Leveraging EdTech in Creating Refugee-Inclusive Classrooms in Canada

As Canada experiences a growing number of newcomer students with refugee backgrounds, K-12 educators face challenges to meet students’ unique academic, linguistic, and psychosocial needs. This paper examines the role of educational technology (EdTech) to bridge the resource and training gap by enhancing teacher preparedness through an accessible, inclusive, and trauma-informed digital resource. This study presents a qualitative case study methodology to analyze the interactive online manual, Supporting Teachers to Address the Mental Health of Students from War Zones. The research utilizes three data sources: feedback from 110 educators through a questionnaire, observational data from 69 students from two separate pre-service teacher cohorts, and an expert evaluation report conducted by university curriculum specialists. Findings suggest that successful EdTech for refugee-background student initiatives must be trauma-informed, strength-based, culturally responsive, and designed with usability and accessibility in mind. Furthermore, collaboration between K-12 educators, researchers, and developers is vital to ensure that there is alignment of pedagogy and technology.