Prioritizing Teachers in Fragile and Crisis Contexts: Contextually-Grounded Approaches to Understanding Teacher Well-being in a Digital Age - Part 1

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Teachers are at the heart of children and young people’s educational experiences. Research from stable and crisis contexts demonstrates that teachers are the strongest school-level predictor for student learning (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017; Rice, 2003; Schwille & Dembélé 2007; Snilstveit et al., 2016). Beyond academic support, evidence points to the important relationship between teachers and the holistic development and well-being of students (Jennings, 2016; Jennings & Greenberg, 2009; Jennings et al., 2017; Jones et al., 2013; Shephard, Falk & Mendenhall, 2023; Winthrop & Kirk, 2005). Yet, despite their central role, teachers are leaving the profession en masse, exacerbating teacher shortages globally (UNESCO, 2022). UNESCO (2023) estimates that nearly 70 million new teachers are needed to ensure universal basic education by 2030, with countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia facing acute deficits and also experiencing some of the most complex crises (UNHCR, 2023a).
Irrelevant–or completely absent–professional development, difficult working conditions, insufficient compensation and benefits, limited career progression opportunities, and tenuous job security undermine the teaching profession, compromising teacher welfare and leading many to leave the profession or avoid joining it in the first place (Dembélé & Rogers; Falk, 2023; Guajardo, 2011; Martin, 2018; Mendenhall, 2024; Wolf et al., 2015; UNESCO, 2023). The increased pressure to use education technology in classrooms in low and middle-income countries has added to the stress on teachers. Learning new programs, understanding how to integrate education technology into their classroom practices, being aware of digital safety, and managing novel hardware have added to the load for teachers (Crompton et al., 2021; Jordan, 2023)
These challenges are amplified in conflict and crisis-affected contexts, where the benefits of education are needed most and where teachers may be the only resource amidst educational scarcity (Mendenhall, Gomez, & Varni, 2019). Yet, despite widespread consensus on the importance of teachers, sector-wide challenges persist in providing teachers with the support they need and deserve. Further, teaching remains one of the most stressful professions (Greenberg et al., 2016), with teachers working amidst conflict and crises confronted with cumulative and compounding stressors (Falk et al., 2019; Wolf et al., 2015).
More attention is needed on teacher well-being to strengthen educational processes and outcomes for children and youth in conflict and crisis. Teacher well-being is context-specific and encompasses teachers’ attitudes and evaluations of their work as well as how they feel and function in their job (Collie et al., 2015); it is influenced by individual characteristics, relationships with others, and the structural conditions and systemic challenges – such as poverty, conflict, displacement, exclusionary policies, declining status of teachers – that influence teachers’ lives (Brandt & Lopes Cardozo 2023; Falk et al., 2019, 2021, 2022). While there is a growing body of literature on teacher well-being in conflict and crisis (Adelman, 2019; Brandt & Lopes Cardozo 2023; D’Sa et al., 2022; Falk et al., 2019, 2022; Wolf et al., 2015; Marchais et al. 2022), it remains de-prioritized in policy, practice, and measurement.
This two-part panel aims to respond to this gap and deepen our understanding of teacher well-being in conflict and crisis contexts to comprehend better how teachers make meaning of their well-being, how different factors around teachers influence their well-being, and how to better measure, and ultimately, support well-being in a manner that respects the agency of teachers in the process. Spanning Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and South America & the Caribbean, the first part of this two-part panel examines the most salient factors across micro, meso- and macro-levels that help or hinder teacher well-being. The first paper reflects on the relevance and limitations of the notions of resilience and well-being in contexts where teachers are subjected to quotidian, and sometimes extreme, forms of violence, building on a study of the causes and consequences of violence against teachers in Niger and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The second paper presents a preliminary analysis of a study that explores how secondary school teachers in Cameroon navigate teaching during ongoing and intersecting conflicts. It reflects on the complexities of teacher agency in conflict and peacebuilding during protracted crises. The third paper turns attention toward the experiences of teachers in Colombia and Ecuador and the policy frameworks in place to protect them.

Sub Unit

• Education in Conflict and Emergencies SIG

Organizer

• Nikhit D'Sa, University of Notre Dame

Chair

• Danielle Lorber Falk, International Rescue Committee (IRC)

Individual Presentations

• Teacher resilience and well-being in the face of violence: Reflections from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Niger - Gauthier Marchais, Institute of Development Studies

• Teachers as transformative agents in protracted conflict: The case of Cameroon - Whitney Hough, IREX

• Teacher insecurity and state protections: A comparative case study of Colombia and Ecuador - Maria Jose Bermeo, Universidad de Los Andes

Discussant

• Tejendra Pherali, UCL Institute of Education