First-year physical education teachers' experiences with teaching African refugee students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze and explore the experiences of eight first-year physical education teachers who have taught African refugee students. Interviews were conducted at the end of each participant's first year of teaching. The findings of this study highlight the vast different learning styles of students from Africa and the strategies that these teachers trialed and incorporated into their lessons in an attempt to minimize the disruptions they experienced when first introduced to the students. The results of this study, together with information from the literature, suggest that the training and education of teachers in Australia must incorporate strategies for teaching students from different backgrounds, cultures, and living situations to better facilitate the inclusion of them in school-based activities and learning.