Beyond access: A rigorous evidence review of promising practices for advancing girls’ education and gender equality in conflict- and crisis-affected contexts

• In Event: Empowering Minds, Protecting Futures: Scaling Gender-Inclusive and Safeguarding Innovations

Proposal

Education and conflict are both highly gendered processes. Existing literature suggests that economic, political, climate and health crises may act to exacerbate gendered inequalities in and through schooling (Bunivic, 2014; Pankhurst, 2022; Unterhalter et al., 2022). However, while the impact of conflict and crisis on opportunities for and engagement with schooling for girls’ is relatively well evidenced, there has been less systematic attention to the evidence regarding the impacts of different forms of intervention to enhance gender equality in these contexts. Wider reviews concerned interventions for girls’ schooling and gender equality (Psaki, 2022; Sampa et al., 2021; Sperling & Winthrop, 2015; Unterhalter et al., 2014) have not tended to focus explicitly on conflict and crisis affected contexts.

In this paper, we present the findings from a rigorous review of the evidence, which sought to respond to the following questions:
What promising practices support access, quality and continuity of education for girls, particularly those from the most marginalized groups, in contexts of conflict and protracted crisis?
To what extent, and under what conditions, does evidence suggest that these practices are associated with increased gender equality and girls’ and women’s’ rights in and beyond education in these contexts?

The review, which draws on a theory of change and methodology developed in an earlier review of interventions for girls’ education in low-and-middle income countries (Unterhalter et al., 2014), examines the different types of interventions that the research evidence suggests can lead to improved access, continuity and quality of education for girls, particularly those from marginalised groups, in contexts of conflict and crisis; and considers the evidence regarding their relationship with wider gender equality outcomes.

The findings suggest that combined interventions adopting a contextualised and holistic approach - working across schools and communities, linking support for girls’ learning with initiatives to challenge harmful gender norms, fostering dialogue among diverse groups, and cultivating institutional cultures that promote gender equality - may be the most effective in enhancing girls’ education in these contexts. However, much existing research has focused on remedial interventions aimed at helping girls catch up on missed learning, often through financial support or supplementary learning provision. Far less attention has been given to more systemic initiatives that address gender norms or institutional cultures. Moreover, limited research has explored in depth the relationship between efforts to expand girls’ schooling and the broader advancement of gender equality beyond education. This underscores the need for research that can interrogate these practices more fully and strengthen the evidence base on promising approaches to advancing gender equality in conflict- and crisis-affected contexts.

This evidence review was conducted as part of the Education Research in Conflict and Protracted Crisis (ERICC) programme, which aims to identify the most effective approaches to support sustainable and coherent education systems and holistic learning and development of children in conflict and crisis. ERICC aims to bridge research, practice, and policy with accessible and actionable knowledge, through co-construction of research and collaborative partnerships. Countries in focus include Bangladesh (Cox’s Bazar), Jordan, Lebanon, Myanmar, Nigeria, South Sudan, Iraq, and Syria.

Authors

• Vanessa Ozawa, Insternational Rescue Committee

• Amy North