Introduction: Refugee Teacher Consultation in Malaysia

ABSTRACT

This is the introductory article to a journal theme issue on Refugee Teacher Collaboration in Malaysia. The origins of this issue are described, as well as the Editor’s hope that these articles will inspire additional consultation research using participatory approaches. A brief synopsis of the issue is provided.

One of my great joys as editor has been working with guest editors to think through and deliver theme issues. Thus far, there have been several tremendous theme issues in my term, covering topics such as school psychologists as systems-level consultants (Newell & Coffee, 2015), multicultural competence (Sander, Hernandez-Finch, & Newell, 2016), restorative justice (Song & Swearer, 2016), consultee-centered consultation (Newman & Ingraham, 2017), and acculturation and sociocultural factors in children’s mental health services (Goforth, Pham, Chun, & Castro-Olivo, 2017).

All of these theme issues had similar origins involving communication with the guest editors at the initial idea stage and the guest editors ultimately submitting a formal proposal. This theme issue is different. The origin of this theme issue was an original submission that was striking from the first page. One of my main hopes and goals for this journal is to publish more work from outside the United States (Shriberg, 2014; Shriberg, Brooks, Castillo, Clinton, Goforth, Mueller, & Newman, 2018). I also have a personal interest in participatory action research (Shriberg et al., 2017) and social justice (Shriberg & Clinton, 2016). Thus, receiving an article that utilized participatory approaches in providing consultation to teachers who are working with refugees in Malaysia was a positive jolt. When a second submission from this same project arrived, I began to appreciate the full scope of this work, including the wisdom of the authors. As such, at a point where a quantitative manuscript had already been accepted and it was evident that an accompanying qualitative article would be accepted, Dr. O’Neal and I set upon a plan where her project would appear as three separate articles—one quantitative (O’Neal, Gosnell, Ng, & Ong, 2018), one qualitative (O’Neal, Atapattu, Jegathesan, Clement, Ong, & Ganasen, 2018), and one a reflection piece (O’Neal, Gosnell, Ng, Clement, & Ong, 2018) commenting on lessons learned and advice for future consultants seeking to utilize participatory approaches in different parts of the globe. The quantitative and qualitative articles underwent the normal peer-review process whereas the reflection article was an invited piece. The esteemed Bonnie Kaul Nastasi was invited to write a commentary, and I was so gratified when she agreed to do so.

The end result is this theme issue. These outstanding articles are a testament to the teachers and researchers involved in this project, as well as the writing talents of Dr. O’Neal and her collaborators. It is my hope that these articles will lead to future global consultation work using participatory approaches, particularly work aimed at and supporting vulnerable populations such as the Burmese refugees described in these studies. Full of wisdom, Dr. O’Neal’s research and Dr. Nastasi’s commentary provide a rich road map. I hope that these articles inspire you as they inspired me.