Teacher perceptions of the barriers and facilitators of education amongst Chin refugees in Malaysia : A qualitative analysis

The United Nations Refugee Agency currently has registered approximately 178,990 asylum seekers, and refugees within Malaysia (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Figures at a glance in Malaysia, 2020b). Interestingly, while Malaysia allows for the registration of asylum seekers and refugees, it is not a signatory to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. As a result, refugees in Malaysia are not considered conceptually different from illegal immigrants, and therefore have precarious lifestyles while they await resettlement to a third country. Importantly, refugee children are barred from accessing the local education system in Malaysia, despite documented evidence surrounding the importance of education in the promotion of well-being and successful resettlement in refugee children. These children often end up relying on various volunteer-run schools that have been set up across the country. In order to better understand the barriers and facilitators of refugee education, this study employed the use of semistructured interviews with 10 volunteer teachers who teach Chin refugee children in Malaysia. A qualitative analysis was conducted using a grounded theoretical framework. Five major themes emerged from the analysis of the data: Language, Resources, Cultural Differences, Legal Status, and Experiences of Prejudice. The findings from this study contribute to an important, and growing body of research that aims to understand both the barriers and facilitators of refugee education. It is hoped that these findings provide future educators with confidence and skills in the provision of effective education to their students from refugee backgrounds. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).