School disengagement continues to undermine the academic success of marginalised students, yet research rarely centres on their perspectives. To address this gap, this qualitative case study draws on semi-structured interviews with 53 refugee-background African-heritage students in three Australian states. Informed by a socio-ecological perspective, a thematic analysis of the qualitative data reveals four key themes that capture the primary causes of school disengagement: hostile learning environments, negative learning experiences, unrealistic parental expectations, and belonging uncertainty. Within these themes, students reported experiencing racial vilification, biased disciplinary measures, curricular invisibility or misrepresentation, and low teacher expectations, all of which significantly hindered their engagement. Additionally, parental involvement was limited by time constraints, lack of resources, and unfamiliarity with the education system, while students also reported feeling alienated and stereotyped as threats, further eroding their sense of belonging. The findings highlight the need for institutional commitment to addressing racial Othering in schools and engaging migrant parents in career consultation as early as possible.
Tebeje Molla (Fri,) studied this question.