Expanded roles, limited support: Critical research on improving support with teachers in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa

• In Event: Articulations of teacher agency in conflict-affected settings: Research with, for, and by teachers in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia.

Proposal

The role of teachers – particularly in education in emergencies and protracted crises (EiEPC) – cannot be underestimated. Teachers provide academic and psychosocial support to their learners, often taking on “expanded roles” to protect the holistic well-being and development of children and youth amidst adversity (Falk, 2023; Kirk and Winthrop, 2007, 2013). They do so despite receiving insufficient support for their professional development, and in spite of global commitments to uphold quality education and lifelong learning (Burns and Lawrie, 2015; Mendenhall, 2024a). In tension with these global commitments is the disinvestment in and de-professionalization of the teaching workforce (Akyeampong, 2022).

Yet, despite their central role, teachers face persistent challenges and receive inadequate professional support to carry out their work. Irrelevant and inadequate professional development, difficult working conditions, insufficient compensation and benefits, limited to no career progression opportunities, and tenuous job security undermine the teaching profession, compromising teaching quality and leading many to leave the profession or avoid joining it in the first place (Dembélé & Rogers, 2013; Falk, 2023a; Guajardo, 2011; Martin, 2018; Mendenhall, 2024; Wolf et al., 2015; UNESCO, 2023). These challenges are amplified in conflict and protracted crisis contexts, where the benefits of education are needed most and where teachers may be the only resource amidst educational scarcity (Mendenhall et al., 2019). Worryingly, these challenges are fueling a global teacher shortage (UNESCO, 2022). Indeed, 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, 2025).

This paper presents findings from mixed methods research with refugee and national teachers in EiEPC across Southeast Asia (Bangladesh, Myanmar), the Middle East (Jordan), and Sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Sudan) spanning three International Rescue Committee (IRC) programs: the Education Research in Conflict & Protracted Crises (ERICC) programme (funded by FCDO), and PlayMatters and TeachWell (funded by the LEGO Foundation). Drawing on surveys and interviews with more than 2,000 teachers, we analyze how different policies, programs, and practices related to teachers – alongside teachers’ profiles and working conditions – influence teacher well-being and retention in diverse conflict and crisis settings. We also discuss how conflict and crisis inform the professional and personal experiences of teachers and how they describe and enact their roles and responsibilities as educators. Findings from this research demonstrate that improving support for teachers requires more than isolated interventions—it demands a systems-oriented, holistic approach that grapples with persistent structural tensions.Without this comprehensive support, efforts to improve teacher well-being risk becoming symbolic rather than transformative.

Author

• Danielle Lorber Falk, International Rescue Committee (IRC)