, classroom teachers have been asking English Additional Language Itinerant teachers how they can best teach the students who arrive in their classes with very little English, or what strategies they could use to include these students in classroom activities. How can the teachers assess and evaluate these learners?  What does the research say about teaching and including these students? What is being done to help refugee learners in other provinces, states, or countries? What does the literature say about how to best serve the needs of these students while assisting teachers with the increased diversity in their classrooms, and how can the findings be implemented in Island schools? What information and strategies could be provided through professional development for Island teachers in this area?

Research Methodology: This research will be conducted through: (1) interviews with classroom teachers as well as with the English Additional Language Itinerant teachers who work with the classroom teachers; (2) observations of classroom teachers, with the observations being accompanied by field notes taken during the observations; and (3) document analysis of curriculum and literature. Research will take place in selected junior-high schools across the province.

Signifance/Future Use: The results of this research project will be shared with teachers and administrators through presentations at professional development days, or as workshops for interested staff at schools throughout Prince Edward Island. The findings will also be presented to the three school districts, and to the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.