Education in emergencies: What the evidence tells us for future planning, cooperation and research

Investment for education in emergencies: A review of evidence This report carries out a rigorous literature review around four key questions concerning education in emergencies. Firstly, is education seen as a ‘high... [ view full abstract ]

Investment for education in emergencies: A review of evidence

This report carries out a rigorous literature review around four key questions concerning education in emergencies. Firstly, is education seen as a ‘high priority’ amongst emergency affected populations? Secondly, to what extent is schooling disrupted by different types of emergencies? And how are different groups affected? Thirdly, what are the economic and human costs of emergencies on education? And what are returns to investment in education in emergencies? And finally, what is the nature of funding for education in emergencies? The review includes 53 pieces of research and two separate case-studies into the prioritisation and funding for education following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and in the ongoing conflict in DRC.

There are several main findings. Firstly, communities, children especially, prioritise education over other needs in emergency contexts. Secondly, while emergencies clearly disrupt education, beyond some macro-level estimates at global and country levels, it is difficult to say by how much. Thirdly, longer term costs of emergencies to education include estimates that reach hundreds of millions – and even billions – of dollars. Fourthly, humanitarian aid to education in emergencies is very low, with limited understanding of how this can catalyse other sources of funding. And finally, case studies of Haiti and DRC illustrate that even when education is a high priority for communities after emergencies, funding for the sector can be very erratic.

What Works to Promote Children’s Educational Access, Learning, and Wellbeing in Crises-Affected Contexts This study is a rigorous review of academic and gray literature on “what works” to promote children’s... [ view full abstract ]

What Works to Promote Children’s Educational Access, Learning, and Wellbeing in Crises-Affected Contexts

This study is a rigorous review of academic and gray literature on “what works” to promote children’s educational access, learning, and wellbeing in crisis-affected contexts. In the report we: (1) review empirical research in order to present evidence of effective practices and program interventions; (2) identify areas of consensus on mechanisms that could be tested in future research; and (3) discuss how current gaps may translate into testable hypotheses in areas of conflict and natural disaster, offering recommendations for future research. We find that most of the interventions are strongest on questions of access. Robust evidence shows the importance of alternative models (e.g., community-based schools, accelerated learning programs) to provide education in countries-affected by conflict where infrastructure may be destroyed and ties to the administration may be weak. These types of interventions are also easier to launch quickly; timing and flexibility are always important in providing support to education in countries affected by crises. The most robust studies assessing the effects of these programs were quantitative and experimental, but a number of qualitative and observational works contribute to make this area the deepest and most developed among the interventions reviewed here. Although the importance of good quality education with regard to content free of bias and stereotypes is only beginning to receive attention from researchers beyond those focused on peace education, attention to content and practices is particularly salient in countries and regions affected by crises.

Whether and How? History Education about Recent and Ongoing Conflict: A Review of Research This paper reviews research on history education that addresses recent or ongoing conflict since 1990. History education is recognized... [ view full abstract ]

Whether and How? History Education about Recent and Ongoing Conflict: A Review of Research

This paper reviews research on history education that addresses recent or ongoing conflict since 1990. History education is recognized as a key site for constructing identity, transmitting collective memory, and shaping “imagined communities,” which makes its revision or reform a complex and important part of Education in Emergencies work. The paper reviews 42 empirical studies from 11 countries, exploring whether recent conflict forms part of national curricula and, where it does, how this teaching is approached. Young people learn about recent conflict in all of the cases reviewed; in the majority, curriculum is one source for this learning, but in some cases the history of recent conflict is taught without curricular guidance or not at all. Where recent conflict is taught, the review finds a reliance on a traditional, collective memory approach to disseminating national narratives, although often in social studies rather than history classrooms. In many cases, these narratives are top-down and ethno-nationalist and rely on devices like mythical past unity and the exceptionalism of conflict. The review concludes by suggesting that actors undertaking a revision or reform of history curriculum attend to recent conflict as an “active past” and offers some promising ideas for approaching such a past in history curricula.

This session will explore three new pieces of work in the field of education in emergencies. The first, by Susan Nicolai and Sébastien Hine both of the Overseas Development Institute, is a rigorous literature review... [ view full abstract ]

This session will explore three new pieces of work in the field of education in emergencies. The first, by Susan Nicolai and Sébastien Hine both of the Overseas Development Institute, is a rigorous literature review concerning various questions to do with the investment case for education in emergencies. The second, by Dana Burde of New York University, is a rigorous literature review concerning what works to promote children’s access to education, learning and well-being in crisis-affected contexts. The third, by Julia Paulson of the University of Bath, is a configurative review of history education that addresses recent or ongoing conflict since 1990.

The purpose of this session is to critically evaluate the state of evidence in education in emergencies, what this indicates for the future of the field, and how this evidence should be interpreted by development partners. This best fits within the conference sub-theme of international support and co-operation (although could alternatively fall under the evidence sub-theme). By analysing the state of evidence in the sector this session would seek to make recommendations for future directions development partners and organisations should make and where further research is needed.
Chair: Dean Brooks (INEE)
Respondent: TBC