Supporting Refugee Children in Education

The number of globally displaced people is higher than it has ever been and, in recent years, this has brought unprecedented challenges to receiving countries.

Many displaced people cite education as one of their highest and most immediate priorities. While there are individuals and organisations making efforts to improve learning opportunities for displaced children and young people, education systems across the world are struggling to meet the growing, and unique, educational and psychosocial needs of refugees.

One challenge is that education is often seen as more of a ‘development’ issue than a ‘humanitarian’ issue. Currently humanitarian aid constitutes just 2% of education funding, and yet there is growing recognition of the importance of education as a tool of stability and empowerment in helping refugees to rebuild their future.

Cities are often the first points of arrival for refugees. Over the last year, the RSA has been working in collaboration with ECIS, on a project looking at how the skills and expertise of different players within a city can be mobilised to best support the needs of refugee young people. In the context of uncertainty, budget cuts and limited resources, how can a city act pragmatically for refugee young people through collaboration and innovation?

To mark the conclusion of the project, our expert panel reflects on the lessons learned from the investigation, and explores a range of examples of innovative practice in refugee education that are showing the way to meeting the challenges of the critical situation that we currently face.

Find out more about the RSA ECIS research investigation.

Find out more about Promising Practices – a Save the Children campaign, in partnership with UNHCR and Pearson, which shines a spotlight on examples of pioneering, positive and creative approaches to refugee education internationally, in order to increase and share knowledge of ‘what works’.

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