Education in Emergencies: A Review of Theory and Research

Abstract

In this article, we conduct an integrative and rigorous review of theory and research on education in emergencies programs and interventions as international agencies implement them in areas of armed conflict. We ask several questions. How did this subfield emerge and what are the key conceptual frameworks that shape it today? How do education in emergencies programs affect access, learning, and protection in conflict-affected contexts? To answer these questions, we identify the conceptual frameworks and theoretical advances that have occurred since the inception of the field in the mid-1990s. We review the theories that frame the relationship between education and conflict as well as empirical research that tests assumptions that underpin this relationship. Finally, we assess what we know to date about "what works" in education in emergencies based on intervention research. We find that with regard to access, diminished or inequitable access to education drives conflict; conflict reduces boys' and girls' access to education differently; and decreased distance to primary school increases enrollment and attendance significantly for boys and even more so for girls. With regard to learning, education content likely contributes to or mitigates conflict, although the mechanisms through which it does so remain underspecified; 671594R ERXXX10.3102/0034654316671594Burde et al.Education in Emergencies research-article2016 Burde et al. 620 and peace education programs show promise in changing attitudes and behaviors toward members of those perceived as the "other," at least in the short term. Finally, providing children living in emergency and postemergency situations with structured, meaningful, and creative activities in a school setting or in informal learning spaces improves their emotional and behavioral well-being.

The Politics ofIDPEducation Provision: Negotiating identity and schooling in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

“…Education's intersections with societies’ social, economic, political and security sectors leave it well placed to have far‐reaching impacts across a range of conflict stabilization and developmental objectives. Politically, educational governance provides the opportunity to reinforce the legitimacy of government actors (Thyne, ; Østby et al., ) within the security agenda schools can provide safe spaces, teach non‐violent conflict resolution, fight radicalization and aid reintegration of young combatants into the community to de‐escalate fighting (Sinclair, ; Burde et al., ) and economically, education can build the skills for the development of livelihoods (Dryden‐Peterson, ). Neglecting these aims during displacement can, therefore, have further long‐term impacts on a society's reconstruction.…”

Private encroachment through crisis-making: The privatization of education for refugees

“…In addition, in the field of education in emergencies specifically, one can see the important 'protection' function of schooling. Schools are spaces that can help refugee children escape from the threat of violence, sexual exploitation, child labor, child marriage, and other forms of abuses (Burde, Kapit, Wahl, Guven, & Skarpeteig, 2016;UNHCR, 2016b). Schools also contribute to the psychosocial wellbeing of refugee children by offering them a return to normalcy and routine life after traumatic experiences (O'Neal et al, 2017).…”

“…This paper engages in a close reading of a selected sample of global policy documents (n=53) surrounding education for refugees in order to see which how privatization is justified. The policy texts examined here are produced by actors deemed to be powerful in this global policy arena, identified from a literature review of education in emergencies (Burde, Kapit, Wahl, Guven, & Skarpeteig, 2016;Dryden-Peterson, 2011). I used purposeful sampling to narrow down documents, reports, policy briefs, and other written artifacts produced by these actors that are widely referenced within the policy network, in recognition of the constructive power of ideas in policy-making but also the politics of knowledge production and dissemination (Verger, Fontdevila, et al, 2016).…”

Working through difficult pasts: toward thick democracy and transitional justice in education

“…Comparative work challenges this normative assumption, examining the ways in which educational structures, content, and contexts play a role in instigating, reinforcing, and escalating conflict, as well as in mitigating, resolving, and preventing it (e.g. Burde et al 2017;Davies 2007). Bush and Saltarelli's (2000) well-cited argument that education has 'two faces' illuminated the ways in which educational experiences and opportunity structures can incite violence just as often as they can contribute to peacebuilding goals.…”

“…However, we also have abundant evidence that increased access to schools does not inevitably lead to peace or peacebuilding. Field-based studies (Bellino 2017;King 2014;Levinson 2001;Worden 2014) and rigorous reviews of education in conflict-affected settings (Burde et al 2017;Paulson 2015) illustrate that the quality and nature of educational interactions, as well as access to schools, influence attitudes towards violence, injustice, and pluralism. Education is powerfully linked to root causes of conflict (Degu 2005, 129), and thus becomes a powerful vehicle and venue for addressing these root causes.…”