Students` social interaction and participation in classroom : a case study among selected Rohingya children in Kuala Lumpur

Abstract

As refugee children, having to cope with life in a new and unfamiliar country can add serious obstacles and challenges especially to these particular Rohingya children in their educational pursuits. This study aims to explore the students’ interaction and participation in classroom during the learning activity among the secondary student of Rohingya Children located in Educational Centre in Ampang. Data collection for this paper obtained from observations and interviews conducted to 6 Rohingya children aged between 12 to 15 years old and 2 teachers of the centre. In determining the interaction and participation of the Rohingya students, themes and subthemes that emerged were guided by four research questions which are: (a) What are the teaching methods used by the teachers in the classroom? (b) How do the teacher encourage interaction and participation among the students in the learning activities? (c) What are the levels of interaction and participation of the students in the classroom? and (d) How do the students demonstrate interaction and participation in the learning activities? Findings found that the Rohingya students are actively participated and interacted in classroom and scaffolding occurred between the students with peers and with teacher even they faced barriers such as language difficulty. Key Words: classroom interaction, classroom participation, Rohingya refugee, case study, observation, interview, qualitative research.