Trauma-Informed Pedagogy and Refugee Student Engagement in Australian Schools: A Systematic Review

With the global rise in forcibly displaced populations, ensuring equitable and supportive educational opportunities for refugee youth has become a pressing priority. Refugee students often face the dual challenge of adapting to new educational contexts while coping with the psychological and social effects of trauma. The purpose of this systematic review is to examine how trauma-informed pedagogy is conceptualised and implemented to support refugee student engagement and wellbeing in Australian schools.Guided by the PRISMA 2020 framework, a comprehensive search of peer-reviewed literature published between 2015 and 2025 was conducted. The final review included ten studies employing qualitative, mixed-method, and review designs. Data were systematically extracted and analysed across four dimensions: methodological and theoretical approaches, empirical interests, key findings, and research gaps.Findings reveal that most studies adopt qualitative and exploratory designs underpinned by trauma theory, ecological systems theory, social constructivism, and culturally responsive pedagogy. Evidence highlights the centrality of relational and emotional safety, teacher professional learning, culturally responsive practices, and multi-tiered systems of support in promoting refugee students’ wellbeing, belonging, and academic engagement. However, the literature remains fragmented and largely descriptive, with few longitudinal studies, limited assessment of implementation fidelity, and minimal inclusion of refugee student perspectives.Trauma-informed pedagogy is most effective when relationally grounded, culturally responsive, and systemically embedded. Future research should integrate implementation science, participatory methodologies, and cross-cultural frameworks to strengthen the evidence base and guide trauma-responsive educational policy and practice in Australia.