Julia Citron, Techfugees Education advisor, has put together 15 questions to help define refugee learner groups and a database of education initiatives for innovators in education looking to help refugees.
This checklist aims:
- To help educators pre-empt barriers to learning
- To help educators identify their end users so they can co-create programmes with them from the beginning of the design process
- To help entrepreneurs, funders and policy makers ensure that no groups of refugee learners are left behind without solutions that are truly accessible and relevant to them.
Note : Each question will most likely have multiple answers. The bullet points are non-exhaustive suggestions.
- Which age group are they?
- Pre-nursery
- Nursery
- Kindergarden
- Lower Primary
- Upper Primary
- Lower Secondary
- Upper Secondary
- Vocational
- Special Needs
- Graduate
- Postgraduate
- What level of education do they have?
- Never educated
- 3 years + out of education
- 0-3 years out of education
- On track with age expectations (children only)
. Vocational skills but no qualification
- Vocational qualification
- Qualification from home country
. Part-way through a qualification in home country
- Which phase in refugee journey are they at?
- School closed down / too dangerous to go
- Internally displaced
- In a camp in their country of origin
- In a camp in a neighbouring country
- In transition – less than 1 month since arrival and intend to move in less than a month
- Waiting for asylum outcome – free to move
- Waiting for asylum outcome – incarcerated
- Asylum outcome rejected or appealing an asylum outcome – living illegally
- Asylum outcome rejected or appealing an asylum outcome – incarcerated
- Refugee status granted – papers up to date
- Refugee status granted – papers out of date
- Newly arrived at school full time in host country
- Settled in formal schooling in host country
- What is their country of origin? What is their home language (might be different)?
- Syria
- Iraq (multiple languages)
- Afghanistan (multiple languages)
- Pakistan
- Nigeria
- Somalia
- Ethiopia
- Eritrea
- Where are they now?
- Lebanon
- Jordan
- Turkey
- Iraq
- Germany
- Sweden
- Greece
- Italy
- UK
- France
- What gender are they?
- Male
- Female
- What are their talents and interests?
- Sports
- Arts
- Technology
- Current affairs and politics
- Business
- Languages
- What do they currently do during the day?
- Play / nothing
- Work part time
- Work full time
- In inadequate schooling arrangement
- Currently home-schooled
- Other (involved in crime, walking between countries, trying to get on lorries, detained)
- What is my their current mindset in relation to learning?
- Other psychological priorities
- Hungry to learn
- Needs encouragement
- What parental support do they have?
- Accompanied with engaged adult
- Accompanied but adult disengaged
- Unaccompanied and no relationships with a trusted, motivated adult
- Unaccompanied by relationships with a trusted, motivated adult
- What are their current living conditions?
- In a formal camp
- In an informal camp
- In formal housing (urban)
- In formal housing (rural)
- What is their family’s economic situation?
- Low : couldn’t afford data, basic school equipment, transport to school, children working
- Middle : children could not work but couldn’t afford transport to school or fees
- High : could afford some school fees & transport
- What access do they have to tech?
- No smartphone access
- Access to laptop or tablet in camp
- 1 smartphone / laptop per family
- Own smartphone
- What access do they have to the internet?
- Strong wifi available
- Poor wifi available
- Wifi available free at specific local points
- Only privately paid for data available 3G
- Only privately paid for data available 4G
- No data or wifi available
- What type of education will this provide?
- Formal : recognized curriculum / qualifications
- Semi-formal : non-recognized curriculum / qualifications
- Informal : Psychosocial / play / educational games
How can I help?
Please feel free to :
. Suggest missing key questions from the framework above
. Enrich the database below with refugee education initiatives we should know about
. Share the research with people who might find it useful
Where is the database of refugee education initiatives?
Q&A : context of the research
See article on Techfugees blog
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