Barriers to Access to Education in Emergencies for Refugee and IDP Children: A Scoping Review

• In Event: Poster Session 2
  In Poster Session: Barriers to Access to Education in Emergencies for Refugee and IDP Children: A Scoping Review

Proposal

Abstract

Access to education in emergency contexts for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) remains a critical concern. While obstacles to education have been extensively examined in higher education, a significant gap exists in research on how these obstacles affect primary and secondary education in emergency settings. This scoping review aims to provide an overview of the literature on these barriers to inform future research and guide the development of data collection tools that can assist policymakers and practitioners in developing targeted solutions.

Methods

Our scoping review follows the methodological framework initially developed by Arksey and O’Malley (2005), refined by Levac et al. (2010), and further enhanced by Peters et al. (2021). This framework consists of six stages that ensure a systematic, transparent, and replicable approach to reviewing the literature. The second to fifth steps were subject to an inter-judge agreement.

1. Identifying the Research Question: The research question focuses on barriers to returning to school in post-conflict. The guiding question is: What are the barriers to education in first asylum countries for displaced populations?
2. Identifying Relevant Studies: A comprehensive search strategy was developed in consultation with a librarian. Keywords and Boolean operators captured a broad range of studies, including grey literature.
3. Study Selection Criteria: Inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined. Forty-nine articles were selected based on relevance, region, and methodological quality. Two reviewers screened the titles and abstracts, followed by full-text screening using Covidence software.
4. Charting the Data: A data extraction tool was developed to gather key information such as study design, population, context, findings, and gaps in the literature.
5. Collating, Summarizing, and Reporting: Findings were synthesized, highlighting recurring barriers, themes, and patterns.
6. Consultation: A consultation with experts was included to validate findings.

Findings

The review identified various barriers to education for displaced populations in emergency settings. These include psychological and physical factors like inadequate infrastructure and lack of accessible schools; language barriers; and security-related issues. Gender-based barriers are particularly notable, with girls facing unique challenges such as cultural norms that deprioritize their education and gender-based violence risks. Social and political barriers, such as discrimination and restrictive government policies, compound these challenges.

Discussion

Although substantial literature exists on obstacles to educational access for displaced populations, robust research methodologies capable of generating actionable insights are lacking. Developing more precise data collection tools is essential to improving research quality and supporting policymakers in devising effective interventions.

Our review highlights the need for systematic methodologies to explore children’s educational access in emergency contexts. Current methods often lack precision and fail to account for functional languages spoken by the subjects. Addressing these shortcomings is vital for producing more inclusive research and enabling more effective interventions.

Authors

• Jeanne Benoit, Université du Québec à Montréal, UQAM

• Mohamed Amine Mahhou, Université du Québec à Montréal, UQAM

• Olivier Arvisais, Université du Québec à Montréal