This paper describes a qualitative study conducted over the course of one school year in an ethnically diverse school. Aimed at exploring the conditions under which parents of low socioeconomic status (SES) immigrant-background children will engage actively with the school, we involved parents and facilitators in story-telling sessions, sharing…

Few studies have focused on the identity formation of non-native English speaking teachers (NNESTs) as legitimate speakers and teachers of English. Drawing on Norton's (2000) poststructuralist theory of identity as a process of struggling and changing, this study examined whether and how Asian international students studying for a Masters in…

Immigration is an example of global mobility to developed nations such as Australia. Each year thousands of migrants from different parts of the world move here. Using a sociocultural framework, this article reports on English as a Second Language (ESL) parents' views on the role and importance of English in the learning and lives of their…

Teachers are now experiencing the age of quantitative test-driven assessment, in which there is little weight accorded to teacher-based judgement about student progress. In the Australian context, the NAPLaN test has become a driving force in school and teacher accountability. The language of NAPLaN is one of bands and numerical scores and…

This article is derived from a small study conducted within a larger qualitative study into the nature of the responses of mainstream primary teachers in a non-metropolitan area in Australia to the Sudanese refugee English Language Learners (ELLs) in their classes. It reports on findings in relation to teachers' attitudes toward the use of their…

Australian schools have a long history of providing education to students from culturally and linguistically diverse background, including new arrivals who are still in the process of acquiring English as an additional language. Nonetheless, the cohort of refugee children and youth coming from Africa's troubled regions in the last few years poses…