Dr Rachel Burke
Rachel is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Newcastle, Australia. She visited the UNESCO Chair team from January until August 2019.
Rachel researches and advocates for equitable access to higher education and for greater attention to language/literacies support for people with refugee backgrounds and those seeking asylum. Her work focuses on pathways to inclusion through education in resettlement contexts. Together with colleagues in the field, she has recently conducted the first national scoping study of access to higher education for people seeking asylum in Australia, exploring the pragmatic realities of attempting to study while on a Bridging Visa. Rachel’s work also explores the ideological and linguistic implications of language testing as a pre-requisite for citizenship, and critiques mediatised discourses surrounding language assessment, identity, and inclusion/exclusion more broadly.
For more information about Rachel and her work, please visit her staff page.