by Abdi Omar Aden,York University

Executive Summary

This paper investigates higher education opportunities for refugees with disabilities in the Dagahaley refugee camp (Dadaab, Kenya) with an emphasis on inclusivity, parent support, resource availability, barriers, and recruitment processes. The study employed qualitative methods to uncover existing tertiary opportunities for persons with disabilities, while exposing the challenges they encounter. The research included interviews with high school graduates who had no tertiary opportunities and with those who had received scholarships in Kenya from international non-governmental organizations and donors. Participants highlighted the problem of accessibility to scholarships and lack of opportunities for persons with disabilities in higher education. The recruitment process for higher education was quite restrictive and highly competitive, based largely on high school grades. Participants suggested ways to make recruitment more accessible to persons with disabilities. Access to tertiary education for refugees with disabilities in Dadaab is still immensely challenging, despite its value in strengthening skills and expertise for refugees.

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Citation

Aden, A. O. (2024). Access to Tertiary Education for Refugees with Disabilities in Dadaab Refugee Camps. Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN).

By Dahabo Abdi Ibrahim

Executive Summary

Education promotes both individual and national development by contributing to increased productivity and a hope for the eradication of poverty, disease, and ignorance (Kigotho et al. 2016). Author, with a lived experience of displacement, offers an exploration of environmental education and women’s rights, seeking to better understand how women refugees in the Dadaab camp are disproportionately impacted by environmental and climate changes that are of both local and global origins. Paper brings attention to marginalized women’s voices, including her own, and the distinctive and valuable insights that these perspectives can offer about the gaps and faults in our current environmental and educational systems, policies, and practices.

The four female refugees at the center of this study carry the burden of global and environmental changes, despite being the least responsible for this degradation. Their plight has been inflicted by others around them, both in terms of their displacement and the environmental conditions they exist in. Profound gender inequality exists in roles that women are forced to fill, specifically when they are relegated to living in the shadow of their male counterparts. The impacts of this disparity are widespread, preventing women from accessing environmental resources, being included decision-making spaces, and contributing to solutions to environmental declines.

The research paper focuses on decision-making and action plans. A group of girls and women educators explored ways to promote women’s rights and climate justice in elementary and secondary schools and developed plans to promote women’s rights and climate justice in schools.

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Citation

Ibrahim, D. A. (2024). Role of Education in Protecting The Environment and Women’s Rights at Dagahaley Camp Dadaab, Kenya. Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN).

By Abdikadir Bare Abikar, Master of Education Graduate, Dadaab Response Association

Executive Summary

This paper reports on the results of a research project conducted as part of a Fellowship with the Open Society University Network. In this paper, I asked how has participating in post-secondary education in the Dadaab refugee camps – specifically completing a Master of Education degree through the Borderless Higher Education for Refugees Project – shaped the career pathways of graduates? To answer this question, I interviewed four men and four women who graduated from the Master of Education program in the Dadaab camps. Some graduates of the BHER Master of Education program have returned to Somalia and become employed in meaningful careers with the UN or NGOs, supporting the rebuilding of the country. Higher education opened up the possibility for sustainable voluntary repatriation, meaning that resettlement is not the only durable solution that is connected to higher education. Other graduates have remained in the camps but have used their skills supporting other students in the BHER project, teaching, doing research, and leading refugee-led organizations or community initiatives. Overall, graduates have the options either to go back to their countries of origin, or to remain in the camps. However, what is important is not going back as solution but that wherever you go, the knowledge, skills and experiences acquired are applicable in multiple ways. The BHER program positively influenced the youths in the camps and their career pathways. The paper recommends continuing the BHER program and starting other similar programs that provide hybrid or online higher education opportunities for refugees, without the need to leave the camps to access education. UNHCR, universities, donors, and NGOs can support these programs to expand access to higher education. For refugee youths, the paper recommends taking advantage of all possible higher education opportunities that are available, especially online courses.

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Citation

Abikar, A.(2022). Can Higher Education be a Pathway to Repatriation for Youth Living in Displacement? A Study of the Career Trajectories of Master of Education Students from Dadaab Refugee Camp. Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN).

Working Paper 18

By Okello Oyat, Ochan Leomoi, Arte Dagane, Abdikadir Abikar, Dadaab Response Association

Executive Summary

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in school closures globally, including in the Dadaab refugee camps. This study explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education in the Dadaab refugee camps. Based on semi-structured interviews with refugee educators and service providers in the camps, we found out how the pandemic has negatively affected young refugees’ lives. While the schools attempted to implement distance education, it was ineffective overall. In addition to disrupting learning, there were many negative consequences of the school closures, including the cancellation of school feeding programs, worsened social issues, and a rise in mental health issues and suicides. While the issues highlighted in this paper are connected to the impacts of COVID-19, most of the issues were long-standing structural problems that already existed in the camp, including limited resources, funding shortfalls, overcrowded classrooms, a shortage of trained teachers, and limited Internet infrastructure. As a result, it has been challenging to reopen schools and to offer quality education to students. If donors and NGOs want to tackle the adverse social effects of the pandemic for students, they will have to not only reopen schools and mitigate the risks of contracting the coronavirus, but also address the underlying challenges of living, learning, and teaching in a space that is organized to exclude and immobilize refugees.

This study makes several recommendations on how to “build back better” to improve refugee education going forward in Dadaab. Although the pandemic brought significant challenges in Dadaab, it also provided an opportunity to explore how refugees can work out their own agency for survival, without the physical presence and intervention of the humanitarian workers and the Government of Kenya. This opportunity for agency was especially important in a camp setting that is designed to sequester refugee residents and make them vulnerable, voiceless, and dependent on humanitarian handouts. Future education initiatives must include meaningful refugee participation and leadership from refugee-led organizations and initiatives. There is a need to hire more qualified teachers on the ground to address the significant teacher shortage. The agencies handling education should ensure that all schools can access learning through digital platforms by providing all the required infrastructure and technologies. Teachers in Dadaab should receive training on how to use technology to deliver lessons to students, to take advantage of alternative teaching methods in case schools close again. Finally, as schools reopen, it is important to make sure that different groups of learners are not left behind, especially refugee girls.

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Citation

Oyat, M. O., Ochan, R. O., Dagane, A. S., Abdikadir A, B. (2022). The Impact of COVID-19 on Education and Youth Well-Being in the Dadaab Refugee Camps. Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN).

James Milner,��Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, �Ӱ�ԭ�� University,��and Project Director, LERRN: The Local Engagement Refugee Research Network

Amanda Klassen,��PhD Candidate, Department of Political Science, �Ӱ�ԭ�� University,��and Project Officer, LERRN: The Local Engagement Refugee Research Network

Executive Summary

Civil society actors have been central to the provision of protection, assistance and solutions to the displaced throughout human history. For thousands of years, religious organizations, guilds, and community networks have led responses to displacement, either through the direct provision of support or by advocating to higher authorities for the inclusion of displaced populations within political communities (Loescher 2021). The role of civil society accelerated in the 17th Century and the development of the Westphalian state system and as noted by Ferris (2003), civil society continued to play a critical role in refugee responses right through the 20th Century.

Given this long history, it may come as no surprise that civil society actors are a key feature of more recent efforts to enhance and innovate in ensuring more reliable and effective responses to instances of displacement. The Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) notes in Paragraph 3 that it “intends to provide a basis for predictable and equitable burden- and responsibility-sharing among all United Nations Member States, together with other relevant stakeholders as appropriate, including but not limited to: international organizations within and outside the United Nations system, including those forming part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement; other humanitarian and development actors; international and regional financial institutions; regional organizations; local authorities; civil society, including faith-based organizations; academics and other experts; the private sector; media; host community members and refugees themselves (hereinafter “relevant stakeholders”)” (UNHCR 2018). In fact, the GCR includes civil society in the range of “relevant stakeholders” to be included in its two key mechanisms: the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) and in national arrangements including Support Platforms, such as those implemented through the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF).

Despite this long history and central role – from the 17th Century to the GCR – there is very limited research on the diverse forms of engagement of civil society in the functioning of the norms and institutions intended to ensure protection and solutions for refugees: the global refugee regime. There is also limited analysis of the wide diversity of actors within contemporary civil society, the means and mechanisms through which civil society actors are able to influence outcomes within the refugee regime, and the means by which the contribution of civil society can be enhanced. In response, this paper provides an overview and analysis of the role of civil society actors – including national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), refugee-led organizations (RLOs) and academic actors – in the politics of the global refugee regime. Drawing on historical examples, the paper also provides an analysis of the mechanisms and means through which civil society demonstrates influence in the provision of protection, assistance, and solutions for refugees. Overall, the paper argues that the impact of civil society is best understood in the context of the politics of the global refugee regime. It concludes with recommendations on how the impact of civil society actors can be enhanced.

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Citation

Klassen, A., Milner, J. (2021). Civil Society and the Politics of the Global Refugee Regime. Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN).

Abdikadir Bare Abikar, Member of the Dadaab Response Association, Graduate of the Master of Education, York University Borderless Higher Education for Refugees Program

Executive Summary

This paper is a modified version of a Major Research Paper for the Master of Education degree at York University as part of the Borderless Higher Education for Refugees project, which provides virtual education to refugees in the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya. In this paper, I employ an action research methodology to argue that, in order to improve the capacity of novice and untrained teachers in schools in the Dadaab refugee complex, local educational actors need to introduce in-service professional learning opportunities to better prepare teachers who have not had the chance to pursue educational opportunities past their secondary studies. The purpose of this study was to first listen and learn from the experiences of employees at Hareed Primary School and to investigate the in-service education needed by untrained teachers in a refugee camp in Dadaab. Phase one of the research was a pre-workshop survey that asked participants questions about any educational training they have received, and their challenges. Phase two involved developing and implementing workshops for novice/untrained educators that modelled how a professional learning community works, and provided modified BHER teacher educational content for new/untrained teachers. Phase three of my study evaluated the impact of the workshops on the development of professional learning communities and if teacher attitudes or behaviors were transformed. My analysis of the data found that the professional learning community improved teacher confidence and positively changed dispositions toward collaboration and ongoing community-driven learning, as well as improved use of technology tools in and outside of the classroom. I conclude with recommendations for present policy and future research within Dadaab and beyond. I think some obvious challenges facing the PLC’s sustainability will be that some of the teachers have been working with minimal administrative supervision. I fear that if the school does not support their continued collaboration, the community may not continue to fully coordinate and cooperate, which would cause the collapse of the professional learning community that we developed. The first recommendation is that the school administration supports the Professional Learning Community to ensure its sustainability. Given the positive impact of this community, I strongly support the idea that other schools should organize similar continual in-service training in the Dadaab camps, using as an untapped resource the teachers that have already been trained at Hareed and the qualified refugee teachers who have been educated in the BHER project, and who now understand the power of creating professional learning communities to empower teachers.

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Citation

Abikar, A. B. (2020). Building Local Professional Learning Communities with and for Teachers in Refugee Camps – A Case Study on Hareed Primary School in Dadaab. Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN).

Okello Mark Oyat, Founding Member of the Dadaab Response Association, Graduate of the Master of Education, York University Borderless Higher Education for Refugees Program

Executive Summary

This paper is a modified version of a Major Research Paper for the Master of Education degree at York University as part of the Borderless Higher Education for Refugees project, which provides virtual education to refugees in the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya. This research study is about the implications of corporal punishment in secondary schools in Dadaab Refugee Complex. It is based on different experiences the four interviewed participants encountered in primary and secondary schools, for an extended duration of over 20 years of the implementation of Kenyan curriculum in the camps. Examining the participants’ life in schools and the use of corporal punishment as a means of discipline reveals the brutality it has inflicted in the bodies of learners and how violence in learning institutions is problematic. Participants narrated the most difficult corporal punishment encounters. The international community advocates for the delivery of quality education for refugee learners. However, the findings of this study raise the question of the quality of this education, implemented in a hostile environment such as that narrated by the student participants who went through Dadaab schools. Despite corporal punishment, participants stated that because of support from family and friends, they would still pursue their education and today they see themselves as the possible change makers. The researcher believes that discussions around this issue are vital for sourcing both local and outside solutions. Corporal punishment is a serious issue in refugee schools that negatively impacts students, with short-term impacts like injuries and long-term impacts like dropping out of school. However, teacher training, anti-violence policies, and future research can contribute to ending this violence in schools.

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Citation

Oyat, O. M. (2021). Investigating Corporal Punishment in Refugee Secondary Schools in Dadaab, Kenya. Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN).

Arte Saman Dagane, Member of the Dadaab Response Association, Graduate of the Master of Education, York University

Abdullahi Yussuf Aden, Graduate of the Master of Education, York University Borderless Higher Education for Refugees Program

Executive Summary

This paper is a modified version of a Major Research Paper for the Master of Education degree at York University as part of the Borderless Higher Education for Refugees project, which provides education to the community living in the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya. This collaborative paper investigates and discusses the causes and consequences of female student dropout in a secondary school in the Dadaab refugee camps. It adopted a qualitative research design, conducting individual interviews with four female participants: two currently in school and two who have dropped out. Family relationships, family education, household income, gendered traditions and school-related factors emerged as key factors influencing the decision to drop out or stay in school. Family members who encourage female students contribute to retention, while household financial difficulties, gendered traditions, and aspects of the school system such as a lack of female teachers contributes toward dropout. The structure of the education system, policies, practices and the role of the school, implementing organizations, and the community were emphasized. We conclude with recommendations for teachers, schools and NGOs: introducing cash payments to support families with girls in school, sensitizing the community about the significance of education for girls, involving parents and family members in girls’ education, setting up measures to monitor student attendance with regular follow-up, employing more female teachers in schools, establishing peer mentoring partnerships, and involving female learners in policy decisions.

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Citation

Dagane, A. S., Aden, A. Y. (2021). The Causes of Female Student Dropout in a Secondary School in the Dadaab Refugee Camps of Kenya. Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN).

Ochan Robert Leomoi, Graduate of the Master of Education, York University, Borderless Higher Education for Refugees Program

Executive Summary

This paper is a modified version of a Major Research Paper for the Master of Education degree at York University as part of the Borderless Higher Education for Refugees project, which provides virtual education to refugees in the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya. Across the globe, education remains the track which everyone follows in search for success in life socially, economically and politically. Many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa design their curricula to include academic assessment at the end of a planned period to measure how much learning has been achieved. My research project studied the Kenyan national examinations to find out why students in secondary schools in the Dadaab refugee camps engage in examination dishonesty. I asked questions about those who organize such dishonesties and whether study participants had ideas about ways to reduce such dishonesties in secondary schools within refugee camps. Interviews were conducted with five participants: three teachers and two students. The research found that due to anxiety, students in secondary schools engage in unethical practices during examination sessions. Further, exam invigilators together with security personnel who are in control of examination centers receive bribes, which are commonly termed “pocket money.” Consequently, students freely gain access to examination questions prior to the official scheduled date or students are permitted to freely discuss the questions and share answers. Interview data also shows that exam dishonesty happens because students want to further their studies and gain entry into higher education institutions. Participants also claimed that there is marginalization of their region by the national examination council and dishonesty is seen as one solution. The research also found that the security of national examinations is at risk because the information about examinations is normally released by the same examining body then the beneficiaries spread it. Such unethical advancement has become a classic behaviour and every candidate perceives that it is part of a normal culture that should be practiced at every grade level. In view of these findings, this paper makes several recommendations. I propose that education stakeholders have to consider allocating sufficient money for examinations so that the people responsible, including security personnel, are well paid to avoid receiving pocket money from the field. In relation to teacher salaries for both refugee and host communities, UNHCR and the government should increase teachers’ salaries so that they can concentrate on instilling into learners the required knowledge which is stipulated in the syllabus.

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Leomoi, R. O. (2020). Exploring Examinations Dishonesty among Refugee Students in Secondary Schools in Dadaab, Kenya. Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN).

Yasmeen Shahzadeh, McGill University

Executive Summary

Syrian and Jordanian youth in Jordan are experiencing challenges with regards to their access to education, their employment, and the transitions between the two. Amidst rising costs, economic fragility, and political uncertainty, youth in the country are rendered increasingly vulnerable.

In this working paper, LERRN researcher and McGill University Masters student Yasmeen Shahzadeh explores the current circumstances related to youth’s education and employment in Jordan, and discusses some challenges in linking both phases based on the field work she conducted in Amman, Jordan in the summer of 2019, as well as using existing academic literature and non-governmental publications.

This paper also introduces several recommendations for research and action that can inform future applied research and discussions of education and employment policy and practice in Jordan and in the region. First, advocacy to work to increase minimum wage for citizens and non-citizens in Jordan is crucial in light of rising costs of living. Second, exploring the possibility of opening professions to Syrians in Jordan is crucial, given the increasingly protracted nature of this conflict – drawing attention to the opportunity of opening up teaching jobs to Syrians. Third, it advocates for a market-based approach to designing training, education, & employment programs to graduate youth with in-demand qualifications.

Lastly, this paper highlights the importance of further research and a focus on knowledge translation to operationalize research into policy response, donor action, and organizational programming.

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More about the author

Yasmeen Shahzadeh has a Bachelor’s degree from McGill University with a major in International Development Studies, and a double minor in Communications Studies and Social Studies of Medicine. Currently, she is in her second year of her Masters in Education and Society at McGill, and has a concentration in Gender and Women’s Studies.

Watch this video to learn more about Yasmeen’s field work in Jordan.

DOI

Citation

Shahzadeh, Y. (2020). Understanding Syrian and Jordanian Youth Transitions from Education to Employment. Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN).