A unique representation of refugee children's journeys in their own voices, reflected through their stories, verses, and artworks. Schooling for Refugee Children is a collaboration between five authors who explore their interactions with refugee children displaced from Syria to the Lebanese borders and London. Through a program of carefully tailored research activities, the authors analyze the children's representations of their journeys and current circumstances, particularly focusing on questions of ongoing schooling in the face of displacement. The children's experiences are expressed through their own words and drawings, disrupting the stereotype of children as receivers rather than empowered actors, and challenging traditional solutions for improving schooling. Throughout, the children are eloquent about their schooling in the context of displacement. Their views and illustrations depict a keen awareness of social justice issues, including the distribution of wealth, recognition of status, and representation of voice. In this way, the book brings to light important representations of some empowering experiences lived through by refugee children from Syria, as well as their thoughts on what has helped their learning and what can be done better. The children's need for care and a sense of belonging in their schools and their new communities is given particular emphasis throughout the book, represented by one child, who simply requested, "Add some more love!"
Schooling for Refugee Children is invaluable for educators, policymakers, and anyone interested in refugee education and social justice. By centering the voices of refugee children, the book sheds light on their unique perspectives and needs, challenging conventional approaches to improving schooling for displaced populations.
Author Biography:
Eleanore Hargreaves is Professor of Learning and Pedagogy at the UCL Institute of Education, where she is Academic Head of Research in the Department of Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment. Her research and teaching focus on hearing the perspectives of children in schooling to promote social justice and wellbeing in schooling globally. With a background in Islamic History, she has worked extensively with disadvantaged children in the SWANA region including in Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan. Her book Children’s Experiences of Classrooms (Sage, 2017) inspired ideas related to the current book. Brian Lally is an educator and researcher with extensive experience in teaching, education leadership and safeguarding/child protection, as well as training for teachers and school leaders. He has particular expertise within conflict-affected, fragile and economically deprived contexts, working at local, regional and national levels in a range of countries. His most recent focus has been with community-led NGOs supporting refugee children and young adults in Lebanon, Uganda, Turkey and northern Syria through non-formal education provision, schools, vocational training and in facilitating access to higher education. His doctoral research with Kingston University builds on his experience in education in emergencies. Bassel Akar has served as an Associate Professor of Education (2009-2023) and Director of the Center for Applied Research in Education (2014-2023) at Notre Dame University–Louaize, Lebanon. He is now Research Fellow at Centro de Estudos Africanos, Universidade do Porto. His research on education in fragile contexts has focused on low and middle income conflict-affected countries, especially Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen, Iraq, Iraqi Kurdistan and Egypt. Studies have examined education for social and human development through citizenship, history and early childhood education; provisions of education for young people made vulnerable by war and crises; and ethical and inclusive methods of inquiry for highly vulnerable populations. Jumana Al-Waeli is a postdoctoral research fellow at Ulster University and an associate fellow and PhD candidate at UCL Institute of Education. Her current work examines the political economy of education and peacebuilding in conflict affected contexts through a lens of social justice. Jumana’s doctoral research investigated the learning of Syrian refugee students in the UK in relation to social justice. Jumana has been a trainer, lecturer and teacher for more than 19 years, delivering workshops on Research and Education in relation to conflict and peacebuilding, as well as teaching in Higher Education and international schools in the UK, Syria, and Kurdistan-Iraq. Jasmine Costello is a project manager at Student Achievement Partners where she designs resources and professional learning for teachers that centre on marginalised perspectives and seeks to increase equitable educational opportunities in the US. She was previously an elementary teacher at the School District of Philadelphia and has worked in school-based non-profit management roles. She is delighted to be involved with this project and to learn from the incredible researchers, teachers and students at the MAPS schools.
