“Mo Fẹ Lọ Si School”: Education Narratives From Previously Unhoused Adolescents in Nigeria

• In Event: The Transnational Gaze and Decolonial Identities

Abstract

Nigeria presently struggles with the largest number of out-of-school children and youth in Sub-Saharan Africa at 19.7 million. These education challenges are further complicated by the unique context those who experience housing insecurity bring with them to the classroom, if they make it there at all. Centering narrative interviews with previously unhoused adolescents, this study presents a different perspective on issues of education for the most marginalized in Africa. Despite the power of school as an idea, this work shows that access to education is not the sole solution to the proliferation of street children. Findings also amplify the significance of advocacy and positive reinforcement for previously unhoused adolescents trying to navigate the process of schooling.

Author

• Fortunate Kelechi Ekwuruke, Northwestern University