GUIDELINES IN FACILITATING REFUGEE LEARNERS IN THEIR SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT TO A FOREIGN SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT By CARINA NAUDE Submitted in part fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF DIACONIOLOGY (DIRECTION: PLAY THERAPY) At the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH-AFRICA SUPERVISOR: MRS IF JACOBS NOVEMBER 2008 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I Would Like To Express My Gratitude To: (cid:131) My husband, Werner, for his love and encouragement when needed the most. (cid:131) My father for believing in me and constantly supporting me throughout this journey. (cid:131) My friends and family for their patience and support. (cid:131) My supervisor, Issie Jacobs, for her dedication and guidance. (cid:131) My Saviour, Jesus Christ, without whom this project would not have been possible.   ii Students Number: 41858085 I hereby declare GUIDELINES IN FACILITATING REFUGEE LEARNERS IN THEIR SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT TO A FOREIGN SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT to be my own work and that all the references that were used or quoted were indicated and recognised. Carina Naude Date   iii iv ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to develop Gestalt guidelines for teachers working with refugee learners. These guidelines seek to assist teachers when facilitating refugee learners in their social adjustment to a new school environment. The researcher made use of the first four stages of the Design and Development model of intervention research. These stages included problem analysis and project planning, information gathering and synthesis, design, and the early development of the guidelines. For the purpose of this study, semi-structured focus groups were conducted with teachers working with refugee learners. The social adjustment process was then viewed in the context of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory. Existing literature on the social adjustment of refugee learners in the South-African school system and literature on the Gestalt philosophy was used together with functional elements of existing social adjustment models to develop guidelines for teachers when facilitating refugee learners in their social adjustment to a new school environment. Throughout this research study, the refugee learner has been referred to as “he”. This was done for practical reasons only and no gender discrimination was intended.   v KEY TERMS (cid:131) Refugee (cid:131) Trauma and Loss (cid:131) Xenophobia (cid:131) Social Adjustment of Refugee Learners (cid:131) Gestalt Guidelines.   vi A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. ~Henry Brooks Adams   vii TABLE OF CONTENTS     ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii DECLARATION iii DECLARATION FROM PROOF READER iv ABSTRACT v KEY TERMS vi TABLE OF CONTENTS viii LIST OF FIGURES xv LIST OF TABLES xv LIST OF ACRONYMS xvi   CHAPTER 1: PROBLEM ANALYSIS AND PROJECT PLANNING 1.1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.2 MOTIVATION AND RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY 2 1.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 4 1.4 WORK PROCEDURE 5 1.4.1 Problem Analysis and Project Planning 5 1.4.1.1 Identifying and Involving Clients 6 1.4.1.2 Gaining Entry and Cooperation from Settings 7 1.4.1.3 Identifying Concerns of the Population 8 1.4.1.4 Analysing Concerns or Problems Identified 9 1.4.1.5 Setting the Goal and Objectives 10 1.4.2 Information Gathering and Synthesis 11   viii 1.4.2.1 Using Existing Sources of Information 11 1.4.2.2 Studying Natural Examples 11 1.4.2.3 Identifying Functional Elements of Successful Models 12 1.4.3 Design 13 1.4.3.1 Designing an Observational System 13 1.4.3.2 Specifying Procedural Elements of the Intervention 14 1.4.4 Early Development and Pilot Testing 14 1.4.4.1 Developing a Prototype or Preliminary Intervention 14 1.5 DEFINITION OF MAIN CONCEPTS 14 1.5.1 Refugee 15 1.5.2 Trauma and Loss 15 1.5.3 Xenophobia 16 1.5.4 Social Adjustment For Refugee Learners 17 1.5.5 Gestalt Guidelines 17 1.6 CONCLUSION 18     CHAPTER 2: EMPIRICAL FINDINGS 2.1 INTRODUCTION 19 2.2 IDENTIFYING AND ANALYSING CONCERNS OF THE 20 POPULATION 2.3 IDENTIFICATION OF CONCERNS OF THE POPULATION UNDER 20 MAIN THEMES AND SUB-THEMES 2.3.1 Main Theme 1: Stress and Coping for Refugee Learners 21 2.3.1.1 Trauma 22   ix 2.3.1.2 Xenophobia 26 2.3.1.3 Lack of Support 29 2.3.2 Main Theme 2: Second Language Concerns 32 2.3.2.1 Interpersonal Communication 32 2.3.2.2 Academic Competence 34 2.3.3 Main Theme 3: Socio-Cultural Factors 36 2.3.3.1 Cultural Diversity 36 2.4 CONCLUSION 39   CHAPTER 3: INFLUENCES IMPACTING ON THE SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT OF REFUGEE LEARNERS WITHIN THE SOUTH-AFRICAN SCHOOL SYSTEM 3.1 INTRODUCTION 40 3.2 SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT AND RESETTLEMENT OF REFUGEE 40 LEARNERS 3.2.1 An Ecological Approach 41 3.2.2 The Process of Adaptation 44 3.2.2.1 Pre-Migration Influences 44 3.2.2.2 Trans-Migration Influences 50 3.2.2.3 Post-Migration Influences 51 3.3 RESILIENCE 57 3.4 THE INTEGRATION OF REFUGEE LEARNERS INTO SOUTH- 59 AFRICAN SCHOOLS 3.4.1 Multicultural Education 60   x