Business involvement in the education of Syrian refugees: Implications for teachers and unions in Lebanon

• In Event: Refugee Education, Research, and Union Advocacy: Findings from Lebanon, Germany, and Sweden

Proposal

This study investigated the growing role of private entities as both educational funders and providers in conflict-affected contexts and in the global quest to advance educational opportunity for refugee children. Through a mapping and case study analysis of private engagement in the education of Syrian refugees, the study examined the types of private actors and partnerships, and the nature of, and rationales for, their involvement in Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey. Data collection included a systematic internet search, 44 interviews with key informants, document analysis, and participant observation, in an iterative process involving feedback loops on emergent findings.

The findings indicate that the Syria crisis has emerged as fertile ground for privatization in education, with interest in private investment and partnership demonstrated from a wide range of actors, including international and U.S.-based governmental entities and global business partners. Observers articulate the potential of new public-private partnerships towards fulfilling the promise of educational opportunity for Syrian refugees. At the same time, international and local humanitarian and development actors voice skepticism regarding the role, intentions, and potential impact of global businesses. In particular, critics working in the region have noted that, while private actors may increase avenues for educational access for particular populations, business supported private schools are concerning, due to a lack of accountability and the hiring of non-unionized or poorly-trained teachers. Despite these reservations, findings point to the proliferation and diversification of private actors and partnerships in refugee education. These actors include global, regional, national, and family run businesses, foundations, and other non-governmental organizations, both religious and secular, based in the Global North and Global South.

This paper pays particular attention to the implications of this business involvement for teachers and teachers’ unions, with a focus on Lebanon. Interviews suggest that teachers are seldom consulted in the design, development, and delivery of educational interventions by private actors. The Lebanon Minimum Standards for Education, contextualized in 2014 through a highly consultative process, clearly establishes teachers and teachers unions as key stakeholders and partners through the foundational standards of Community Participation and Coordination (INEE & LEWG, 2014). Furthermore, the framework for Sustainable Development Goal #4 positions teachers as fundamental for the achievement of quality education for all (UNESCO, 2015b). Yet, even as frequent subjects of professional development and recipients of other interventions, teachers and their unions are not consulted regarding their particular needs or their students’. They are also not well informed about the growing role of private entities. Although local teachers and teacher unions are most likely to understand contextual issues for implementation at the classroom level, businesses often introduce interventions without their input. In particular, technological interventions appear to be decontextualized and at times articulated as “solutions” to perceived teacher “problems.”

Despite urgent implications for educational equity, access, quality and rights, little empirical research has been conducted to understand the roles of private entities in the education of refugees and its impact and implications for teachers and teacher unions. This study contributes to this end, by highlighting the ways in which teachers and teacher unions may be sidelined in the process of accelerating private participation in the education of refugees.

Authors

• Zeena Zakharia, University of Massachusetts Boston

• Francine Menashy, University of Massachusetts Boston