Paving pathways for refugee inclusion
In 2023, many of the over around the globe were school-aged children. With displacement averaging a decade or longer, inclusion in national education systems can help host governments guarantee continuity of learning, build social cohesion, and give refugees the tools to rebuild their lives. However, refugees are often unaccounted for in education policy-making and data collection efforts. Recognizing this, UNESCO and UNHCR collaborated to identify gaps and highlight enabling and constraining factors for inclusion through a comprehensive analysis of data and policies in the top 35 low- and middle-income refugee-hosting countries and seven in-depth country case studies. The findings and data presented on this webpage reflect the conditions and realities observed at the time of the research.
Key messages
While many host countries grant refugees the right to education, legal frameworks often prove insufficient in ensuring they can seamlessly navigate the entire education cycle and use what they have learned in school to build a future. For example, although the majority of countries reviewed allow refugees to access the national education system, less than half grant refugees the right to work without restrictions.
Host governments can ensure full inclusion by enabling refugees to obtain a secure legal status and documentation; to access safe, quality education; to progress through all levels of education and certify their learning; and to contribute to the host society. To achieve this, countries must formulate and adopt comprehensive and sustainable policies, grounded in robust data and evidence. Policies must cater to the full spectrum of refugee needs while fostering strong political will and public support for their effective implementation.
Refugee students remain largely invisible in education statistics鈥攅specially regarding the safety and quality of education they receive. Findings show a notable absence of questions that allow for the identification of refugees in existing data collection exercises (DCEs), which hampers the understanding of refugee learners' educational pathways. Less than half of the questionnaires reviewed included refugee identification questions, and data gaps across variables like learning outcomes and school environment limit insight into the quality and safety of refugee learners鈥 educational experiences.
There is a need to prioritize the integration of refugees into national education data systems to better understand and support their educational journeys. This calls for standardized, detailed data collection and analysis, focusing on access, quality, and safety in educational environments. Such data-driven insights are crucial for shaping targeted interventions, evaluating policy impact, and achieving equitable education outcomes.
Several factors have enabled the inclusion of refugees in national education systems. Leading this list is political will on the part of national authorities, along with strong coordination and high levels of technical and human resource capacity. While these internal factors are crucial, they rely on support from external actors. Countries that have successfully achieved progress towards inclusion have done so with the backing of the international community.
Strong commitment from host governments, backed by sustained support from international partners, is essential to address the long-term needs of refugees. National actors should lead the collection of data on refugee learners, with technical guidance provided by partners to enhance capacity and facilitate uptake into policy-making processes. To achieve this, there is a crucial need to cultivate and maintain enduring global partnerships that provide consistent financial and strategic support for refugee education. This involves rallying host countries, international agencies, donors, and other stakeholders around shared goals of enhancing data transparency, improving resource allocation, and supporting strategic planning and execution of refugee-inclusive education initiatives.
Reports
Providing an unprecedented look at the state of refugee education data in the top 35 low- and middle-income refugee-hosting countries, this report reveals significant data gaps and proposes recommendations to enhance the availability and quality of refugee education data.
Uncovering pathways for refugee inclusion
Refugee inclusion requires comprehensive laws and policies across a range of aspects鈥攆rom legal recognition to quality education and socio-economic integration. Across these aspects, data plays a critical role in helping governments formulate and implement effective policies.
Identifying gaps in refugee education data
included refugee identification questions
included refugee identification questions
included refugee identification questions
included refugee identification questions
Case studies
Background papers
- - Amina Khan
- - Jessica Lobos
- - Jessica Lobos
- - Amina Khan
- - Amina Khan
- - Jessica Lobos
- - Lucile Crumpton
Refugee education databases
This project aims to integrate and make refugees visible in data systems, across all levels of education to ensure all children have access to quality, inclusive, life-long learning. The two databases below form the basis of the two main reports and contribute to making information on data and policy inclusion available and accessible to all.
Data inclusion database
This database forms the basis of the report: 鈥淧aving Pathways for Pathways: A Global Overview of Refugee Education Data鈥 and is based on an open-source data review of different data collection exercises (DCE) conducted in the top 35 low- and middle-income refugee-hosting countries in 2021 in seven different languages. It aims to provide an overview of the extent to which refugees are included in education data systems but does not provide estimates of refugee inclusion in education. It covers a wide range of DCE, some of which are strictly focused on education and others aimed at gathering data on broader population characteristics and thematic areas. DCE reviewed include national censuses, household surveys, international and regional learning assessments, national learning assessments, EMIS, and school-based surveys. The database covers DCEs produced by humanitarian and development actors, such as the World Bank, REACH Impact Initiative, and UNHCR as well as official governmental data sources.
The first sheet, 鈥淢etadata and definitions鈥, provides an overview of the 149 indicators, including their definitions and response options. The second sheet, 鈥淪urvey Level Overview鈥, is a review of the questions in 1,510 questionnaires to extract the indicators described in the first sheet.
- Database available upon request by contacting eie@unesco.org
Suggested citation: UNESCO, 2023, Paving Pathways for Inclusion: Data inclusion database, [url], [date accessed]
Policy inclusion database
This database forms the basis of the report: 鈥淧aving pathways for inclusion: Towards evidence-based policy-making for refugee education.鈥 The database is a review of policies in the top 35 low- and middle-income refugee-hosting countries as of 2021. The review process included identifying relevant refugee and migration laws and policies, education sector planning documents, national constitutions, nationality laws, and other relevant policy documents in 12 languages. Documents were sourced through desk-based searches as well as consultations during field visits. Each identified policy was then reviewed with the goal of extracting relevant protection, education and rights information. Information was broken down into six categories of variables related to general inclusion and non-discrimination in education:
1. Recognition and documentation procedures for refugees;
2. The status of the right to education for national and refugee populations;
3. Access to all levels of education for refugees, as well as learning, safety, transitions, and certification;
4. The right to work, freedom of movement, and access to long-term residence for refugees and their children; and monitoring frameworks for refugee data within policy documents.
The first sheet in the database (鈥渒ey鈥) provides a description of each variable reviewed across seven categories: document information, general education and overall inclusion, recognition and documentation, refugee education, refugee durable solutions, safe education, and data and monitoring. The second sheet (鈥渙verview鈥) is a review of 489 policy documents to extract the variables described in the first sheet. It includes quotes from the policy documents, where relevant. For policies not originally published in English or for which an official translation was not available, machine translation tools were used to conduct the review and generate approximate translations of quotes.
- Database available upon request by contacting eie@unesco.org
Suggested citation: UNESCO, 2023, Paving pathways for inclusion: Policy inclusion database, [url], [date accessed]
Related news and events
Previous events
| Date | Event | Presentation |
|---|---|---|
| 06 December 2023 | Building Inclusive Education Systems for Refugees | |
| 07 July 2023 | INEE Education in Emergencies (EiE) Data & Evidence Summit | Slide Presentation |
| 27 January 2023 | International Data Alliance for Children on the Move (IDAC) Annual Conference | |
| 26 January 2023 | International Forum on Migration Statistics | |
| 22 November 2022 | Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) report launch 鈥淚nforming better access to education for IDPs鈥 |