A, B, C's, not as easy as 1, 2, 3: Strengthening Literacy Interventions in Conflict and Crisis

Literacy is integral to reducing inequity, rebuilding societies and keeping the peace. It is an essential cornerstone of education service delivery, helping people survive trauma and crisis, make better health and well-being... [ view full abstract ]

Literacy is integral to reducing inequity, rebuilding societies and keeping the peace. It is an essential cornerstone of education service delivery, helping people survive trauma and crisis, make better health and well-being decisions, and protect livelihoods. With more than half of the 21.3 million refugees today under the age of 18 and 121 million children and adolescents currently out of primary and lower secondary school worldwide, literacy is under threat. While decades of research has shown that learning to read a familiar language is important for initial reading success—indeed it is the fastest and shortest way to acquire a new language successfully — one must understand that language, like education, has a constructive and destructive face. 

Some of the challenges to implementing strong literacy programming in conflict and crisis affected countries include: (1) selecting the language(s) of instruction and ensuring that the language choice does not cause further exclusion; (2) supporting teachers who can teach literacy skills in required languages and who themselves may also have literacy development needs, and (3) developing literacy curriculum and materials that also address social and emotional learning needs, inclusive participation, and reconciliation. While progress has been made toward increasing equitable access to education as part of donor commitments, significant knowledge gaps remain regarding effective ways to develop core literacy skills that enable children and youth to survive and ultimately thrive in complex and unstable environments. This paper presentation will focus on the challenges in implementing literacy interventions at primary education level in conflict and crisis affected communities and provide an evidence-base to support new ways of program design and delivery.