Higher Education Credentialing Lifelong Learning, Participatory Policy, and Public-Private Partnerships: Lebanon and Turkey Boosting Inclusion

• In Event: Higher Education Credentialing Educational Leaders to Boost Inclusive Education Through Systemic Culturally Responsive Methodologies

Abstract

Syria’s economy has been controlled by the current political regime of Albaath party since Hafez al-Assad took over power in his military coup in November 1970. Between 2000 and 2005, Syria witnessed economic change, mainly neoliberal and autocratic (Barout, 2013). This change was the subject of a huge social injustice because all new companies were parts of a few holding companies belonging to the family of the president. Since the uprising in 2011, the political regime implemented increasingly intolerant and brutal practices that caused significant economic failure in Syria with manufacturing and exports vastly reduced and Syria facing huge unsustainable balance of payments deficits. Migrating Syrians, fleeing Syria for their lives as undocumented refugees, face rapidly changing bureaucracy which, as quicksand, offers no foundation for building a good life. Children and young adults’ access to education operationalises ‘exclusion by inclusion’, with little incentive to study. Two important case studies, in Lebanon and Turkey reveal the lack of inclusive policies leading to descholarisation of Syrians.

Lebanon: i) Syrian, like Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, are restricted to farming and construction jobs that do not require a degree or social security assurance, ii) education is simply too expensive, and iii) courses in medicine, dentistry and applied sciences are not offered in Arabic and Syrian students are banned from registering for them even if they do have the language of instruction. Virtual learning degree courses accessible to Syrian and Palestinian refugees are useless with no pathways to Lebanese professions or teaching. This prevents Syrians and Palestinian refugees co-constructing public policy for diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice.

Turkey: i) The country began by completely excluding Syrian students from the school system. ii) Syrians could go to Arabic private schools in the country which was very expensive to the majority of refugee families. iii) When the state started accepting Syrian children at schools, it was with a supplementary bridging after school program that started after the Turkish students left the school. iv) The Syrian teachers who worked in these schools were not integrated in the education system, so they lost their jobs after the program was over. v) Syrian students joined regular Turkish classes (Turkification) after this program without being fully prepared which led a huge number of young adults quitting school.

Lifelong learning can be promoted through Higher Education Institutions. Lifelong Learning programmes offering micro-credentialing drawing on Assessment for Prior Learning and Assessment for Prior Experiential-Learning can facilitate students building portfolios recognised by National, Regional and Global Accrediting Bodies. This boosts inclusion for refugees supported by social policy with open and transparent access to all areas of the labour market and all pathways to professions. This ambition can be mobilised with new partnerships between the public and private sector, local communities, culturally relevant learning, and teaching to fulfil the important social function of learning for a good life which includes developing the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual dimensions of being human (Taysum, 2003). This amplifies collaborative problem solving to achieve the UN 2030 Agenda.

Authors

• Yahya Al-Abdullah, Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales

• Alison Sheila Taysum, National University of Ireland - Maynooth

• Daniel W. Eadens, University of Central Florida

• Mayamin Altae, Qatar University