Preparing and Supporting Teachers of Immigrant and Refugee Students

Teachers are vital for the integration of immigrant, refugee and asylum-seeking students; however, they are not often prepared or supported to meet the needs of these students. Teacher training programs rarely focus on strategies and interventions for immigrant students’ needs, and even less on the special situations of refugee and asylum-seeking youth, leaving teachers largely unprepared to deal with the complexity of their abilities and needs. By highlighting the voices of teachers of immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking students, this book closes between the unique needs of these youth through the development of meaningful and appropriate pedagogical strategies, resources, and policies to meet the needs of both students and teachers.

While the focus of the chapters is on the education of immigrant, refugee and asylum-seeking students, the resources, strategies and skills proposed will benefit students and educators to alleviate issues related to trauma, identity, and language. The research-based evidence presented in this book provides data and policy recommendations for various educational stakeholders, including leaders from school to national levels, university faculty and staff, and policymakers to better prepare, train and develop teachers to effectively address students with needs related to trauma, identity, and language in classrooms worldwide. This book was originally published as a special issue of Teachers and Teaching.

Dr. Lisa Damaschke-Deitrick is Senior Lecturer and Researcher at the University of Tübingen, Germany.

Dr. Ericka Galegher is an Independent Researcher based in Egypt.

Dr. Annika Wilmers is Professor at Frankfurt UAS, Germany.

Dr. Alexander W. Wiseman is Professor at Texas Tech University, USA.