Linguistics and Education 23 (2012) 1630

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Linguistics and Education

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/linged

Career choices: Linguistic and educational socialization of

Sudanese-background high-school students in Australia
Anik Hatoss a, , Shirley ONeill b , Douglas Eacersall c
a
University of New South Wales, School of Languages and Linguistics, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
b
University of Southern Queensland, Faculty of Education, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia
c
University of Southern Queensland, Ofce of Research and Higher Degrees, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This research investigated the linguistic and educational socialization of Sudanese refugee-
Available online 18 November 2011 background youth in Australia. The study focussed on exploring Sudanese-background
secondary school students career aspirations, motivations and obstacles. The research used
Keywords: a mixed-method approach including a survey conducted with students studying in six
Linguistic and educational socialization regional Australian high-schools and three focus group discussions held in two schools.
Refugees The research ndings provide profound insights into motivation and agency in their career
Literacy
choices. The research also explored the tensions between high levels of educational aspira-
Career aspirations
tions and the linguistic, psychological, racial and social barriers that Sudanese-background
Migrant education
Diversity learners face in their socialization process in Australia. Some of the barriers include racism,
Sudanese in Australia interrupted schooling, and low levels of English literacy. Their voices about their career
choices, on the other hand, are testimony of their resilience and their motivation to help
others in Australia and in Sudan.
2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

The linguistic and educational socialization of immigrants is a crucial dimension of their overall adjustment and settle-
ment in a new country. Students from refugee background go through extreme difculties during this process as not only
do they lack the literacy and academic learning skills that are essential in the education system, but they also face addi-
tional challenges posed by their family circumstances and the psychological and social aspects of their story of migration as
refugees. With this in mind this study aimed to explore these complex issues in the context of Sudanese refugee-background
learners in their nal year of secondary schooling in Australia. While the focus is on linguistic and educational factors, the
paper has broader implications for the settlement needs of refugees.

1.1. Schooling in Sudan and during transition

Sudanese-background learners arrive in Australia within the humanitarian settlement program and they come with
varied, but in most cases poor levels of prior education. Most of these children come from Southern Sudan, where ethnic
conicts have led to the longest period of civil war in the history of Africa. This conict has caused more than two million
deaths and approximately four million Sudanese have been dislocated from their homes. An estimated 600,000 people have
taken refuge in other African countries, such as, Uganda, Egypt and Kenya (The United States Department of State, 2008).

Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 2 9385 8340; fax: +61 2 9385 2666.
E-mail addresses: a.hatoss@unsw.edu.au (A. Hatoss), Shirley.ONeill@usq.edu.au (S. ONeill), Douglas.Eacersall@usq.edu.au (D. Eacersall).

0898-5898/$ see front matter 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.linged.2011.10.003
 A. Hatoss et al. / Linguistics and Education 23 (2012) 1630 17

Table 1
Migrants eligibility and access to English tuition.

Migrant status Hours of English tuition

Permanent adult migrants Up to 510 h

Refugee and humanitarian entrants under 25 years of age Up to 910 h
Refugee and humanitarian entrants over 25 years of age Up to 610 h of tuition

Adapted from: ).

A large number of children lost their parents and after spending many years in refugee camps as unaccompanied minors,
they eventually resettled in developed countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. This study is
about these children who in their newly adopted countries strive to escape the status of being second class citizens and aim
to achieve their educational goals.
While schooling in Sudan is said to have been free and compulsory for children aged 614 (Metz, 1991), the impact of
war has meant interrupted schooling or no schooling at all for many. Education in the south of Sudan is still characterized
by inadequate facilities, untrained teachers and low levels of enrolments and completions. From 2003 to 2004, of 1,575,000
school-aged children, only 400,000 (25.4%) were enrolled in school and primary school completion rates were as low as
2.4% for girls and 3.8% for boys (Sudan Open & Archive, 2004). In 2006 UNICEF reported that 60% of teachers had no teacher
training and many teachers had never attended university (UNICEF, 2006). The results of this situation are evident in Southern
Sudans adult literacy rates which rank as the second lowest in the world (Young, Buscher, & Robinson, 2007).
While those who ed Sudan due to the civil war had the opportunity to attend classes during their transition times in
other African countries, most often the conditions in schools in refugee camps were extremely poor. Most Sudanese families
spent many years in transition and this meant that children socialized into schooling through various other languages, such
as Arabic in Egypt, Kiswahili in Uganda and English in Kenya. The language of education during these years had a profound
effect on childrens literacy development. Those arriving in Australia via Kenya had the advantage of learning English in the
school system, but the majority of children only attended the refugee camp schools. With these prior experiences, developing
literacy skills in standard Australian English is a major challenge on the one hand and a passport to education and employment
on the other. This is why this study aimed to explore the contrasting circumstances of educational aspirations and the barriers
that refugee students face. The study sought to seek an answer to the career choices they make and their perceived obstacles
to achieving these goals. It is our hope that through this study we can illuminate the complexity of their circumstances and
argue for more adequate policy focuses on the linguistic and cultural socialization of refugee-background learners.

1.2. The Australian education system and support for refugee learners

In Australia the government provides free English language education for refugees under two main programs. The Adult
Migrant English Program (AMEP) is available for immigrants over 18 years of age and the English as a Second Language for
New Arrivals (ESL-NA) program in available for those under 18. AMEP English courses are offered across Australia principally
through Technical and Further Education (TAFE) colleges, and can be undertaken through full-time or part-time study and
in distance mode (Department of Immigration & Citizenship, 2008). However, access to this tuition and the number of hours
provided is determined by the visa status (see Table 1).
The extended hours of instruction (910 and 610 h) are only available to those who can show they have had low levels of
schooling and/or suffered trauma during their refugee experience. Migrants level of English is assessed by using the ISLPR
(International Second language Prociency Ratings) (Ingram & Wylie, 1993). According to this measure, migrants who reach
level 2+ are classied as functional in English, and are therefore deemed ineligible for free tuition. Many migrants, especially
refugees, however, drop out of the program due to family and work commitments (Murray & Loyd, 2008; Noy, 2001).
The ESL-NA program provides support for school-aged learners who are in need of English language support in order to
participate in mainstream schooling (Department of Education, 2008). This program is essentially an English submersion
program with withdrawal classes as refugee students (along with other ESL students) follow the curriculum in mainstream
classes, but they have the option of being pulled out of the regular class and attend an ESL specialist support session instead.
This, therefore, means that the ESL support is not in addition but in place of their normal class activity.
There has been some criticism of the ESL New Arrival program and many academics have voiced concerns about the
one size ts all approach in providing educational and literacy support for migrants and refugees in Australia (Correa-Velez,
Gifford, & Bice, 2005; Earnest, Housen, & Gillieatt, 2007; Hugo, 2001; Matthews, 2008; Sidhu & Taylor, 2007; Taylor, 2008).
These concerns echo the conclusions of other studies conducted in the UK (Reakes, 2007) and elsewhere (Akuei, 2005; Kiche,
2010). The East-African and sub-Saharan region, including Sudan, have been identied as having welfare and educational
needs never before encountered in previous humanitarian ows to Australia (Taylor, 2008, p. 58). Another major concern
is that students are enrolled into age appropriate classes regardless of their prior educational background.
Despite their prior lack of schooling and their low levels of English literacy, Sudanese learners have been found to have high
career expectations. Several studies (Khawaja, White, Schweitzer, & Greenslade, 2008; Salami, 2008; Tlhabano & Schweitzer,
2007) have examined the educational pathways of African refugees in Australia, and concluded that the Sudanese as a group
have high levels of education participation and educational aspirations. Pirie, McCarthy, Thiik, and Coplan (2005) found that
18 A. Hatoss et al. / Linguistics and Education 23 (2012) 1630

Table 2
Levels of schooling in refugee students from African countries of origin.

Country of origin Literacy Primary schooling

Male Female (% of population)

Eritrea 66% 39% 31%

Ethiopia 43% 32% 28%
Somalia 36% 14% (est.) 9%
Sudan 69% 45% 51%
Iraq 71% 45% 93%

Cited in Yates (2002, p. 1).

a large percentage of Sudanese were enrolled in primary, secondary or tertiary studies. Some studies also reported that while
students aspired to be doctors and lawyers they had no substantial understanding of the difculties or pathways involved
in actually achieving these goals (Cassity & Gow, 2005). While these studies are mainly concerned with the gap between
academic aspirations and the level of literacy in English, there has been little insight into the motivational dimensions of
why Sudanese learners opt for such careers. This paper adds this second dimension to the enquiry. However, we would like
to refrain from a one-sided view of career choices seen as unrealistic and leading to potential educational problems. More
importantly, we seek to explore career choices in relation to real life goals which go far beyond academic measures and
other gate-keeping practices.

1.3. English language prociency

There is little doubt that an adequate level of English language prociency is essential for successful socialization at the
local community level. Learning functional English is the rst step for refugees in they want to access government services
and participate more fully in the wider community. It is of course also vital for attending school and entering university and
these goals require a much higher level of prociency. Poor levels of English skills create a substantial barrier to education
and also limit employment options (Jupp & York, 1995). According to Yates (2002) refugees from African countries are among
those migrants who have the lowest levels of literacy and they have poor levels of primary school completion at arrival in
Australia (see Table 2).
A lack of English language and literacy skills, and especially a lack of experience with academic English, is one of the major
issues facing refugee background students. In terms of adult students Ben-Moshe, Bertone, and Grossman (2008) suggest
that the basic 510 h of English provided by the AMEP is insufcient to prepare them for entry into university. Brown, Miller,
and Mitchell (2006) have argued that ESL provisions for under 18 refugees is inadequate as they found that a lack of English
ability continued to be the main issue in the settlement of refugee groups. They argued that the 612 months of intensive
ESL support in conjunction with schooling as outlined by the ESL-NA program was insufcient for refugees to succeed as
they found that students did not reach a prociency level that allowed them to cope in mainstream classrooms. Students
were particularly weak in grammar, spelling and vocabulary, especially technical or specialized vocabulary in subject areas
such as science and studies of society and the environment (Brown et al., 2006, p. 157).
Low prociency in English does not only have negative consequences academically; it impacts on refugee-background
students broader socialization and social life. For instance, students have been found to compare themselves with their
English-speaking peers and opting out from interactions or even class participation due to their limited interpersonal com-
munication skills. Their language barrier, therefore, became an obstacle to learning and social engagement, as students
sacriced their learning opportunities in order to avoid being seen as people with low levels of competence (Carrasquillo
et al., 2004; Anderson, 2004 cited in Brown et al., 2006, p. 155). Mainstream teachers have also identied a lack of English
as being a major issue for refugee background students (Szente, Hoot, & Taylor, 2006). Specialist ESL teachers have also
identied the enormity of their task. Taylor (2008) found that specialist ESL teachers in primary and secondary education
programs needed to deal with the many social and family related problems that refugee students brought with them to
school. These teachers felt they were not qualied to support refugee-background students in these areas.

1.4. Socialization into the Australian school system and the community

Coming from a cultural and ethnic background sharply different from Australia, Sudanese students also face challenges of
tting into a new culture, new roles and expectations and a new value system. Education is traditionally secondary to family
obligations in Sudan. In fact cattle herding is considered to be an essential skill for survival. Jeppsson and Hjerns (2005)
description of Sudanese culture highlights their adaptability to the harsh conditions of the Sudan and its impact on their
culture and life style. This helps explain the challenge of settlement in Western settings where Sudanese youth are unable to
adopt their traditional roles. Some studies (Ben-Moshe et al., 2008; Clarke, 2007) have also reported that nancial problems
represented substantial barriers for refugee-background learners and limited their participation in tertiary learning. They
were also prone to difculties understanding the education system and nd a lack of social acceptance within the school and
wider community (Watson-Gegeo, 1988). Their expectations of studentteacher roles also differ from their past experiences.
 A. Hatoss et al. / Linguistics and Education 23 (2012) 1630 19

Cassity and Gows (2005) have conducted research into Sudanese childrens integration into schools in Sydney found that
refugee youth had problems gaining a sense of belonging. This related to their difculty with adjusting to new learning styles
such as group work where success depended to some extent on building positive social relationships with peers.
Brown et al. (2006) emphasise the importance of the relationship between building positive interpersonal relationships
within the school community and successful integration and learning. They state,
A feeling of connectedness, of being part of and accepted by other students provides a context within which students
are willing to take risks with language. If this is missing, students are reluctant to participate in group activities.. . .
Previous schooling is likely to have been in large classes with little student-student interaction. (p. 158).
Social interaction and a sense of belonging were also viewed as important for companionship and social networking as
well as a foundation for using and understanding academic language.
In summary, research to date shows that refugee-background students face a variety of challenges to their effective
integration and success in education. These include inadequate English language prociency, the negative impact of low L1
literacy on literacy learning, gaps in schooling, the impact of trauma, and family and nancial issues, and their accumulative
impact on engaging with the host community and education system. If western countries such as Australia are to fully
settle and support the integration of refugee-background migrants then educational institutions, including schools and
government agencies, community groups and the community at large, need to play a part (Hatoss, 2008). While this is
not an easy task, as noted earlier, there is clearly a need to listen to the voice of refugee-background migrants themselves
to better understand their perspectives on their career choices and how best to enhance their opportunities to achieve
their goals. Thus, this research set out to investigate the views of Sudanese refugee-background migrants who were at the
transitional stage of leaving school and choosing a career. The research sought to give voice to their views and aspirations
about their education and their future career.

2. Methods

The project adopted a mixed-methods approach where quantitative data were obtained through a survey and qualitative
data through focus group discussions involving two groups of refugee-background students in two different schools. Partici-
pants of these focus groups involved some of the survey respondents. Only Sudanese students attended and one focus group
was set up for boys while another was for girls to support socio-cultural expectations. An additional focus group was set up
with ESL teachers and career counsellors at one of the participating schools. The aim of this focus group was to explore the
issues from the teachers and counsellors points of view.
The broad research questions guiding the study were the following:

What are the career aspirations and career choices of Sudanese refugee-background students in their nal term of
secondary schooling?
What motivational and agency dimensions are evident behind their career choices?
What are some of the barriers that Sudanese-background learners face in their socialization into the education system and
into the broader community in Australia?

All research was conducted in a regional, middle-sized settlement in South-East Queensland. The focus group discus-
sions were conducted with the help of an Australian research assistant who was an experienced ESL teacher. According
to the ethics requirements all data were kept condential and all personal identication details were removed from the
surveys and the interviews. Consequently no real names have been used and all names referred to in this article are
pseudonyms.

2.1. The sample

A total of 30 students of Sudanese-refugee background were surveyed in six different high schools. The schools were
targeted on the basis that they received government support to take Sudanese refugee-background students. All the schools
were part of the private education system with ve schools being Catholic and one Seventh-day Adventist. Two Catholic high
schools were all-girls schools, one Catholic school was an all-boys school, and two were co-educational. The survey questions
focused on preferences for study, career plans, and perceived obstacles to university study and school achievement. The
students at the two all-girls schools (School 1 and School 2) and one co-educational Catholic school (School 4) participated
in focus group discussions. Of the 30 participants 18 were females and 12 were males and the majority (27) were born in
Sudan. The other three students were born in Uganda (1), Kenya (1) and Zambia (1), but they were of Sudanese ethnic origin.
Being born outside their country of origin was a common feature of the Sudanese community members, as families spent
extended years in transition in various refugee camps in Africa. The majority of participants were Dinka with 83% indicating
that their rst language was Dinka.
20 A. Hatoss et al. / Linguistics and Education 23 (2012) 1630

Table 3
Career plans and aspirations.

Refugee background students Mainstream students Total

n % n %

Plan
University 15 50% 99 43.6% 114
TAFE 9 30% 13 5.7% 22
Apprenticeship 1 3.33% 54 23.8% 55
Work 2 6.67% 43 18.9% 45
Other 2 6.67% 15 6.6% 17
Missing 1 3.33% 3 1.3% 4
Total 30 100% 227 100% 257

Table 4
Female respondents career choices and dream jobs.

Student Career choice Dream job

1 Medicine/business Doctor
2 BA justice Lawyer
3 Photography
4 Fashion design
5 Policewoman Policewoman
6 Childcare Flight attendant
7 Ofce admin Ofce admin
8 Basic retail Nursing
9 Childcare Nurse and computer
10 Childcare Nursing
11 Nursing and hospitality Nursing and hospitality
12 Nursing Nurse
13 Business Ofce work
14 Tourism No dream job
15 Events co-ordination Events co-ordinator
16 Nursing Nursing
17 Teacher
18 Nursing Nursing

2.2. Procedure

One of the challenges was to collect the data in a short period of time and with minimum imposition to students privacy
and freedom. Therefore, an electronic survey format was chosen which was combined with the hard copy survey. Also, it
was important not to single out refugee-background students, but design a study which would involve all students in the
selected classes. Therefore, after the most appropriate schools and classes were identied where refugee students had a
good representation, the survey was conducted with all students in those classes. Altogether 227 non-refugee background
students were surveyed. The survey was rst trialled with a small group of Sudanese background students to ensure that
wording of instructions was clear and that the electronic version of the survey was designed to be paced at an appropriate
speed for all students. The focus groups were set up so that students were in small groups in an informal and non threatening
setting such as the canteen or the school library. The survey data was downloaded into an Excel table format from Turning
Point, and then analysed by using the SPSS statistical package. A thematic analysis was conducted on the focus group data
and the most prominent themes were selected for further in-depth analysis.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Career choices and motivations

A larger proportion (50%) of refugee-background students aspired to attend university compared with 43.6% for the wider
school sample. More refugee-background students planned to go to a Technical and Further Education (TAFE) college (30%
versus 5.7%) but more mainstream students planned to obtain apprenticeships (23.8% versus 3.33%). Table 3 summarises
the career plans for each group.
Tables 4 and 5 show that the Sudanese refugee background students career choice and dream jobs generally matched for
both females and males with a few exceptions (child care/ight attendant; retail/nursing; criminology/basketball player;
engineering/army). Childcare and health care were the most popular choices for females.
During the focus group discussions Sudanese girls talked about their desire to take up caring professions so that they
might assist others in their community in Australia or back in Sudan. They expressed a strong desire to return to sup-
port the communities they had left behind. This was also supported by the large percentage of Sudanese-background
 A. Hatoss et al. / Linguistics and Education 23 (2012) 1630 21

Table 5
Male respondents career choices and dream jobs.

Student Career choice Dream job

1 Mechanical engineering
2 Mechanic at TAFE Mechanic
3 Town planning or political science Pro soccer player, pilot, civil engineer
4 Computing or accounting Computing or accounting
5 Bachelor of law Lawyer
6 Criminology Basketball player
7 Engineering Petroleum engineer
8 Biology Dont know
9 Journalism Journalist
10 Army forces
11 Engineering Army
12 Not sure

students (93%) who indicated in the survey that they would like to work overseas. Qualications in nursing, childcare
and teaching were seen as career choices that would best enable them to make a contribution to their people back in
Sudan. Others opted for studying law or medicine (see Excerpt 1). When asked about how they decided on a career, they
reported seeking the advice of friends and relatives and also researching the Internet (Excerpt 1, Line 8). Still, in their
responses participants have expressed their agency in making their own career choices for themselves (e.g. Line 8). They
used the rst person singular I with the volitional verbs want as in I want to be a doctor (Excerpt 1, Line 19), plan
as in I am planning to do law (Excerpt 1, Line 21). Initially, Susan reacted to the career choice question with the safe I
dont know (Line 15); she clearly expresses her career choice as her own will in Line 19 (I want to be a doctor). Achol
gives an explanation of her choice of the legal profession as I just had a thing with peoples right and how they should be
treated (Line 22) which evokes the unjust treatment that she would have experienced having to ee from her country.
Then she reafrms that this profession is for her I do t in (Line 23). While students who aspired to careers in childcare
were able to access work experience and achieve competencies towards a certicate level qualication through school-
ing, in general, they were not able to follow an academic pathway. The usual Year 12 direct entry to university was
not an option because they did not have the level of English to study the senior level subjects required to enter degree
programs.
Excerpt 1
Facilitator: 1. So what would you like to study when you study at uni?
Aluet: 2. I would like to study NURsing.
Facilitator: 3. So why did you choose nursing?
Aluet: 4. Uhhh. I dont know (. . .) its just the only job that I have interest in. . .
5. Its the right job for me.
Facilitator: 6. Yeah? And do you get some help from other people to advise you in making those decisions?
7. Or do you make this decision by yourself?
Aluet: 8. Uhh I did make the decision MYSELF (.) but by saying that (.) I just had to nd all the information in the
nursing through other people and also through the website (.) you know.
Facilitator: 9. Hmmm (.) Yes nursing seems to be quite popular.
Aluet: 10. Yeah I am working in nursing home so I (. . .)
11. Its a good experience for me to see the sort of stuff.
Facilitator: 12. Thats good. Do you know of any other friends of yours who would also like to do nursing?
Aluet: 13. No.
Facilitator: 14. Anybody else who would like to do nursing? No? What would you like to do?
Susan: 15. (. . .) but I dont know what to do.
Facilitator: 16. You want to focus on childcare as your main=?
Susan: 17. =But I dont like childcare places (.) I hate it. (laughter)
Facilitator: 18. You dont want to be a teacher? What would you like to do?
Susan: 19. I want to be a DOCTOR!
Facilitator: 20. So what about you Achol?
Achol: 21. Well Im planning to do LAW. The reason I chose law (.)
22. Well I just had a thing with peoples right and how they should be treated (. . .)
23. I do t in so what I should do is law or being a lawyer or something.

3.2. Desire to assist family left behind

Participants also talked about taking a break for a year to work or return to Africa to visit relatives. Some who had lost
their immediate family were anxious to connect with their extended family (see Excerpt 2). Since several respondents talked
about their desire to return to their home country and assist family and members of their ethnic communities in the Sudan,
this inuenced their career choice in Australia. In light of the recent political developments and the fact that South Sudan
became an independent autonomous country in 2011, these career choices are real and Sudanese-background students
22 A. Hatoss et al. / Linguistics and Education 23 (2012) 1630

who graduate from Australian educational institutions will most likely have opportunities to return and contribute to the
rebuilding of their country. In addition, in their aspiration to help those left behind, they also wanted to reconnect with their
family members. As Excerpt 2 demonstrates, Sudanese students feel it is their responsibility to assist relatives left behind as
they have to apply to help them (Excerpt 2, Line 11).

Excerpt 2
Facilitator: 1. So do you see yourself maybe being a lawyer or solicitor in Australia or more working internationally? (.)
2. Do you think you will be able to use your expertise in your country as well?
Achol: 3. Im trying to (. . .) but I want to study in Australia and maybe if I become successful or something I can go to
(.) internationally to try to help people back there.
Facilitator: 4. So: you would go back to Africa to help as well.
5. So: how many of you are considering going back to Africa once you become educated lawyers, doctors, and
nurses? (.)
6. How many of you have thought about that? (. . .)
7. One, two, three, four, ve, (.) EVERYBODY?
8. You want to go back (.) [[people nodding yes]] why is that?
Achol: 9. We want to help people there.
Facilitator: 10. Because they are in great need?
Achol: 11. They are BEHIND and weve got the knowledge so we HAVE TO apply to help them.
Nyibol 12. Also thats where a lot of peoples family are still there (.) so you want to go back to your family again.

3.3. Easier to get a job back there

Another reason for returning to the Sudan was the perception that these students would be better able to obtain employ-
ment. They were also of the opinion that expectations would not be as high in the Sudan once they had obtained a job there.
In Excerpt 3 Aluel talks about Sudan and compares the levels of education people are expected to have for a job. She explains
that in Sudan most people only have primary education as high school is very expensive there (Excerpt 3, Line 2). Khot talked
about her sister who only has a primary school qualication yet works in a bank in Sudan. She expresses her disbelief in Line
7 by using colloquial rhetorical question What the hell?. This also serves the function of evaluation and making her point
stronger. In Line 9 Aluel further strengthens this point by a direct quote How did you do that? as if she was asking Khots
sister personally.

Excerpt 3
Aluel: 1. Actually people who are working there now are people who nished primary school because actually when
you nish high school like primary there (.) its from grade one to grade eight so when you nish (.) you would
be highly educated and you can WORK.
2. So people who are working there are like from primary school (.) NOT high school because high school is
very expensive there.
3. Theres not a lot of opportunity to get to high school (.) so: when you nish school you go and work.
Facilitator: 4. So people like yourselves whove nished high school in Australia and then gone to university=
Aluel: 5. =Theyll be highly //((accepted??))
Khot: 6. =But I think// a job is easier there in Sudan to do it.
7. I just imagine my sister (.) almost year eight and now shes working in the BANK and Im like WHAT THE
HELL? (.)
8. How did you do that? (animated voice)
Aluel: 9. Yeah. Shes working in the bank and Im like how did you do that? (animated voice).

3.4. Humanitarian-type of career choices

During the focus groups with ESL teachers and career counsellors a recurring topic was the view that Sudanese students
opt for professions which are far beyond their abilities. In some way teachers felt that their level of academic English was
not adequate for those professions and for most students they were less than adequate for university entry generally. The
survey supported this opinion with only 37% of students condent in their ability to study at university and less than half
(43%) agreeing or strongly agreeing that they had a good level of written English language ability for their studies. The career
counsellors conrmed though that most students would like to attend university as they want to choose humanitarian type
of courses (Excerpt 4, Line1). One counsellor talked about a student who came to Australia with no English and after one year
he was in Grade 10 doing senior chemistry. He expressed a strong admiration of Sudanese learners academic ambition with
the adverbial intensier absolutely and stated that no way after 12 months learning Sudanese he could be learning senior
chemistry in Sudanese (Excerpt 4, Line 6).
 A. Hatoss et al. / Linguistics and Education 23 (2012) 1630 23

Excerpt 4
Career counsellor: 1. A lot of the kids (.) well(.)Ive just found with the students that weve had here (.) pick very
humanitarian-type courses of study (.)
2. Like one of the girls last year (.)
3. I think shes out at UNI at the moment.
4. Shes doing law.
[section deleted from here].
5. The student thats doing journalism next year (.) yes(.) (. . .) he had no English when he came to Australia
and he did the 12 month course in Darwin and then he came here in Grade ((. . .)) 10.
6. He was doing senior chemistry and I said (. . .) theres absolutely no way (.) after 12 months learning
Sudanese(.)I could do senior chemistry in Sudanese.
7. Like (.) its just on so many levels a difcult concept.
8. So (.) yes (.) I just take my hat off to the drive that they have and I wish them every success.

3.5. High aspirations

In both the survey and the focus groups, Sudanese-background students expressed high aspirations to attend university
after graduating from high-school. In the survey 70% of students also indicated family expectations that they attend uni-
versity. A career counsellor also indicated that Sudanese learners had high aspirations for their future study but that these
aspirations were not always realistic, as the students scores for university entry, their Overall Position (OP), may not meet
the requirements for the particular course to which they aspire (Excerpt 5, Line 2). The advisor did discuss one student
though who had chosen a more realistic career and was pursuing this through an alternative educational pathway (Excerpt
5, Lines 3 and 4).

Excerpt 5
Careers advisor: 1. Most of the Sudanese would be interested in university entrance, whether or not thats the best thing for
them at that particular time (.)
2. Whether their OPs going to get them into what they think theyre going to do but they certainly have high
aspirations about what they would like to do.
3. Of the two Sudanese students that weve got this year (.) one of them would be the rst student weve had
for a while that doesnt want to go to university.
4. He wants to go to TAFE and do some more engineering (.) construction-type subjects (.)
5. Whereas the other student is dead set (.) very keen and probably will succeed quite well at university with
some support.

According to the survey results most students (67%) were keen to move from the community to a larger city such as
Brisbane or Sydney. The trend to move for education was conrmed in the interviews with career counsellors (Excerpt 6,
Line 2). The main reason for moving was to nd better employment opportunities after (or during) university. Students
were keen to go where the jobs were although they often had to make these decisions against their parents or grandparents
wishes that they stay and settle in the local community. Many of these parents or grandparents rely on their children to
assist them in their everyday business such as lling in forms at various government departments. Students are often the
translators in all kinds of communicative contexts such as at the hospital or at the local general practice, the local bank or
at Centrelink the government agency which provides social security assistance to those who are newly settled or out of the
workforce.

Excerpt 6
Careers advisor: 1. [. . .] another thing I found about the Sudanese students that weve had(.) theyre not averse to moving.
2. I think (.) well (.) [inaudible] actually schools in Melbourne so (.) yes wherever the jobs are or wherever the
course is (.) they will go to where that is.
Facilitator: 3. Its the determination (.) isnt it?
Career advisor: 4. Yeah (.) I suppose theyve been taught that its not really home.
5. Like living in Australia (.) great while theyre here but thats where I need to go so thats where I will go.

3.6. Barriers

Respondents identied six main obstacles to success with their university studies. These included (1) not having studied
the senior subjects at school that were required for entry to university degree programs, (2) lack of English language pro-
ciency, (3) lack of nancial resources, (4) family issues and demands, (5) psychological trauma and (6) lack of adequate
academic achievement. The most signicant of these was the barrier caused by their poor nancial situation. This was fol-
lowed by not meeting University entrance requirements, then low English prociency and lastly family demands. Appendix
A provides a summary of the responses participants gave to the open-ended question: What obstacles (if any) stop you from
university studies?. In Excerpt 7 a Grade 11 boy explains that doing higher level English is very difcult for him therefore
he opted to do the conversational English class, but this is not included in the OP subjects. Therefore, while he is not quite
sure about the career he will choose he feels that English abilities especially written academic English required for writing
reports is too high a barrier for him and he will not be able to go for university entry (Excerpt 7, Line 14).
24 A. Hatoss et al. / Linguistics and Education 23 (2012) 1630

Excerpt 7
Facilitator: 1. Okay. Now (.) what about your career (.) what would you like to do after nishing school?
Jacob: 2. Ohh (.) Well (.) Ive been thinking about a lot of stuff (.) So I mean Ive got lots of options but I havent
seriously thought about a real CAREER.
Facilitator: 3. No? Have you done your OP.
Jacob: 4. No. Im not doing OP.
Facilitator: 5. No.
Jacob: 6. No.
Facilitator: 7. Why not.
Jacob: 8. Ahhh. (.) Cause (.)(.) I dont know. Just didnt (. . .) it is hard work.
Facilitator: 9. Yeah what do you need to do to get an OP?
Jacob: 10. Well (.) you need to do OP subjects and you have to pass them
Facilitator: 11. Which are they? Maths and (. . .)
Jacob: 12. Maths(.) English (. . .) not English Com and Australian English and you could do science (.) geography or
(. . .) HP or other ops I just like biology(.) physics and that
Facilitator: 13. So: whats the difference between English Com and mainstream English?
Jacob: 14. English Com is very easy because its like just the basic stuff but well the mainstream English you have to
write heaps of reports and (.) yeah.

During the focus group discussions the topic of war and the trauma of the refugee journey were deliberately avoided for
ethical reasons. However, outside the recorded interview time, usually after the formal discussions, participants revealed
more and volunteered to voice some of their more personal concerns. During such personal one-on-one conversations four
respondents revealed that they often thought about the past and the cruelty of the war back in Sudan. They explained that
these memories and the ensuing trauma were still causing them serious disturbances in their everyday lives, including their
ability to concentrate on their educational duties and ambitions. These ndings are similar to those of Schweitzer, Melville,
Steele, and Lacherez (2006) (p. 184). They found the vast majority of refugees reported being separated from their families,
experiencing violence, witnessing murder of family or friends and being deprived of basic needs. This type of pre-migration
trauma is a very serious issue for refugees and can lead to many problems such as family conict, depression and inability to
concentrate. These adverse effects on refugees ability to study and persevere and related issues are well researched (Baker
1983; Arroche 1994; Hannah 1997; Martinez 1997; Preece and Walters 1999; Travino and Davids 2001; Ramsay 2004 cited
in Ben-Moshe et al., 2008, p. 13). Respondents also revealed that they were under pressure to look after younger members
of the family and provide support for older relatives. Gender roles also meant that young girls were expected to help with
household chores while boys were relatively free to spend their time according to their own needs. In Excerpt 8, a small
group of girls explained how they needed to take their share of looking after children, cooking and cleaning in the family at
the expense of their studies. These responsibilities can be quite extensive, as Excerpt 8, Line 10 shows Dut was expected to
cook for her family every night.

3.6.1. Assisting family girls role is to cook and clean

Excerpt 8
Adit: 1. Sometimes youve just got a lot of stuff to do at home.
Atong: 2. At once yeah and youve got to manage=
Dut: 3. =Like helping your parents around in the house too because when you are at home were girls so the parents
want us to help them.
Atong: 4. Cook and clean.
Facilitator: 5. Cook (.) clean any other things you need to do look after the kids?
Dut: 6. Yeah sometimes you do that when theyre not home.
Facilitator: 7. But would you be cooking every night or=
Adit: 8. =Yeah sometimes=
Facilitator: 9. =Three times a week?
Dut: 10. No they want me to cook every night.
11. Once you go to your own house whos going to do it for you?
12. You have to do it yourself.
Atong: 13. Yeah youve got to learn now.
Facilitator: 14. Oh to be good practice?
Dut: 15. Yeah theyve been keeping us ever since we were young so now were old enough to help them.
Atong: 16. So were returning the favour while we still can.

3.6.2. Experiences of everyday racism

When asked about the difculties of their life in Australia, the topic of racism emerged as a signicant issue. As Excerpt 9
demonstrates, students of black African origin are far from being accepted as members of the broader Australian community.
Their brief anecdotes alluded to racism with their skin colour becoming the main aspect of their identity assigned to them
by members of the broader Australian community (Hatoss, in press). They described how they were scared when they
rst attended an Australian school because they did not know anyone. Two girls, Mary and Awal from School 2 who were
studying tourism had been in Australia for four years. They spoke about the challenges of studying science and maths.
Generally they felt that their classmates were friendly towards them and even wanted to learn their African languages.
 A. Hatoss et al. / Linguistics and Education 23 (2012) 1630 25

This seemed to generally be the case and was also evident in the survey with 70% of Sudanese-background students either
neutral or agreeing that students at school were friendly towards them. However, there were incidents of everyday racism
outside the school. Their strategy to deal with these incidents was just to ignore it. One student who had work experience
in child care described how she felt when a mother did not trust her to care for her toddler. The mother asked that her child
be moved to another playgroup and this made the student conclude that it was her colour to which the mother reacted
negatively. Such incidents were common and more overt and drastic in the streets as Mary explained in Excerpt 9. She
was subject to verbal abuse from a car driving past while she was going home from school. She tells the story in Lines
1625.

Excerpt 9
Facilitator: 1. Whats been the most difcult thing for you since youve come to Australia?
Mary: 2. [Laughs] Its probably SKIN.
Facilitator: 3. What do you mean by skin?
Awal: 4. Actual RACE.
Mary: 5. Yeah RACE. People racing.
Facilitator: 6. Being racist because of your skin colour?
Mary: 7. Yeah.
Facilitator: 8. It is a bit to do with skin as well.
9. Because its so obviously different (.) isnt it?
10. And you stand out.
11. So what kind of problems has that given you?
12. People are racist towards you in Toowoomba?
Mary: 13. Yeah. Sometimes=
Awal: 14. =When theres people=
Facilitator: 15. =Is this at school or out on the street?
Mary: 16. Out sometimes.
17. Last time when I was walking along the road (.) I heard [bad?] words.
18. And then you are walking and these men were driving the truck.
19. And he was MOCKING.
20. Then he throw the cigarette with the FIRE on it and went BOO! It was near my thing (.) I was scared when I
was walking.
21. Like oh (.) somethings going to happen.
Facilitator: 22. Where were you walking to? The shops or something?
Mary: 23. No I was going back home.
Facilitator: 24. From school?
Mary: 25. Yep.

3.6.3. Contrasts in pedagogy and learning experiences

Sudanese students talked about the difculties of adjusting to the Australian school system. This is not surprising as most
of them had little or no formal education prior to arriving in Australia. However, even those who participated in formal
schooling in Africa talked about the issue of adjusting to the Australian learning and teaching culture. For them the main
difference was that teachers do not explain as much about the subject matter in Australia and they felt that they were not
able to grasp some of the more difcult concepts. Teachers were also seen as less helpful in providing them with guidance
in their learning, as one of the participants in Excerpt 10, Lines 810 explained.

Excerpt 10
Agot: 1. Because in Uganda we have this kind of (. . .) well the teacher explains a lot of STUFF and gives exercises to
DO (.)
2. And when an exam came up you were free because you [unclear] stuff like that.
3. So you cannot worry about an assignment.
Facilitator: 4. So the teacher gives you more direction in Uganda?
Agot: 5. Yeah, more knowledge.
Facilitator: 6. More help?
Susan: 7. Here you can-
Agot: 8. =But here I nd it different.
9. They give you assignments and you just come to class sometimes and get a little bit of help (.) but not a LOT.
10. Sometimes you can get mixed up with what youre doing (.) and yeah (.) I can [see?] lots of difference.

Since most of these learners came from families where even the parents missed out on education, they were reliant on
the support system provided at school. They could not get assistance with their English from home, as they were often more
procient in English than their parents or their guardians. Difculties caused by English were also evident in the survey
where the majority of students (60%) responded that school was more difcult because their rst language was not English.
These circumstances highlight the importance of school based language and ESL support.

3.6.4. Pregnancy
Another common obstacle to schooling among female students was pregnancy. Respondents talked about the situation
of Sudanese girls falling pregnant while studying in secondary school and either running away to a different town altogether
to avoid the stigma and the anger of their immediate family, or staying around the community, but dropping out of school.
26 A. Hatoss et al. / Linguistics and Education 23 (2012) 1630

In Excerpt 11 a story of a Grade 10 girl was told about how she left school, left her parents and went off to live with her aunt
because she fell pregnant. During this time she missed out on her schooling and she has not returned to school since. Khot
and Aluel talk about this as a common story with Sudanese girls (see Excerpt 11).

Excerpt 11
Aluel: 1. I trust you and Ill tell you this person I trust you.
Facilitator: 2. Its interesting news isnt it? So thats happened in Toowoomba has it?
Aluel: 3. Yeah.
Khot: 4. Its happening around AUSTRALIA.
5. Most of the African girls are getting pregnant and running AWAY.
Aluel: 6. Yeah its sad.
Facilitator: 7. So are some of them at school?
Khot: 8. Yes at school (. . .). We just had one NOW.
Aluel: 9. Yeah at our school too.
Khot: 10. Not actually ONE (.) theres TWO.
Aluel: 11. Two yeah.
Khot: 12. Because the other one was last year and. . .
Aluel: 13. And this one this year.
Facilitator: 14. So it actually has happened twice here while youve been at the school?
Khot: 15. Yes.
Aluel: 16. Yep.
Facilitator: 17. So what happened? The girl was at school (.) but then she got pregnant (.) so: she left.

Due to a severe lack of sexual education in Sudan and the cultural taboo of discussing this topic with children, these
female learners are at high risk of leaving school or breaking up from their families. According to Sudanese traditions, sex-
ual relationship prior to marriage is strictly forbidden and generally spouses are only chosen with the parents approval.
It is no surprise, therefore, that girls experiencing an unexpected pregnancy choose to keep it as a secret and try to
avoid any shame or confrontation with the elders. There is a need, therefore, to offer counselling support which specif-
ically addresses family planning and pregnancy-related issues and offer such services both for the students and their
parents.

4. Discussion and recommendations

The issues and barriers raised in this research suggest a need to review the whole approach to settlement and the learning
of English for refugee groups such as the Sudanese, whose background experience involves severe trauma, loss of family,

Fig. 1. Accumulative effect and interrelationships of the barriers inuencing Sudanese students academic success.
 A. Hatoss et al. / Linguistics and Education 23 (2012) 1630 27

Fig. 2. Potential to develop Sudanese community social capital and enhance outcomes.

lack of education, and substantial socio-cultural differences compared with their host country. Combined with their lack of
formal education and literacy in both their L1 and L2 the challenge of settlement is compounded. Fig. 1 attempts to draw
together the accumulative effect and interrelationships of the issues and barriers that have emerged. It highlights the need
for them to access intensive English courses as well as advice on possible career choices. It reinforces the ndings noted
earlier of Ben-Moshe et al. (2008), Jeppsson and Hjern (2005) and Szente et al. (2006). Similarly, it calls attention to the
issue raised by Taylor (2008) in terms of the feasibility of schooling to provide the level of language teaching and range
of support that is necessary for this unique group of students to achieve their potential. By raising the issue of contrasts
in pedagogy and learning experiences the present research echos the ndings of Hewagodage and ONeill (2010) where
a more informal approach (Falk, 2001) using texts that related to students socio-cultural needs were more effective in
teaching English literacy. In keeping with Harris and Marlowes (2011) recommendations for Sudanese university students,
it emphasises the need to develop responses that are grounded in broad cultural competence [of] . . . both staff and students
(p. 194).
This research suggests the need to review the modes and intensity of delivery of English courses to ensure opportunities
for learning are maximized. There is a need to address students lack of formal education and literacy in their own language.
This is well recognized as having an impact on second language learning (Jongjean, Verhoeven, & Siegel, 2007). Future
research might explore the potential of intensive practice in successful English language courses for overseas (ELICOS) and
importantly trial the use of digital technology to support the use of English with native speakers and with other Sudanese
communities across Australia. Connecting with other Sudanese communities through online technology offers the added
benet of improving their rst language literacy (Hatoss, 2011). In addition, while settlement in regional areas has many
benets, as was highlighted in the present research, the students are faced with a dilemma when it comes to nding work.
They are again caught between choosing to stay out of duty to their family on the one hand, and choosing to move and nd
employment in major Australian cities some considerable distance away, and by doing that risking the loss of their existing
community network and support.
28 A. Hatoss et al. / Linguistics and Education 23 (2012) 1630

As evident in Fig. 1, these students socio-cultural adjustment and educational journey is continually thwarted by a
series of tensions. These are: (1) their background and experience of psychological trauma versus the need for motivation,
agency and resilience; (2) their lack of formal academic education and L1 and L2 literacy versus the need to study; (3) high
educational aspirations versus lack of resources to enhance their learning and ongoing family issues and demands; and
(4) lack of resources and socio-cultural knowledge to address them. Nevertheless, this research also shows that in spite
of the tensions and barriers involved these students are able to look ahead and have admirable aspirations for not only
their personal goals but to help their families at home in Sudan. This reinforces Jeppsson and Hjerns (2005) review of
research that many Sudanese refugees were more concerned with their current domestic needs than their past traumatic
experiences.
It is within this context of human endeavour attempting to triumph in the face of adversity that improvements to better
support the acculturation process should be more critically considered. It needs to ensure provision of those resources and
socio-cultural support systems that will best help capitalize on their strengths. This equates to the resourcing and uptake
of culturally enhanced, community-based intensive English courses. Their delivery requires structures and processes to
engage Sudanese learners with their local host communities (Falk & Kilpatrick, 2000) and other Sudanese communities
in Australia. The approach needs to critically examine the potential of digital technology in language learning, promoting
communication and socio-cultural support (Hatoss, 2011). The uptake of 21st century multimediated pedagogical oppor-
tunities and virtual learning spaces that are grounded in strong, local community-based support have the potential to
transform the current situation to create a new accumulative, more positive effect. Fig. 2 illustrates this potential. It argues
for the development of a community of learners where both real and virtual learning spaces are in use. It shows how the
injection of, or redistribution of resources to enhanced communicative experiences for real-life purposes in both L1 and
L2 may contribute to a more authentic learning experience with greater potential for enhanced socio-linguistic learning
outcomes.
This model, which involves the provision online learning and communication technologies, is expected to contribute
to building the social capital of participants. It emphasises the importance of access to such technologies and the ability
to connect and communicate for social and educational purposes in L1 and L2. It recognizes the dual need of Sudanese
refugees to communicate and engage with both their host culture and their immediate and broader Sudanese community. It
cannot be assumed that approaches and services provided for mainstream culture are equally appropriate for other cultural
groups.

5. Conclusion

The ndings of this study reinforce those of others with respect to Sudanese refugee background students school-
ing difculties (Brown et al., 2006; Gbla, 2010; Pirie et al., 2005), issues and experiences (Bolea, Grant, Burgess, &
Plasa, 2003). This research shows that when Sudanese-background students were provided the opportunity, they val-
ued being able to give their opinions and give voice to their agency. Moreover, the interviews and focus discussions
illuminated the issues impacting on refugee-background students everyday lives, aspirations and educational achieve-
ment. Importantly, the ndings highlighted the need to consider the accumulative impact of the various barriers to
educational success, including the interrelationships between them, rather than separately. Sudanese learners typically
experienced problems learning academic English. This was exacerbated by a lack of formal education in their home
country and the different expectations they had from their teachers. Not only did they need to overcome linguistic
and cultural issues and become procient in English, they also expressed a strong commitment to supporting their
extended family both in Australia and in the Sudan. This socio-cultural demand creates an extra pressure on their abil-
ity to cope with study on the one hand, but on the other hand it is a strong motivational factor for achieving their career
goals.
Gender-related expectations were evident in these learners career choices and educational opportunities. Such
gendered barriers (Hatoss & Huijser, 2010) impact on educational achievement and draw attention to the delicate rela-
tionship between performing their cultural identity and the need to integrate into the Australian host community.
Matthews (2008, p. 31) argues that in most educational services the pre-migration experience has been overempha-
sised and little attention has been paid to post-displacement factors such as issues of racialisation, acculturation and
resilience (Hatoss, in press). This article aimed to address this and we hope that our discussion provides a useful
insight into the complex factors impacting on the linguistic and educational socialization of refugee-background learn-
ers.

Acknowledgements

The researchers would like to acknowledge the participants of the study and the schools where the surveys were con-
ducted. We are also thankful for the funding provided by the Vice Chancellors Equity Funds at the University of Southern
Queensland and the Australian Research Council Discovery Scheme.
 A. Hatoss et al. / Linguistics and Education 23 (2012) 1630 29

Appendix A. Obstacles to university studies

1. What obstacles (if any) stop you from university studies?

2. Getting an OP 1 in high school because I would really have to commit to my studies.
3. I have to move to another city to work to be able to go to uni otherwise I cant.
4. None-OP, and would like to go through TAFE because its more easy in terms of all the practical work you do at TAFE.
5. Money, where I live.
6. Non-OP.
7. Because I am non-OP student I would not be able to go straight away to university.
8. Non-OP.
9. Non-OP.
10. I have not OP student.
11. Not achieving level required to get to the course that I need.
12. Going to university is not were my carry chose is about.
13. Not studying my dream job due to difculty in subjects involved.
14. I have more difculties in my study. 1. I havent seen my parents for the last 10 years. I am planning to go and visit them one time. 2. Financial
problems. 3. Lonely (no parent).
15. It may be money or sickness.
16. Nothing can actually stop me from going to university.
17. Some time if you want it to go to TAFE and you dont have more money.
18. Children will sometimes be around. Lack of money. Too much hard studies.
19. Because English is second language. I need TAFE rst after that start university.
20. A lots of things, English, family, personal issues.
21. Money, family issues.
22. Money.
23. Depend on my performance and nancial problem.
24. My obstacle is English because I am non English speaking background.
25. Nothing can stop me I would like more study.
26. The cost.
This is not a rank order, but a list of all the various responses given to the open-ended question in the survey.

Appendix B. Transcription conventions

. Falling intonation
? Rising intonation
(. . .) A longer pause approx 0.5 s or longer
(.) A micro-pause approx. less than 0.1 s
: Extension or prolongation of a sound
:: Longer extension or prolongation of a sound
// Overlapping utterances
= Continuous utterances (latching)
Text in italics Emphasis or animated voice
CAPITALS Stressed pitch or volume
(( )) Editorial comments
((word?)) Best guess of unintelligible word
Wor- Truncated/cut-off word
XXX Unintelligible
Name: Speaker turn attribution

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