Educating Culturally Displaced Students with Truncated Formal Education (CDS-TFE): The Case of Refugee Students and Challenges for Administrators, Teachers, and Counselors.

Abstract

From 2006 to 2008, refugee resettlement agencies brought 4018 refugees to Chicago, Illinois. Using the example of the challenges faced by 14 refugee students from Burundi in adjusting to the U.S. school system, the authors call the attention of schools to the distinction between educating English Language Learners (ELL) and Educating Culturally Displaced Students with Truncated Formal Education (CDSTFE). These authors also question the appropriateness of social promotion practices by which these students with truncated formal education are placed several grade levels above their actual educational attainment in U.S. schools, regardless of their school interruptions or limited school readiness. Principles and strategies for responsive integration of CDS-TFE in the U.S. educational systems are also explored. note: This manuscript has been peer-reviewed, accepted, and endorsed by the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA) as a signi cant contribution to the scholarship and practice of education administration. In addition to publication in the Connexions Content ∗Version 1.2: Apr 17, 2011 9:16 am GMT-5 †http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ http://cnx.org/content/m37446/1.2/ Connexions module: m37446 2 Commons, this module is published in the International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, Volume 6, Number 2 (April June, 2011), ISSN 2155-9635. Formatted and edited in Connexions by Theodore Creighton and Brad Bizzell, Virginia Tech, and Janet Tareilo, Stephen F. Austin State University.