Hoping against the Odds: Understanding Refugee Youths’ Aspirations for Gaining Overseas Scholarships

• In Event: Education in Conflict and Crisis Contexts: Emerging Evidence Featured in the Journal on Education in Emergencies

Proposal

Why do young refugees in the Dadaab camps of Kenya aspire to gain resettlement-based scholarships for tertiary education when the odds of getting these are minimal? Existing literature sheds light on the strong educational aspirations of refugee youths. However, our understanding is obscure on why they may persistently pursue lofty educational goals when the plausibility of achieving these is less optimistic, especially through emergency education programs. This study contributes to our understanding of this puzzle, theoretically and empirically. It draws on ethnographic research, including semi-structured interviews and future aspiration mapping exercises with Form One students, as well as interviews with their teachers. The study presents several interconnected explanations that address the research question. Firstly, students believe that success in education is a way for them to get out of the camps. Secondly, they imagine that getting overseas scholarships will resolve their difficult economic conditions and academic restrictions. Thirdly, by working hard to succeed, motivated by the dream of getting an education abroad, they believe their chances for other tertiary education will increase. This study argues that the cultural logic of hope of achieving better futures through education sustains young people’s motivation to pursue overseas scholarships, outweighing the low odds of attaining them.

Author

• Hassan Ahmed Aden, Peace Research Institute Oslo