Syria’s Lost Generation: Refugee Education Provision and Societal Security in an Ongoing Conflict Emergency

Abstract

Education policy is uniquely placed to address the soft security concerns of refugee resettlement, with educators equipped to recognise, react and respond to the unique education needs and welfare of the Syria’s next generation. An appropriate education policy response to the refugee crisis can reduce the risk of stigma, isolation, intra-community tensions, marginalisation and even radicalisation. The protracted nature of the Syrian conflict has directed international donors’ attention to the ‘lost generation’ of school-age Syrian refugee children. Governments, international agencies and foundations at the fourth Syria donors’ conference in London (Supporting Syria and the Region) pledged to fund education projects and programmes to bridge the education gap. This article addresses the status of formal and informal education in Syrian refugee host states. The article examines the factors that shape formal, non-formal and emergency education provision, and addresses accelerated learning and best practice provision to help the next generation of Syrian refugees thrive.