EDUCATIONAL DILEMMAS UNCOVERED

Access to education has been defined as “the ability to enroll in school and to continue one’s studies through to the end of a given level” (Dryden-Peterson, 2011, p.24) and is viewed by refugee communities as one of their highest priorities. Education, in the context of an emergency, especially that of conflict/crisis, can play a critical role in normalizing the situation for victims, especially children and youth, by minimizing the psychosocial stresses experienced when emergencies result in the sudden and violent destabilization fashion, disrupting the immediate family and social environment (Pigozzi, 1999). Education can be a support mechanism, supporting children and youth in their struggle to deal with their daily life challenges and with their future. When enrolled in an educational setting children and youth are able to deal with their worries, aspirations, and hopes more confidently and effectively. When looked at from a pure economic perspective, researchers found out...

Scholarships According to a UNHCR policy briefing (2015)   numerous scholarship programmes   at higher educational level have been made available to refugees in their countries of asylum, as well as in third countries, particularly in the European Union. However, the total of all available scholarships for Syrians promised since the start of the crisis, does not exceed several thousand ; consequently leading to a huge gap between the opportunities provided and actual demand, remembering that the demand reaches hundreds of thousand eligible youth for HE.   All-virtual learning mode According to Moser-Mercer (2014) from the University of Geneva, students’ engagement with all-virtual courses in fragile contexts cannot be described as regular, nor sufficient. In those contexts, set learning outcomes are usually not met and learners simply drop out. (Moser-Mercer, 2014) . A landscape review conducted to study HE potentials in low resource environments observed that...

Low secondary level completion rates mean that prospects for HE are jeopardized.   Those who have been out-of-school for over three years are considered in most MENA region countries not eligible for re-integration in the formal schooling system. This is a big challenge, especially in countries where informal education is scarce and of low-quality. In most cases, the refuge decision was taken hastily without thinking of the necessary transcripts, diplomas, and other academic papers that will be required in the new host country for university enrollment.   Not having those documentations, left the SRY with three options: 1) going back to Syria to get those documentations, risking their lives, which some did especially during 2014 (AlAhmed, 2016) 2)to repeat grades 11 and 12 to sit the Tawjihi exam, 3)to take the easier route and enter the ‘labor market’. In Lebanon for instance , grade 12 Syrian students are allowed to sit official exams but “ but cannot receive off...

On 29 August 2018, the Education in Conflict and Crisis Network (ECCN) and the INEE Technology and Education in Crises Task Team (TECTT), with support from USAID, hosted a webcast to introduce a new tool called the  Checklist for ICT Interventions to Support Education in Crisis and Conflict Settings  (ICT in EiCC Checklist). This tool was developed as a collaboration between ECCN members and staff and INEE TECTT members to help ensure that ICT interventions supporting education activities in communities impacted by crisis and conflict are conflict sensitive. Watch the  webcast recording  ( https://youtu.be/aC2YLszKAzc ).  Download the  webcast presentation  (PDF). Download the tool -  Checklist for ICT Interventions to Support Education in Crisis and Conflict Settings  (PDF). Do you have a project that could benefit from piloting the ICT in EiCC Checklist? Contact Simon Richmond at  srichmond@edc.org .

It was by far one of the most successful and constructive events that I have attended. DUring the period between August 5th and 9th I attended the Workshop for Sustainable Blended Learning at Carey Insitute (the Refugees Educators Academy) in one of hte most beautiful outskirts of NY: Rennesevilla.  The event was amazing, due to the unbelievable calm and tranquille surrounding but also due to the diverse participants, from whom there was a lot to be learnt. THe hostility of Diana and Julie and the well-planned session were admirable. Below is the briefing of the event that came out from Carey Institute.  Fighting off jet-lag and the chronic exhaustion that is common among educators, a group of six dedicated, inspired teachers came together to explore Sustainable Blended Learning and build courses utilizing tools and templates developed by the Center for Learning in Practice on the  l earning.careyinstitute  platform. Participants included an international consu...

On August 29th I will be one of the presenters to this important webcast. Until writing those lines here there are around 200 who registered for the event. I did not finalize my PPT, however, I am very excited about it. THis is the final stage of a collaborative work between INEE & ECCN to develop this checklist, a checklist that would help practitioners who have an ICT componenet within their educatinal initiatives to use that componenet in a highly conflict sensitive manner. It was a process with a couple of iterations until it reached this final stage.  WEBCAST ANNOUNCEMENT: ECCN and INEE’s Technology and Education in Crises Task Team (TECTT) are jointly hosting this webcast to introduce a new tool called the  Checklist for ICT Interventions to Support Education in Crisis and Conflict Settings  (or ICT in EiCC Checklist). This information communication technologoy (ICT) tool was developed as a collaboration between ECCN members and staff and INEE TECTT memb...

ON August 25th I will be publicly speaking on "Accelerated Education for Refugee Children with Limited and Interrupted Formal Education "  a webinar hosted to Al Qazzaz Foundation in Canada. I was informed about this opportunity with a very short notive, but I prepared a pretty well-overview onto the topic, that whenever going deeper I recognize its width and depth. AE is my passion and I really would hope to contribute in that field Here are the topics taht will be covered in the one hour webinar: Accelerated Education…defined SLIFE: Students with limited or interrupted formal education Different educational needs and different responses AE key principles Accelerated Learning Pedagogy… an overview

HOW TO PLAN, DESIGN AND MANAGE ACCELERATED EDUCATION IN A CRISIS CONTEXT is the title of a course developed to be provided online for refugee educators, teachers and facilitators. During the Summer Workshop on Sustainable Blended Learning, that I have attended (August 6th - 9th) in NY, I was asked to choose a topic for my course. I had to think throroughly, all the others came from the academia and were developing their curricula online. I decided to make it on AE, becasue this is a topic: - I am so passionate about - I have a good understanidng about, due to my work on a consultancy peieve with UNHCR related to AE in the MENA region. - I know that there is material in Arabic, and the platform on which the course is being developed in also compabtible with the Arabic language. Below is a snapshot about the 4 week modular course develped on EUREKOS, Carey INstitute's platform: For whom is this course intended? This course is intended for educators, teachers, facili...

The INEE Technology Task Team is pleased to announce the launch of the ICT Inventory for Education in Emergencies ! ict.ineesite.org About The  ICT Inventory  is an interactive, online database of technology resources for delivering quality education in emergencies. The ICT Inventory curates technology  tools  that are, or can be, used to deliver education, as well as  projects where education technology is used in crisis contexts. While other education and edtech portals exist, the ICT Inventory fills a gap with its focus on education in emergencies; and it is unique in its crowdsourced nature, responsive and interactive design, and comprehensive categorization structure. The goal of the ICT Inventory is to make it easy to find and share useful tools and real world examples of technology use in crisis contexts. Users This website is designed primarily for educators and education in emergencies providers, as well as education technology develo...

Dear Mona, First, thank you for being a committed part of our OpenIDEO community and for being involved in the Education in Emergencies Challenge. Based on your expertise and commitment to this topic, we are thrilled to invite you to be an Advisor in the Education in Emergencies Alliance. As an advisor and mentor you can be catalytic in empowering innovators. Our hope is to elevate and celebrate not only the innovators, but also the experts, thought leaders and people helping to create an ecosystem of change. You can learn more HERE and there's additional details below. Next steps : If you would like to join us as an Advisor in this initiative, complete this brief survey (clocked at under 5 min)–so we can find your perfect innovator matches by March 16, and we will follow up with next steps. If you know of any other exceptional individuals passionate about the space. Please let me know. About the program: After the Education in Emergencies Ch...

وثيقة التعليم الأوروبي للاجئين: جواز سفر للمستقبل منى يونس وصل أكثر من نصف مليون لاجئ إلى الأرضي الأوروبية وهو ما اعتبر أكبر موجة نزوح تصل لأوروبا منذ الحرب العالمية الثانية وقد أعلنت المفوضية العليا لشؤون اللاجئين في نهاية 2015 أن العالم يشهد أكبركارثة لجوء في التاريخ واعتبرت سوريا هي الدولة التي نزح منها أكبر نسبة سكان عرفها العالم منذ أن بدأت الهيئات العالمية في رصد الظواهر الخاصة باللاجئين عام 1951. وتعتبرمشكلة التعليم الخاصة باللاجئين والنازحين إلى دول الاتحاد الأوروبي معضلة كبيرة، كان عامل المفاجأة في النزوح السريع والغير مسبوق سبباً لارتباك الحكومات الأوروبية في بادئ الأمر ولكنها مع استقرار الأمور نوعاً ما بدأت تعكف على ايجاد حلول عملية لتحديات تعليم اللاجئين المقيمين على أرضها. تحاول كل من بريطانيا والنرويج واليونان وإيطاليا إيجاد حل لمشكلة ضياع الوثائق الثبوتية الخاصة بالتعليم والتي تثبت الدرجة العلمية أو المستوى التعليمي الذي وصل إليه اللاجئ قبل رحلة اللجوء، تعتبر تلك المشكلة هي إحدى التحديات لاستكمال التعليم لعدد كبير من اللاجئين، الأمر لا يقتصر على لاجئي بلد دون...