Learning in the Face of Adversity: The UNRWA Education Program for Palestine Refugees

Abstract

Palestine refugees are achieving higher-than-average learning outcomes in spite of the adverse circumstances they live under. Their education system - the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine refugees in the near east operates one of the largest nongovernmental school systems in the Middle East. It manages nearly 700 schools, has hired 17,000 staff, educates more than 500,000 refugee students each year, and operates in five areas, including the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, and the Syrian Arab Republic. Contrary to what may be expected from a resource-constrained administration serving refugee students who continually face a multitude of adversities, UNRWA students outperform public schools in the three regions - the West Bank and Gaza and Jordan - by a year’s worth of learning. This study uses a mixed methods research approach, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative research to address the complexity of the research question and its exploratory nature, namely, how do UNRWA schools continually and consistently outperform public schools? This study highlights the existing value added for learning in UNRWA. Especially for the UNRWA fields with the highest levels of adversity, such as the West Bank and Gaza, the factors identified seem to contribute to the resilient functioning of schools.