Education in times of restriction: an examination of refugee girls’ and young women’s access to learning during COVID-19 school closures in Pakistan

Resource type
Journal Article
Authors/contributors
Title
Education in times of restriction: an examination of refugee girls’ and young women’s access to learning during COVID-19 school closures in Pakistan
Abstract
This paper examines the extent to which refugee girls and young women were able to access learning during COVID-19 education closures in Pakistan, and the role that EdTech played in their learning access. It is based on findings from a survey with 403 Afghan refugee students, along with in-depth interviews with six young female refugees. The research shows that, while the majority of female refugee students were able to continue accessing education in some form during school closures, learning access was nevertheless limited, and a sizable minority were not engaged in any learning during this time. Teacher and institutional support was either absent or inadequate for many students, and infrastructure and devices that serve to support remote learning were not always reliable or accessible. Although male respondents were less likely than females to engage in independent study during the closures, refugee girls and young women were significantly less likely than their male counterparts to own the devices they needed for learning. The findings demonstrate how targeted investment in specific types of EdTech and teacher professional development, as well as supporting educational institutions in the establishment of remote learning opportunities, could help sustain learning during future periods of educational restriction.
Publication
Educational Research for Policy and Practice
Date
2023-06-16
Journal Abbr
Educ Res Policy Prac
Language
en
ISSN
1573-1723
Short Title
Education in times of restriction
Accessed
28/06/2023, 18:54
Library Catalogue
Springer Link
Citation
Barnes, K., Ashlee, A., Mukankusi, A., Pacitto, J., Rabi, A., Thomas, M., Ullah, N., Zazai, R., & Zhao, A. (2023). Education in times of restriction: an examination of refugee girls’ and young women’s access to learning during COVID-19 school closures in Pakistan. Educational Research for Policy and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10671-023-09353-4