Policy Insights - Refugee Teachers : the Heart of the Global Refugee Response
Refugee teachers and teachers of refugees play a vital role in providing education to refugee children and youth and by contributing in myriad ways to refugee communities. In many contexts, refugee teachers are at the heart of humanitarian response efforts. And yet, refugee teachers are all but invisible in global and national refugee and education policies, strategies, and frameworks. In addition, they face significant challenges in terms of recruitment, recognition, compensation, and professional development, which in turn contributes to high rates of attrition within this vital workforce.
In recognition of these facts, NORRAG has brought together 48 authors from academia, humanitarian agencies, and think tanks to produce 27 papers that showcase current evidence and offer policy directions to prioritise and protect the work and well being of refugee teachers everywhere.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
Christopher Henderson
THE INCLUSION OF REFUGEE VOICES IN POLICY MAKING AND PRACTICE
Refugee education: Teacher voices will not be quiet
David Edwards
Unpacking the concept of ‘teacher voice’ and why it matters in refugee settings
Stephanie Bengtsson
The ‘unseen heart’ of refugee education: The narratives of Sri Lankan refugee teachers in India
Mini Chandran Kurian and Nomisha Kurian
Teachers’ voices on refugee school inclusion in Jordan
Daniel Shephard and Yasmine Alkotob
Listening to informal educators to support minoritized refugee populations: Lessons from Amman, Jordan
Elisheva Cohen
POLICIES THAT ADDRESS THE CHALLENGES OF TEACHERS’ WORK AND WELL-BEING
Locating refugee teachers’ work within bordering regimes: Considerations and implications
Ritesh Shah
National inclusion efforts: Don’t forget refugee teachers
Mary Mendenhall, Rebecca Telford and Mohamud Hure
Education programming in Lebanon and the curse of ‘business as usual’
Mai Abu Moghli
Towards an inclusive future: Syrian refugee teachers’ roles in shaping education policy in Lebanon
Felicity Kersting and Watfa Najdi
Empowering Syrian refugee teachers: The vital role of psychosocial support in Jordan
Consuelo Guardia Macchiavello, Naima Al-husban and Abdeljalil Akkari
How inclusion can create exclusion in Iraq: A paradox
Nastaran Jafari and Arshed Berwary
Who can be a teacher? The ambiguity of refugee teachers’ work and status in Kenya
Loise Guchuhi
Teachers of refugees in Uganda: Toward an inclusive approach
Celia Reddick
Impossible choices: The relationship between teacher compensation, well-being, quality, and retention in South Sudan and Uganda
Danielle Falk
Pathways to certification for refugee teachers: Lessons learned from Chad and South Sudan
Greg St. Arnold and Parfait Fouda
How Colombia’s complex crises bring more challenges to teachers’ well-being
Janaina Hirata
Building inclusive educational communities with and for refugees on the borders of Mexico
Atenea Rosado-Viurques and Catalina Moreno Ávila
Refugee teacher isolation: Over three decades of confined teacher management on the Thai-Myanmar border
Greg Tyrosvoutis, Gray Rinehart, Cherry Ku Paw, Naw Nay Yu Paw and Saw Sam San
Empowering Ukrainian refugee educators: UNICEF’s initiatives in Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic
Andrea Naletto
Language for resilience in Jordan, Uganda, and Ukraine: Six recommendations
Joseph Field
OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE REFUGEE TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Leading by example: Translating the Djibouti Declaration into action through refugee teacher professional development
Kebede Kassa Tsegaye
Transforming teacher professional development: A core practice approach for education in emergencies
Lindsay Brown
Paving the way for inclusive teacher professional development in refugee contexts
Helen West and Katja Hinz
Strengthening teacher professional development in refugee contexts in Uganda: Enhancing inclusion and well-being
Francis Bizoza Bigirimana
Strengthening (not circumventing) education systems: Promising approaches for TPD in East African refugee contexts
Jonathan Kwok, Anne Smiley and Lilian Viko
Professional development for teachers of Afghan refugees: Challenges, opportunities, and prospects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Syed Munir Ahmad and Najma Begum
Improving refugee teacher development in Lebanon and Jordan: Nurturing teacher identity, relationships, and agency
Maria Grazia Imperiale, Damian Ross and Giovanna Fassetta
Can low-tech solutions improve Rohingya teachers’ pedagogical skills in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh?
Nishitha Andra