Refugee Learners’ experiences of curriculum transition in South Africa

Abstract

There is a dearth of scholarship on refugee education particularly the way in which learners navigate a new curriculum in the host country. The purpose of this study is to explore Zimbabwean learners’ experiences of curricula transition at a refugee school in South Africa. The study was performed using a qualitative case study, and its paradigmatic position was interpretive. Bronfenbrenner’s Social Ecological Model was used as a theoretical framework. Ten participants were purposively selected to participate in semistructured interviews. The study found that refugee learners’ experiences of curricula transition manifest in three categories: content, contextual and conceptual experiences. It is concluded that providing education to refugee learners without giving them the necessary support, which is needed for them to adapt to a new curriculum, is tantamount to setting them up for a failure.