Social support networks, instant messaging, and gender equity in refugee education

ABSTRACT

This paper addresses the role of instant messaging chat groups to support teacher training and gender equity initiatives in Kenyan refugee camps. Our findings are based on survey data with refugee teachers in Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps (n = 203), group interviews with refugee teachers in Kakuma (n = 21), and interviews with international instructors of teacher training programs in Nairobi, Toronto, and Vancouver (n = 14). In our analysis, we apply amplification theory, feminist science and technology studies paradigms, and considerations of transnational approaches to understand the use of instant messaging among refugee teacher communities. Our framework explores how social and cultural norms are amplified through transnational text and instant messaging related to teacher training and in support of gender equity. Peer-to-peer group chats draw on transnational learning opportunities and expand these engagements through group chats between men and women refugee teachers across camps as well as through community engagement about gender equity initiatives in education. International instructors identify both value and hesitation in navigating the quantity and content of these communications, such as learning more about refugee teachers’ daily lives in the camps and concern about following and managing the amount of communication that can ensue over chat groups. Our work has practical implications for transnational teacher training programs in refugee camps, illuminates how mobile technology and chat groups allow women and men in the community to engage and support girls’ education, and questions how text messaging affects the lived and day-to-day experiences of women refugee teachers.

KEYWORDS:

• Refugee education
• feminist STS
• transnationalism
• instant messaging
• post-secondary education
• gender equity

Acknowledgements

This work would not have been possible without the generous participation of teachers in Dadaab and Kakuma and the international instructors who shared their experiences with us, World University Service of Canada, Dr. Josephine Gitome and her team at Kenyatta University who facilitated research permits and data collection in Dadaab, and sponsorship from the University of Washington Royalty Research Fund.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Negin Dahya is an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington Information School (UW iSchool), Seattle, Washington. Dahya’s research is focused on understanding the social and cultural conditions in which technology is created and used, with a focus on digital and social media in educational settings. Her research in refugee education and technology has centered on applying sociotechnical theory to understand the role of mobile phones and social media to support teaching and learning among refugees, particularly for those pursuing and enrolled in post-secondary training and higher education. Dahya is a co-convener for the Inter-Network Agency in Emergencies Technology Task Team.

Sarah Dryden-Peterson is an Associate Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research focuses on education in armed conflict and the ways in which learning, pedagogies, and relationships may alter trajectories of conflict for nation-states and individuals. She has been recognized as a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Postdoctoral Fellow, a National Academy of Education/ Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, and a Fulbright Scholar.

Dacia Douhaibi is a doctoral candidate, researcher, and educator currently positioned at York University in Toronto, Canada. Dacia holds an MA in International Affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University and completed a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology at the University of Victoria. Dacia has worked on several community development projects in Asia, Central America, and Africa.

Olivier Arvisais is a professor at the Faculty of Education of the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). He is the scientific director of the Canadian Observatory on Humanitarian Crises and Assistance. Professor Arvisais is also co-chair of the scientific committee of the UNESCO Chair in Curriculum Development. He is a specialist in education in emergencies. His research focuses on educational initiatives in refugee camps, child protection through socio-emotional learning and education under armed groups or totalitarian proto-states.

Notes

1. All statistical power calculations for t-tests and regressions are over 0.99 for medium and larger effect sizes, considering N = 203.

Additional information

Funding

This study was generously funded by the University of Washington Royalty Research Fund.