ARC Discovery Project towards improved settlement policies for refugees

A new project led by USQ Education (Applied Linguistics) Senior Lecturer Dr Aniko Hatoss that will explore the linguistic, social and cultural issues of refugee settlement in Australia, has received funding from the Australian Research Council's (ARC) Discovery Projects scheme.

An Australian Government initiative, the Discovery Projects scheme offers a variety of fellowships to nurture the talents of Australia's most promising early-career researchers, support established researchers and also foster the international research capabilities of Australian research.

Dr Hatoss's project, which received $187,000, will focus on the local Sudanese community in Toowoomba and some of the issues they have faced since relocating to Australia.

'I will look at the Sudanese community in Toowoomba and the settlement and adjustment difficulties that they have had,' Dr Hatoss said.

'The project will explore what social and linguistic factors impact on their adjustment to life in Australia.'

With approximately 1000 Sudanese families living in Toowoomba, Dr Hatoss said that the research was crucial in establishing a research-based empirical basis on which settlement programs can be improved for the community.

'They are an emerging and growing community in this region,' she said.

'There is an apparent need to do some work in this area as the Sudanese community can be particularly vulnerable and at risk and can struggle with integration and adjustment into Australian society.'

Dr Hatoss was particularly interested in the language difficulties that the Sudanese had encountered.

'This is a really interesting linguistic context as most Sudanese are highly multi-lingual,' she said.

'I want to not only look at their ability to develop their English proficiency, but also what attitudes and motivations they have towards the maintenance of their mother tongue and what initiatives they take to maintain their cultural identity.'

While the study will be undertaken locally, the research could have ramifications both nationally and internationally.

'This research is relevant to policy-making in relation to making decisions regarding refugee and immigrant communities,' Dr Hatoss said.

'It will look at both families and individuals within the Sudanese community and will hopefully have an impact on a local, national and international level.'

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Scholarship) Professor Graham Baker congratulated Dr Hatoss and said the project highlighted some of the community-based research being undertaken at USQ.

'This project is an example of some of the dynamic and innovative research being conducted here at USQ and is another way in which we are linking closely with the community.'

Funding for the project will begin in 2008, with money allocated over a three year period.

Media Contact: Josh Ada, USQ Media, +61 7 4631 1628