Barriers of access to education among school- aged children in the Tigray region in Ethiopia

• In Event: Displacement, schooling, and inclusion: Experiences and comparisons across diverse contexts

Proposal

Introduction
Since 2020, the Tigray region of Ethiopia has been experiencing a major internal conflict. In addition to being affected by this war, Ethiopia is the third largest refugee-hosting country in Africa; according to the UNHCR (2023), more than 942,000 individuals are currently taking refuge there. Women and children, mainly from South Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea, make up 81% of the country's refugee population (UNHCR, 2023). Since the start of the conflict in Tigray, 4.4 million people have been forced to move within the country. In addition, 16.5 million children are currently in need of humanitarian assistance in the country (UNICEF, 2023).

Prior to the conflict, the Tigray region had implemented an education policy that promoted access and equity. The average walking distance to school was 2.5 km for primary school and 7.1 km for secondary school. In the region, an average of 39 students per class attended primary school. This figure rose to 43 pupils per class for secondary school (Guesh, 2023). Three years after the start of the conflict, it is estimated that 50.3% of children can no longer attend their original school, and the average walking distance to school has more than doubled to 4.84 km for primary school children and 18.22 km for secondary school children (Belay et al., 2023). UNICEF (2022) estimates that over 1.4 million children have spent at least one whole year without access to education in the Tigray region.
In fact, according to them, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by two years of conflict, 2.3 million children in the region have been out of school for around three years. In addition, 22,500 teachers have not been paid for more than two years, according to the Ethiopian Education Cluster. Also, in Tigray, several schools have been destroyed or damaged (Guesh, 2023). Others are still inhabited by internally displaced persons from the region, or even still occupied by military forces (Guesh, 2023). However, this picture is still patchy, not least because 24 of Tigray's 88 districts (known as woréda) are still inaccessible to international observers (Samuel Hall, 2023). However, major blind spots remain concerning the possibility of a return to formal education for many of the region's children.

Theoretical background
The concept of academic persistence has been a central focus in education science research (Holman et al., 2016; Reason, 2009). Academic persistence is defined as an individual’s ability to mobilize personal resources towards academic achievement, enabling them to complete their educational program despite facing various barriers (Holman et al., 2016; Duckworth et al., 2007). In the context of emergency education, particularly in conflict-affected regions like Tigray, where individual and environmental factors are deeply intertwined, academic persistence faces additional challenges.
To narrow the range of factors influencing academic persistence, this study adopts Lewin's (1951) force field analysis model, as applied to the education sector by Anderson (1985). Lewin’s model conceptualizes a "field" as a dynamic space in which individuals encounter conflicting forces both internal and external, positive and negative that affect their behaviors and decisions (Gagnon & Brunel, 2005). This model provides a framework to understand the forces influencing a student's behavior as attempts to maintain or restore homeostasis in their psychological and physical needs (Schunk et al., 2012).
The key tenet of this model, which emphasizes the interaction between individuals and their environments, is particularly relevant in emergency education settings. Lewin’s theory of force fields suggests that environmental conditions such as conflict, displacement, and infrastructure damage play a significant role in shaping school persistence (Schunk et al., 2012). By using this theoretical model, we can identify both the "driving forces" that encourage students to remain in school and the "restrictive forces" that lead to absenteeism or dropout. In this research, particular attention is given to these restrictive forces, or barriers, which act as significant impediments to academic persistence.

Aims
This research therefore proposes to develop, a robust data collection tool on barriers of access to education following a scoping review in the field and validate said tool with school-aged children in the Tigray region. We seek to answer the following research question: What are the barriers of access to education among school-aged children in the Tigray region in Ethiopia?

Methods
To achieve the study’s objectives, we develop a comprehensive questionnaire to measure barriers to education among school-aged children who have not yet returned to school in the Tigray region. The questionnaire is designed following a scoping review of the literature and is administered using the Kobo Toolbox platform, a mobile data collection tool. To ensure a representative sample, we employ stratified random sampling to account for key demographic factors such as age, gender, and geographic location. This enhances the external validity of the study, ensuring that the sample reflects the diverse experiences of children across the region. The questionnaire is administered with the help of the UNESCO office in Addis Ababa, which will employ community researchers to recruit the children. Prior to full deployment, the questionnaire undergoes rigorous pre-testing through pilot studies with a smaller subset of children. Psychometric analyses, including Cronbach’s alpha for reliability and factor analysis for construct validity, are conducted to ensure the tool’s robustness. Ethical considerations are paramount given the adverse context. Local ethical standards are followed in collaboration with community researchers, and the study includes provisions for psychological support should participants experience distress.

Results
In the conference, we will introduce a newly developed tool, a questionnaire designed to measure the barriers to accessing education. While theoretical reviews have defined various barriers to education, we believe our tool is a comprehensive one that will greatly aid practitioners in the field. Although results are still being collected, we will share the first insights from the initial use of this tool in a real-world setting within the Tigray region. This presentation will cover the design and implementation process of the questionnaire and its potential to provide valuable data on the challenges faced by children in returning to school in post-conflict environments.

Authors

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

• Jeanne Benoit, Université du Québec à Montréal, UQAM

• Olivier Arvisais, Université du Québec à Montréal