Challenges of teaching Syrian refugee children in Lebanon: teachers’ insights

ABSTRACT

Education is a basic need in the lives of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and teachers, specifically, play a critical role in the quality of education these children receive. Their experiences provide a critical view of the reality of refugee education in Lebanon. The present study examines the challenges teachers face when teaching Syrian refugee children in Lebanon. The research adopts a phenomenological approach, using in-depth interviews with teachers of Syrian refugee students in a public school in Beirut. Participants discussed psychological and academic needs of students, effectiveness of current methods, lack of parental support, their perceptions of the students, cultural and gender roles, personal experiences and beliefs, as well as teachers’ roles.

KEYWORDS:

• Refugee education
• academic challenges
• psychological challenges
• parental support
• cultural roles

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. In fact, UNHCR stopped registering Syrian refugees in May 2015

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jida Khansa

Jida Khansa holds an MA in Education from the Lebanese American University in Lebanon. Her main research interests are in the fields of refugee education and special education.

Rima Bahous

Rima Bahous is an Associate Professor of Education and the Chair of the Department of Education at the Lebanese American University in Lebanon. She has more than 25 years of experience in teaching in higher education institutions. She has presented her work at many international conferences. Her publications are in the field of teaching, learning and assessment in Lebanon. She has been involved in many projects related to Syrian refugee education.