Rebuilding Lives Through Education and Livelihood: Rohingya Fathers' Experiences of Displacement, Skills, and Child Development in Bangladesh

• In Event: Educating for Peaceful Futures: Storytelling, Hopepunk Futures, and Social Cohesion

Proposal

This mixed-methods study examines the complex intersections of education, displacement, and peace-building through the lens of Rohingya fathers in Bangladesh refugee camps. As the world grapples with unprecedented displacement affecting over 100 million people globally, understanding how displaced populations navigate educational and economic barriers becomes crucial for sustainable peace-building efforts.

Drawing on existing research documenting the significant impact of unemployment on adult refugee psychosocial well-being (Chowdhury et al., 2021; Hussam et al., 2022), this study investigates how restricted livelihood opportunities affect Rohingya fathers' capacity to support their children's early development. Previous literature has highlighted both livelihood constraints including deprivation and poverty among Rohingyas in Bangladesh (Chowdhury et al., 2021), and the lack of culturally relevant mental health and psychological services (Tay et al., 2019). Building on evidence that employment provides displaced populations with security and purpose (Hussam et al., 2022; Hossain et al., 2021), this research examines barriers to accessing the informal labor market.

Through a cross-sectional design involving 300 Rohingya fathers with children aged 2-6 years across Cox's Bazar camps, the study employs validated psychological assessment tools (HTQ-5, SPIESS, PHQ-9) alongside comprehensive socioeconomic surveys and qualitative interviews.

Preliminary findings reveal significant disruptions to educational and professional trajectories, with fathers reporting substantial skills underutilization and limited access to formal and informal learning opportunities. The study documents how displacement fractures educational continuity, creating barriers that extend beyond individual families to affect community resilience and child development outcomes. Many participants possessed technical and agricultural skills from Myanmar that remain unrecognized and undervalued in their current context.

The research demonstrates how restricted access to meaningful work creates cascading effects on fathers' mental health, family stability, and children's educational prospects. Fathers experiencing unemployment report higher levels of trauma symptoms and reduced capacity for positive child engagement, suggesting that livelihood interventions are intrinsically linked to educational and developmental outcomes.

Importantly, the study reveals community-level adaptations and informal educational networks that emerge within displacement contexts. Fathers describe creating alternative learning environments and skill-sharing networks that both preserve cultural knowledge and adapt to new circumstances. These findings challenge traditional boundaries between formal and informal education while highlighting the resilience mechanisms that displaced communities develop.

The research contributes to peace education scholarship by illustrating how sustainable livelihood opportunities function as peace-building mechanisms. When fathers gain access to meaningful work that utilizes their skills, the positive effects ripple through family structures, improving children's educational engagement and community cohesion. The study argues that effective peace-building interventions must address the educational and economic dimensions of displacement simultaneously.

Methodologically, the research advances culturally responsive approaches to studying displaced populations, incorporating validated instruments adapted for refugee contexts while centering participants' narratives and experiences. The study's collaborative design with local organizations demonstrates how academic research can support community-driven solutions.

The findings have direct implications for policy and practice in refugee education, suggesting that interventions targeting fathers' livelihood skills and mental health create multiplicative benefits for children's educational outcomes. The research calls for holistic approaches that recognize the interconnected nature of adult education, child development, and community peace-building in displacement contexts.

As CIES marks its 70th anniversary with renewed focus on education and peace, this study contributes empirical evidence for understanding how educational interventions can serve peace-building functions in divided and displaced communities. The research ultimately argues that investing in displaced fathers' educational and economic opportunities represents a critical pathway toward sustainable peace and community reconstruction.

Author

• Fatima Zahra, University of Tennessee at Knoxville