Contribution of education to building resilience of refugee learners: a case study of primary schools in Nakivale Settlement, Isingiro District- Western Uganda

Abstract

Education contributes to resilience of refugee learners as emphasized by Uganda Education Refugee Response Plan (2018). However, current education provided to refugee learners appears to inadequately contribute to resilience Nanyunja et al (2021).This is evidenced by 90% of refugee learners dropping out of school (UNHCR Reports, 2016,2019 and 2020). The purpose of this study was to examine the contribution of education to the resilience of refugee primary school learners in Nakivale refugee settlement (NRS) in Isingiro District, Western Uganda. Specifically, the study sought to assess how the curriculum, the role of teachers and school leadership contributed to the resilience of refugee learners in terms of language proficiency, curriculum adaptation, and completion of the primary cycle and progression. The study adopted a single case study design and used a qualitative approach to collect data from thirty-five purposively sampled participants. Findings of the study revealed that the curriculum insufficiently contributed to the resilience of RL, Teachers unsatisfactorily contributed to the resilience of RL and school leadership was ineffective. It was therefore concluded that curriculum, teachers and school leadership had gaps that affected the resilience of refugee learners. It was recommended that: MoES in collaboration with DPs design a flexible Significant Blended Curriculum (A curriculum that offers future-ready skills and flexible approaches to learning), design a refugee teacher-management framework to enhance their roles in building resilience of refugee learners and design an integrated refugee school leadership framework.