Whose education is it anyway?

This talk will examine some of the issues around delivering inclusive and equitable education in Lebanon. The Lebanese education system has expanded by one third in just less than 3 years: the number Lebanese children in... [ view full abstract ]

This talk will examine some of the issues around delivering inclusive and equitable education in Lebanon. The Lebanese education system has expanded by one third in just less than 3 years: the number Lebanese children in public schools is currently 300,000; whilst the number of Syrian children in public schools is 90,000 and rising . This talk examines the tensions and challenges in terms of equity and inclusion this rapid expnasion presents for policy and practice.

The influx of Syrian refugee children into the classrooms has presented challenges for students and teachers alike: Syrian children are often marginalised not only due to cultural differences but also because French or English is the medium of instruction in Lebanese public schools – languages in which the Syrian children are not proficient.
At the chalk face teachers are facing issues of equity, equality and inclusivity for which they have to adjust their teaching strategies accordingly. Policy makers are working towards a sustainable approach through a programme which trains teachers and trainers in a sociolinguistic approach to language teaching with the aim of closing the gap between the Syrian and Lebanese children.
This talk will illustrate how the programme unpacks and addresses the concepts of inclusiveness and integration ,and helps to develop systemic change through intercultural awareness via a sociolinguistic approach to teaching and training.
The indicators which have been used as part of the monitoring and evaluation process will also be examined and discussed