Culturally responsive teaching supports refugee students beyond resettlement
18 June 2025
They’re the subtle cues and behaviours that shape student success – easily picked up by local students, but often unfamiliar for those from refugee backgrounds.
This Refugee Week, human rights and education experts at the University of South Australia are shining a light on the less visible challenges faced by students from refugee backgrounds: the ‘hidden curriculum’.
In a recent study, UniSA researchers explain the ‘hidden curriculum’ as a set of implicit rules, values and behaviours that quietly shape the university experience – never formally taught, but essential for academic and social success
“The ‘hidden curriculum’ is very real,” says UniSA’s Dr Snjezana Bilic. “It’s the unwritten, unspoken rules that guide student success – things like classroom behaviours, university processes, and what’s expected through group work, or where and how to seek help – these are key parts of the student experience.
“Local students, who are acquainted with the dominant culture, are generally more familiar with aspects of the ‘hidden curriculum’; but refugee students have significantly different experiences with different ways of knowing and learning.
“We know that refugee students have strong aspirations, but we also know that these can be offset by a range of obstacles, for example trauma, interrupted education, competing family priorities and language barriers. The last thing they need is to start university from a deficit position, so that’s where we are trying to help.”
The researchers say that the ‘hidden curriculum’ should be explicitly taught to all students, but especially those from refugee backgrounds.
To offset barriers created by the ‘hidden curriculum’ and enhance meaningful outcomes for students of refugee backgrounds, UniSA has created a Refugee Student Support Group with a team of Peer Support Officers who also act as ‘cultural brokers’ – helping students from refugee backgrounds navigate academic expectations and social norms.
“We’ve seen how powerful peer support can be,” says co-researcher Dr Heidi Hetz.
“When Peer Support Officers connect with our refugee students, they help build trust, strengthen engagement and help breakdown some of the barriers that students from refugee backgrounds face. And because this is peer-to-peer learning, both the student ‘teacher’ and the refugee student can connect and share knowledge.
“Importantly, our Peer Support Officers also help refugee students understand the nuances of the ‘hidden curriculum’. They explain where to ask for help, how to access supports for assignment writing, as well as how to access other university services like counselling. They also explain how tutorials work, how you are encouraged to share your opinion or experiences, and how your point of view truly counts.”
Dr Bilic says that tackling the hidden curriculum requires 360-degree support.
“To embrace diversity, we must prioritise a more culturally responsive curriculum,” Dr Bilic says.
“Not only do we need to incorporate examples, stories and traditions from a range of cultures, but we need to provide explicit instructions about what students need to do to engage in learning as well as scaffold their learning by providing support in structuring their assignments, teaching them how to study in classroom, to ask for help of teaching staff, as well as time management’.
“We also need to recognise that learning the hidden curriculum takes time, especially for those who have experienced resettlement, trauma or disrupted education.
“Critically, we need to recognise and acknowledge that a student’s lack of familiarity with the hidden curriculum reflects cultural differences, not their deficiency.”
As Australia marks Refugee Week, UniSA experts say it’s time to recognise that the refugee experience doesn’t end at resettlement, and that belonging must be actively built, especially in educational settings.
“Learning to study in a new country, in a new language, with new rules especially after trauma - is not easy,” Dr Bilic says. “But with understanding, structure and explicit support, we can decode the hidden curriculum and help all students feel like they belong.”
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Contacts for interview: Dr Snjezana Bilic E: snjezana.bilic@unisa.edu.au
Dr Heidi Hetz E: heidi.hetz@unisa.edu.au
Media contact: Annabel Mansfield M: +61 479 182 489 E: Annabel.Mansfield@unisa.edu.au
