Australian Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions are perhaps the most heterogeneous of the nation"s educational sectors. However, TAFE institutions" capacity to provide inclusive education is constrained by their curriculum focus and pedagogical practices and culturally premised assumptions that may inhibit learning for students from diverse cultural backgrounds and life experiences. This paper reports a study that investigated the experiences of learning for African students from

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... refugee backgrounds in TAFE institutions. Adopting phenomenological methodology, the study illuminates ways in which the students" earlier and current experiences shape their learning at TAFE institutions. The findings indicate that, while greatly appreciating being in a safe environment, African students from refugee backgrounds nevertheless experience racial discrimination and social exclusion as they resettle in Australia. Also, the pedagogical practices at TAFE institutions do not always recognise or accommodate the students" socio-cultural backgrounds and refugee life experiences. In all, the "experienced curriculum" created unhelpful dissonances for these students. Consequently, the paper argues that in order to benefit more fully from their educational experiences in TAFE and more effectively engage in Australian society, including employment, African students from refugee backgrounds require particular interventions from these institutions and those who teach in them. It is proposed that a transformative learning approach is required for these students in TAFE institutions. Readiness to learn and needs for social inclusion I left my home country Sudan, fleeing from war ... Under care of my parents at the age of 8; I never expected to be separated from my parents, as war broke out unexpectedly. My dad was among the victims. At that time of brutal civil war in Sudan, we fled to Ethiopia with my mother, siblings other relatives, where we were accommodated by the UNHCR [United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees] in the Ethiopian camp for 4 years. ...war broke out again in Ethiopia ... As a result; my mother, brother and I trekked over 120 kilometres on foot to Kenya border without food or water. On our arrival at the Kenyan border in early 1992, the UNHCR received us. With refugee numbers increasing, UNHCR protection office at the Kenya-border decided to take us to Kakuma Camp [Turkana district, Kenya]. This is where I had stayed for 13 years before I came to Australia. (Participant/Sudan)