Tales of resilience and adaption: a case-study exploring the lived-experiences and perceptions of Syrian refugee teachers in Lebanon

Abstract

Education plays a key role in safeguarding the well-being of refugee children but providing high-quality educational experiences to the approximately 500,000 Syrian school aged children living in Lebanon is an unprecedented challenge. This exploratory case-study utilizes phenomenological interviews to explore the lived-experiences and perceptions of two Syrian refugees, working as teachers of Syrian refugee children in a Non-Formal Education (NFE) program in Lebanon. Both our research participants developed perceptions of NFE, in line with current emergency education best practices, based upon in-service training and lived experience only. We conclude that in-service training combined with an appreciation of refugee lived experience can provide a powerful model for creating effective emergency education programs. We propose that Lebanon take steps to capacity build existing NFE programs, by providing a pathway to accreditation, to help incentivize educational improvements, while maintaining the unique benefits of these programs.

Keywords:

• Non-formal education
• refugee education
• Syrian children
• Lebanon
• hermeneutic phenomenology

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/syria/location/113

2 https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/syria/location/36

3 Doi: https://www.unhcr.org/education.html

4 Doi: https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/01/12/i-just-wanted-be-treated-person/how-lebanons-residency-rules-facilitate-abuse

5 Doi: https://www.unhcr.org/lb/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2019/04/Education-Factsheet.pdf

6 Doi: https://susiladharmausa.org/international-child-development-programme-icdp/

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Morten Greaves

Morten Greaves is a Doctor of Education (Ed.D) in the field of Curriculum and Instruction, specializing in early childhood education and international education. He is currently working as an assistant-professor at the Lebanese American University in Beirut. He completed his doctorate in Curriculum and instruction at the George Washington University in the summer of 2018. His research focuses on a number of different areas related to education: early childhood education; language acquisition in early learning settings; non-formal refugee education; lived-experience and teacher perceptions; autoethnography and tertiary education; learner perspectives of online tertiary education.

Mona Nabhani

Rima Bahous is an Associate Professor of Education and the current 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.

Rima Bahous

Mona Nabhani is an Associate Professor of Education with an emphasis on school leadership and management. She has more than 30 years of experience in teaching in higher education institutions. She was the Director of Teacher Training Institute at the Lebanese American University for many years. Teachers from private and public schools have been trained under her leadership. She has travelled extensively and presented her work at many international conferences. Her main publications are in the field of continuous professional development in Lebanese schools. She has been involved in many projects related to refugee education among others.