Education Provision and Instability: The Impact of the Syrian
Refugee Influx on the Education System in Jordan
Patricia Almeida da Silva Student no. 10701133
Supervisor: Dr. Brian Burgoon Second reader: Dr. Courtney Vegelin
International Development Studies
January, 2015
Email:
patricialmeida.silva@gmail.com
Graduate School of Social ciences
MSc International Development Studies
January, 2015
Education Provision and Instability: The Impact of the Syrian
Refugee Influx on the Education System in Jordan
Patricia Almeida da Silva Student no. 10701133
Supervisor: Dr. Brian Burgoon Second reader: Dr. Courtney Vegelin
DEDICATION
Eu dedico esta dissertação ao meu Deus, pois sem Ele jamais chegaria até aqui! Dedico também aos Refugiados Sírios que, resilientes, seguem firmes em busca de uma nova vida, por ultimo dedico aos Jordanianos, povo amável, que enfrenta a luta diária por sua sobrevivência!!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Eu gostaria de agradecer aos meus amados pais, Emmanuel e Jeruisa, sem os quais o sonho do mestrado jamais teria acontecido. Todo o apoio e amor dispensado por eles têm sido uma das forças que me motivaram a prosseguir mesmo em meio aos problemas, eles são meu maior exemplo de determinação e força. Agradeço aos meus irmãos, Hormann, Esau e Junior, eles fazem parte de cada parte desta realização. I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Brian Burgoon, I cannot be more thankful for having a supervisor like him. I would like to thank him for being always supportive while I was in the field and when I was ill, as well for his constant guidance and valuable feedback throughout the writing process. I would like to thank my beloved Jelle, my boyfriend, best friend, lover and partner for life. His support during hard times in the field and his company and embrace while I was writing my thesis gave me peace and strength to keep going. Eu também gostaria de agradecer à Leticia Born, minha colega de classe que se tornou minha amiga, minha ‘enfermeira’, apoio constante, a melhor companhia que podia desejar durante meu tempo de pesquisa. Eu gostaria de agradecer ao meu amigo Leandro de Carvalho, um irmão nascido de outra mãe, alguem que ao escrever, em qualquer hora, sobre as minhas dúvidas e ansiedades quanto à dissertação sempre trouxe uma luz e boas opiniões. Obrigada pela amizade e companheirismo. Eu gostaria de agradecer ao professor Dr, Deocleciano Junior, por ter sido um apoio enquanto estava no Brasil e por fazer parte deste sonho ao escrever a carta de recomendaçao. Gostaria de agradecer às minhas amigas e companheiras de todos os momentos, Jessica e Isabelle, amigas que me apoiaram em todo o processo de pesquisa de campo e quando estava escrevendo a minha dissertaçao. I would like to thank my connect group from my church (Hillsong) Marc Joshua, Gita, Elena, Blackman’s family, Orpheo, Brian and all of my friends from Church who prayed for me during this period, they were my support in prayers during this period. And finally my dear Jordanian friends,
و علاء, ةف ري ح اصخصو دع م ي و ئل ت يعا كان ت كم رد نلأ ا ف ي يئص د قاأ قل ب ي كل م ن رأش ك أ ن وأود . قل ب ي ف ي اخ ي س لام
ABSTRACT
Since the civil war erupted in Syria in 2011, more than 3 million Syrians have fled to other countries in the region, many of whom have migrated to nearby Jordan. Therefore, this refugee problem raises a lot of questions that are important regarding quality of life, the political-economy and the economic, political and social stability of these countries. The purpose of this study is to develop answers to how refugee flows and their settlement patterns affect social cohesion, particularly in relation to the provision of public-goods like education services and to what extent it puts pressure on such provisions, creating hostility and anger affecting internal stability and rights. Problems in Jordan are paricularly acute inneighborhoods with a high concentration of Syrian refugees and in also the refugee camps, such as Al-Zaatari. To improve the understanding of this situation, this study discusses the refugee influx and tensions, elucidating these tensions regarding the relations between refugees and the host community around education provision, including the notion of education as a social right. The research design consists on in-depth interviews and focus groups to gather Syrians’, Jordanians’ and Teachers’ perspectives on the current situation. This helped paint a picture aboutthe degree of the tensions between Jordanians and Syrian refugees, between Jordanians and their government, and between Jordanians and the international community. It also contributed to the analysis of how we can understand how the actors’ perception of one another may change the whole dynamic of Joradanian social relations. The findings suggest that the Syrian refugee influx is causing major tensions and is overburdening the quality of education in Jordan, by increasing existing constraints. Therefore, the country is facing a serious threat regarding the quality and provision of services, in particular education services. This reality is generating internal problems in the educational system, affecting its scale of provision and its quality. Problems and tensions around education issues have generated hostility between Jordanians and Syrians. Furthermore, this complex situation may change the society, which has been a home for several refugee influxes throughout the decades, whereas nowadays it is at risk of being transformed into a resentful and xenophobic society. Thus, bad public education provision and the Syrian refugees’ dependency has changed Jordanian society and this change may evolve further into a worse situation, as the dynamic in Jordan is moving from social cohesion and refugee acceptance, towards conflict.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication ... i
Acknowledgements...ii
Abstract ...iii
List of acronyms... vii
1 Introduction ... 1
1.1 Refugee Phenomenon ... 1
1.2 Outline of Thesis ... 5
2 Context ... 7
2.1 Syrian Conflict ...7
2.2 Economic and Educational Indicators... 9
2.3Jordanian Educational System: Plans, Problems and Interventions... 12
3 Theoretical Framework ... 17
3.1 Refugee Influx ... 17
3.1.1 Tensions in the Relations Between Refugees and the Host Community ... 18
3.1.2. Tensions Around Education Provision Issues ... 22
3.2 Social Cohesion ...26
3.2.1 Social Cohesion, Diversity and Social Capital... 27
3.2.2 Social Cohesion and the Outcomes of Refugee Influx ... 30
3.3 Education as a Social Right: ... 32
3.3.1 Education as Social right: Social Cohesion and the Right to Learning ... 33
3.3.2 Education as Social Right: Right to Learning a State’s Obligation... 35
CONCLUDING REMARKS ... 37
4 Research Design... 39
4.1 Research Questions ...39
4.2 Conceptual Scheme & Operationalization of Main Concepts ... 39
4.3.1 Jordan... 41
4.3.2 Al-Mafraq, Al – Zaatari, Irbid and Al-Zarqa ... 42
4.4 Unit of Analysis ...43
4.5 Research Methods ... 43
4.5.1 Observations and Field Diary ... 44
4.5.2 In-depth Interviews and Focus Groups ... 44
4.5.3 Data Analysis ... 46
4.5.4 Limitations ... 47
4.5.5 Ethical and Practical Considerations ... 48
5 Perceptions of Syrian Refugees on their Social Integration and Quality of Education... 50
5.1 Zaatari Camp, Lack of Resources and Education... 51
5.2 Syrians Within Host Community, Lack of Integration and Education... 55
CONCLUSION ... 59
6 Perceptions of Jordanians on their Entitlement and Quality of Education... 60
6.1 Jordanians: General Problems and Resentment ... 61
6.2 Jordanian Schools on Pressure ... 64
CONCLUSION ... 67
7 Perceptions of Teachers on their Labor Rights and Quality of Education ... 70
7.1 General Situation... 71
7.2 Teacher: Failure and Struggles... 75
73. Teacher’s Strike ...78
CONCLUSION ... 79
8 CONCLUSION ... 81
8.1 Answer to the Main Question... 81
8.2 Theories and Findings: Understandind Tensions, Social Cohesion and Rights In Jordan ... 82
8.3 Policy and Practice Recommendations... 87
8.4 Recommendation for Further Study ... 89
REFERENCES ... 91
APPENDIX I:CONCEPTUAL SCHEME ...97
APPENDIX II: OPERATIONALIZATION ... 97
APPENDIX III: LIST OF RESPONDENTS: INTERVIEWS AND FOCUS GROUPS ... 100
LIST OF ACRONYMS
Acronym Term
UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNWRA Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund.
UN United Nations
RPGJ Responsive Plan for the Government of Jordan UNDP United Nations Development Programme MoE Ministry of Education of Jordan
GDP Gross Domestic Product EFA Education for All
ERfKE Education Reform for Knowledge Economy USAID United States Agency for International
Development
EU European Union
TIMSS Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study
PIRLS Progress in International Reading Literacy Study
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
NGO Non-Governmental Organization INGO International Non-governmental
Organization
UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights ECOSOC Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
ICECOSOC International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
1 INTRODUCTION
The 20th-Century’s two World Wars showed the deadly power of warfare (Hobsbawm,
1994, p 21-33) and brought dramatic consequences to the world, including a phenomenon hitherto virtually unknown in political life: ‘statelessness’. Millions of people forced to move within Europe, migrating between countries. Immediately after WWII, more than 40.5 million people were “stateless”, displaced from their homes within Europe, encompassing several nationalities (Hobsbawm, 1994, p. 51-53). Since that time, this phenomenon has become, sadly, commonplace – often an artifact of political and economic disasters, and war – usually civil war. According to the United Nations - Resources for Speakers (UN), current conflicts have resulted in more than 43 million uprooted victims, refugees and Internally Displaced Person (IDPs), indicating a correlation between civil war and conflict with refugees and IDPs as demonstrated in figure 1 which is from the report Protecting Refugees (UNHCR, 2014) .
1.1 REFUGEE PHENOMENON
Placing the refugee phenomenon on the international political agenda, “the world’s refugee protection system was established with the Office of the United Nations
Figure 1. Report Protecting Refugees. Source: UNHCR, 2014
High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, in 1950” (UNHCR, 2012). This system aimed to respond to the demands regarding displaced people affected by the Second World War. Moreover, it was established to defend the refugees’ rights and support host countries. UNHCR’s mandate is grounded by the article 14 of the Universal Declaration of human rights 1948, which declares: “everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution” (UN, 2008). However, the Convention of 1951 was based on a temporal understanding of refugees, i.e. refugees were considered people affected by the events before January 1951 (UN, 1950). Therefore, in 1961, the General Assembly amended the 1951 Convention. Thus, the temporality related to refugees was modified and considered a broader scope of time and region (UN, 1966; UNHCR, 2001). After this resolution, refugees of all regions and situations would be under the umbrella and protection of UNHCR. The Convention guarantees protection to a person fleeing from persecution. Nowadays, refugee flows tend to be caused by civil wars, with non-state agents as the predominant drivers. Nevertheless, the UNHCR states that when any forced displacement occurs due to conflict of any origin and type, refugee status must be granted to the victims since the conflict-ridden Nation State is not guaranteeing security for its own citizens (UNHCR, 2001, p. 14, 18).
Since its establishment, the UN agency for refugees has traditionally faced conflicts of a particular type with particular kinds and consequences for refugees. Today's conflicts however, often involve a myriad of agents, extensive impacts on civilians and a large number of refugees. Insofar refugees are trying to find shelter, they often face insecurity, complicated legal restrictions and extreme poverty (UNHCR, 2012). There has been an increase of 19.2 million refugees since 2005, which means a total of 33.9 million people were in the concern of the UNHCR in the beginning of 2011; a number which includes stateless people, internally displaced people (IDPs), and victims of natural disasters (UNHCR, 2012). The sheer scale of the refugees and IDP problem globally makes it one of the most important geopolitical challenges to address.
This refugee problem raises a lot of questions that are important about quality of life, political-economy and economic, political and social stability internationally. These include questions about the quality of life for the host societies and how those refugee flows will affect social cohesion around issues such as the provision of public goods, generating tensions within host countries. In particular, how do refugee flows and their settlement patterns affect the provision of public-goods like education services
for asylum seekers or refugees, and to what extent might pressures on such provision create hostility and anger affecting internal basic stability and rights, given that education is an important arena of social rights and cohesion?
This thesis seeks to develop answers to such questions, with reference to the refugee experiences and developments in a particular place and time, but not just any place and time: the focus is on Jordan, in a setting rocked by one of the largest refugee influxes in modern history. There is no country that has faced challenges regarding the social consequences of refugees more acutely than Jordan has in the last few years or decades, when the country has experienced an enormous influx of asylum seekers and refugees particularly from conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Palestine throughout recent history. Detailing this protracted refugee situation, Jordan has a population of almost 6.4 million with an area of 88,778 km2 (Department of Statistics, 2012) and according to the United Nations relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA), there are more than 2 million Palestinian refugees living in Jordan (UNRWA, 2014;R2). Furthermore, more than 50 thousand Iraqi refugees have come to Jordan since Islamic State uprising, with an increase of 234 Iraqi refugees per day (UNHCR, 2014) and up to this date a number of 747,360 Syrians are registered as refugees at UNHCR – Jordan (UNHCR, 2014). However, reported by key respondents, there are more than a million Syrians within Jordanian urban areas (R3, R41). Consequently, the scale of refugees living in the country is representing a threat to the provision of services and internal stability.
This thesis is focused on particular neighborhoods experiencing a high concentration of Syrian refugees and in the refugee camp Al-Zaatari, the second biggest in the world (Rodgers, 2013). Jordan was interesting to conduct research on the paradoxical relationship between refugees and the local community, analyzing how the Syrian refugee influx has affected social cohesion around issues of education provision, generating tensions, because of the negative effects caused by the amount of refugees in the Jordanian educational system. Despite this, refugees are trying to build their normality, for instance, with shops inside of the refugee camp. There are struggles within the local community and difficulties caused by the refugee influx (Gaiman, 2014; Abuqudairi, 2014).
Since the understanding of the phenomenon of forced displacement as a whole is essential, the deep study of the current situation of Syrian refugees in Jordan and how
the dynamic of the relationship between Host Community and Refugees is taking place is new and important, especially because there is a lack of up-to-date studies with this scope. As presented by UNCHR in one of its reports about the current situation: “In 2014, any new flows of Syrians arriving in Jordan will further strain the already limited resources. This could have a negative impact on Jordanian public opinion vis-à-vis all refugees and pose further challenges to preserving the asylum space in the country” (UNHCR, 2013). To get a purchase on how these extraordinary refugee flows do or do not, and in what direction and to what effect, strain Jordan’s resources, this analysis focuses particularly on the possible tensions in the arena of education, a public good broadly construed as a social right. This focus involves searching for a comprehension of how refugees and the local community perceive the impacts caused by the refugee influx on local education system.
To preview the central findings of the investigation, Jordan’s refugee experiences are causing major tensions and burden in the quality of experience of education. The Syrian refugee influx is increasing existing constraints and it is worsening the provision of several public services. Therefore, the country is facing a serious threat regarding the quality and provision of services, in particular education services. This reality is generating internal problems in the educational system, not affecting just scale of provision, but also its quality, turning good education into a luxury item, which cannot be accessed by the majority of the population. Many education- related services are chaotic, overloaded and ineffective. Nowadays, Jordanian Public education is facing a major challenge, immersed in problems in several areas, such as: a lack of provision of educational materials, a lack of new and reformed buildings and a lack of teachers. Therefore, teachers and Jordanian parents are complaining about the poor and declining state of education for their kids. Consequently, amidst these myriads of public-education problems, the Jordanian population understands their reality with respect to education services as a denial of their rights and abandonment by Jordanian authorities, as a consequence brought by the Syrians refugee influx. Thus Syrians are rightly or wrongly blamed for the problems, leading in turn to a serious drop in Jordanian social cohesion and social instability.
Moreover, focusing on this social instability, problems and tensions around education issues has generated hostility between Jordanians and Syrians, so, an effective and short-term solution to mitigate these fractions and pressures must be part of the
national and international agenda, otherwise the most steadfast western ally may face internal conflict leading to more problems in the region. This resentment must be considered as a crucial issue, because it is embedded with distrust from the people towards their State, which can create broader problems for State legitimacy. Assumptions regarding bad management and corruption are part of Jordanian people’s statements, thus the population has become displeased with the government, wherein distrust with Jordanian authorities, which can be represented by the teachers’ strike occurred during this research. Furthermore, this complex situation is changing the society, which has been a home for several refugee influxes through the decades, whereas nowadays it is at risk of being transformed into a resentful and excluding society, where refugees, particularly Syrians, are seen as threats to their lives and society.
However, it is important to assert that the general population, despite being discredited by authorities, have focused their demonstration of disappointment and anger not towards their government. Rather, it has been directed towards refugees, indicating a profound distortion of responsibility and moreover, a social problem, where both communities interact constantly sharing the same space and public facilities, thus if Jordanian population concentrate their hostility towards refugees it means that an internal conflict might reach neighborhoods and homes.
1.2 OUTLINE OF THESIS
This thesis will answer the questions raised in several steps or sections. In the next section, section 2, a context of the whole situation and country is detailed, where the Syrian conflict, economic and educational indicators are explained and talks regarding the Jordanian Education system, where reforms and details are briefly expounded.
Section 3 will articulate the theoretical framework informing the investigation. In order to understand and answer how the Syrian refugee influx affects social cohesion around education provision, generating tensions, it is necessary to look at three different themes of literature. Therefore, the theory is divided into three sections: (1) refugee influx and tensions, elucidating those tensions regarding the relations between refugees and the host community and around education provision; (2) social cohesion, enlightening about diversity, social capital and the outcomes of refugee influx to social
cohesion; (3) education as a social right, describing the right to learning, education models and education as a State’s obligation.
Section 4 describes the research design, which outlines the research question and sub-questions, research location, unit of analysis, research methods used in order to gather data and the ethical and practical considerations. Thereafter, the next three sections are reserved to describe the results of the data analysis and are the most important parts of the thesis. The reason being that these sections offer the information in more detail with respect to the primary-source research, providing a strong empirical basis for the conclusions about the degree of the tensions between Jordanians and Syrian refugees, between Jordanians and their government, and between Jordanians and the international community. These sections are divided by unit of analysis. Their perceptions, which may overlap, will offer different views of the broader refugee situation in Jordan. Therefore, section 5 encompasses the Syrian refugees’ perspective of their social integration and education quality. This section outlines the experiences of Syrians living in Al-Zaatari and within urban areas. Section 6 then brings Jordanian parents into view, including their perceptions of their own entitlement as citizens and the character and quality of their education. Finally, the last empirical section describes teachers’ perspectives regarding their labor rights and quality of education, emphasizing their feelings of frustration and demeanor with respect to work-related protest (e.g. strikes). Finally, section 8 concludes this thesis, answering the main research question, discussing the degree of alignment between established theories and expectations to the main findings, offering recommendations to the stakeholders involved and proposing futures studies regarding this topic.
2 CONTEXT
Before discussing the theoretical and methodological basis of this study, it is relevant to give a short introduction on Jordanian context. This involves a brief sketch of the conflict encompassing Syria, and an overview of the major indicators of the Jordanian economy and educational system.
2.1 SYRIAN CONFLICT
“We fled from our place because of hunger. We had a very extreme famine there. My city is one of the most affected by the war, we had a huge siege and they were attacking our city with chemical weapons. Because of it, we started to eat cats, dogs and leaves; that’s why I left for a place a little bit better, because of my children, they need to eat bread; and also because of the male recruitment. When we left we found a city very close to us” (R5).
In February 2011, amidst the uprising of the so-called Arabic spring a few teenagers of Daraa1 were arrested on charges of scrawling graffiti against the regime of Bashar Al-
Assad. As it was happening in other Arabic countries, those teenagers wrote on a wall of a school: “لا ن ظام إس قاط ير يد بلا ش ع” which literally translates as: “the people want to topple the system/regime”2. Because of those teenagers people began to protest, but were severely
oppressed. Protests eventually would happen in Syria due to economic problems, constraints and several other difficulties, thus, the arrests and tortures of those adolescents in Daraa were the spark for protests and for the terror that was to come against the Syrian population. The more the security forces killed several demonstrates, the more the nationwide protests became resolute (Sterling, 2012; Gritten & Rodgers & Macguire, 2014).
It is almost impossible to have an exact number, however it is estimated that more than 191.000 Syrian have been killed since the start of the conflict in 2011 and among the absurd number of dead, were 9,000 children (Aljazeera, 2014). The rebel forces now have more than 100.000 fighters, and more than 50.000 Syrian fighting for
1
Small city few miles of Jordanian border, which usually have supported Al-Assad regime
2
Despite all the economic struggles, what the people of Daraa did was an attempt to have their children back to their homes, rather than planning a protest against the regime.
the Islamic State (Aljazeera, 2014). Violations of human rights, mass killings and the use of chemical weapons are part of the daily in some places: Ghouta, Damascus and Daraa (Gritten & Rodgers, 2014; R5).
“Syria has become the great tragedy of this century — a disgraceful humanitarian calamity with suffering and displacement unparalleled in recent history,” said Antonio Gutteres, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. More than 3 million people have fled from Syria to its neighboring countries (Haddad & Williams, 2014). Most of the refugees are children and women - over 1.1 million are children - and from this number 75% are under the age of twelve-years-old. Over 3,700 children have fled without one or both parents, they have suffered physically and psychologically and have experienced violence and terror. It means, over a third of all Syrian children are no longer living their childhood within a stable family and a healthy community and they do not have a safe place to consider home (UNHCR, 2014; UNICEF, 2014, p. 3).
Nowadays, almost three million Syrian children are out of school, which represents half of the Syria’s schoolable population. This alarming number makes demands to the entire world that an action must be taken now. It is part of our ethical responsibility, otherwise a whole generation will be lost, without a notion of future, of happiness and without a sense of community (UNICEF, 2014, p.2). Therefore, Jordanian schools are under pressure to fulfill this responsibility.
Inside of Syria a lot of cities are still under siege and help from UN and International agencies are almost impossible to reach these areas. As reported:
There are air strikes and everything (…) there are some places worse than others. My city was destroyed, I don’t think not even in 10 years we can go there. Everything is on the ground, gray and without anything. We cried a lot, but now our tears have dried, now just our hearts are crying (R36).
There is barely any electricity supply, food, drinkable water or medicine. Most of the water treatment places have been destroyed and the majority of Syrian refugees and IDPs are drinking polluted water, which is one of the predominant causes for the spread of diseases.
We could get a car to flee during the night. We stayed close to the Jordanian border for a period of time, we were feeling hunger and
thirst, there was no drinkable water or clean water to take shower (...) after a big rain we decided to keep walking and we arrived here in Zaatari(R4).
2.2 ECONOMIC AND EDUCATIONAL INDICATORS
The Hashemita Kingdom of Jordan is a small country in the Middle East with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $33.68 billion in the last quarter of 2013, according to the World Bank (figure 2), in other words, since 2011 Jordan is growing, when during that year the GDP was 28.4bi. GDP growth of 2.8% in 2013 (figure 3), which represents a yearly growth.
Figure 2: Figure adapted from the World Bank data. Source: author
Figure 3: Figure adapted from the World Bank data. Source: author
However, even growing in absolute numbers it does not represent an economic stability due to the challenges and deficit on budget since long years faced by Jordan (R3). According to the RPGJ of 2013, since the Syrian refugee influx occurred, there has been a slowdown in economic growth and employment rates in factual numbers, taking the
quick population growth and increase of demand into account. Findings from Poverty Pockets Survey in Jordan (UNDP, 2013) show an increase in the poverty level from 13.0 in 2006 to 13.3 percent in 2008 and from the most recent data it is in 14.4 from 2010 (World Bank). The unemployment rate is in oscillation between 13.1% in 2011
Figure 4. Unemployment rate in Jordan. Source: Trading Economics
decreasing to 12% currently according to Trading Economics as showed in figure 4, however along those four years it reached 14.3% in 2013 (Trading Economics, 2014).
This information aligns with fieldwork observation and statements given by key respondents, where Jordanians and Syrians complain about unemployment and increase of poverty.
The Head of the Planning Department of the MoE mentioned that this economic and educational crisis started in 1990’s during the Iraq war in 1992, which can be considered the first challenge faced by Jordanian Government, Ministry of Education and schools. Many Iraqis left their country and came to Jordan as refugees; many Jordanians who were working in Kuwait and in Baghdad left their jobs and returned to live in Jordan after years abroad (R3). Consequently, since then, public schools began to face an increase in enrollments and a lot of pressure on educational supplies and facilities. Nevertheless, those pressures were not particularly remarkable and should not be considered as a basis for instability or a collapse.
According to key respondents of this research, the Arabic countries which supported Jordan financially started to decrease their funding after several security crises in the region. Additionally, at the beginning of 2005, the economy was negatively affected by the sharp increase of international oil prices combined with a drop of
external grants. The effects of these factors were aggravated, particularly for the period 2008-2009 as a result of the international financial crisis (R3; R41).
As this study is focused on the tensions around education issues, it is important to analyze how Jordan is spending money in education. According to figure 5 the percentage spent from the GDP in education has remained stable since 2011. The total amount transferred to education has increased every year, witnessing an increase of 0,23% from 2012 to 2013 and showing a decrease of the same percentage from 2013 to 2014. Despite the percentage decreasing in the last biennium, the absolute number has increased by more than 150million. However, as made explicit in the figure 5, this amount was not proportional to the GDP growth of 2014. Therefore, these figures contradict the official discourse regarding the special attention to education. Consequently, this slight increase was not according to the current necessities. A key respondent confirmed the widespread view that there is a need for more external funds, assuring how Jordan is putting its maximum effort in education. However, the budget was the main problem pointed to by this interviewee, who was of the opinion that the international community should donate more to Jordan, because what they have is not enough. Moreover, during a meeting with the head of the Financial Department of the MoE, official data about the real number spent per pupil in 2014 were given: Kindergarten 302,00 JD; Elementary School 602,00 JD; Secondary School, 803,00JD.
Figure 5. Figure adapted from the World Bank data and Economic Free. Source: author
According to him, the calculations of spending per pupil had changed and in fact, the number had decreased, due to Syrian students. It is acknowldged that the Jordanian government is pressured by the increase of demands in contrast to the budget deficit.
Jordanian authorities are receiving money from different donors3 – for example,
schools in the Al-Zaatari camp and the second shift for Syrians are completely funded by UNICEF (R15). Thus, it can be implied that the MoE is not entirely managing this funds properly and not investing the whole amount as said, where many schools lack a lot of resources. However, what cannot be overlooked is what the Head of the Planning Department (R3) has said, that much more money is being spent on new books (new Curriculum), teachers’ salaries, construction of new buildings and so forth. The problem of this statement is that the reality shows that the needs are much higher than what is actually spent and that actions by other international agencies are undertaken in urban areas taking Jordanian students’ needs as the main goal for those actions (R41).
2.3 JORDANIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM: PLANS, PROBLEMS AND INTERVENTIONS
The Jordanian Education system is based on the Education for All framework, which guarantees education for every child inside of a country: citizens, non-citizens and refugees. Therefore, every child in Jordanian soil has the right to go to school and consequently, a school cannot deny an enrollment for a child (R3).
The educational system is divided by gender after kindergarten and it encompasses three cycles, such as: “the pre-school (kindergarten) cycle of maximum 2- year duration. The basic education cycle is 10-year duration. The secondary education cycle is 2- year duration” (MoE).
According to the Head of the Planning Department of MoE (R3) Jordanian national strategy encompasses seven areas: learner, environment, curriculum, education, private programs for special-needs students, decentralization and accreditation for some local districts. All these policies regarding education were implemented in a large scale project called Education Reform for Knowledge Economy (ERfKE). This project has four components, such as: (1) reorientation of education policy
3
In June 2014, the second loan guarantee agreement signed with the United States through USAID, an amount of $1 billion.
and governance and administrative reform; (2) education programs and practices for the knowledge economy; (3) structurally safe school buildings and improved learning environment and (4) early childhood education (World Bank)4.
ERfKE had two stages and the first one was from 2003 – 2009 and currently, the Jordanian government is in the final stage of the second phase, which has taken place since 2009. In order to implement ERFKE, Jordan received support from several funders and donors, such as USAID, Canada, EU, the World Bank etc. An important aspect mentioned by the Deputy Director Basic Education/International Agency (R41) is the strong ownership and leadership of the MoE, for all plans and investments are supervised and must be approved by the MoE.
As stated by the Head of the Planning Department, those changes started after economic and security crises occurred in the region. Because, according to him, those problems affected primarily the Jordanian educational system, for it led to poverty increasing and a beginning of overpopulation, especially in poor neighborhoods. This problem is now so severe that from November 2014, a new plan will be launched to address all the current needs (R3). The Needs Assessment Review of the Impact of the Syrian crisis on Jordan of 2013 states that 41 percent of Jordanian schools are now crowded, against 36 percent in 2011, this overflow is mainly in urban areas where there is a high concentration of Syrian refugees.
Assessing this overflow in statistical numbers, the Jordanian Yearly Statistic Book 2013 demonstrated how Jordanian schools are in fact severely overcrowded, as shown in the table below:
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION 2010/2011 2011/2012 2012/2013
Number of Students enrolled – elementary school (in thousands)
1350.3 1366.2 1396.2
Number of Students enrolled – secondary school (in thousands)
204.0 213.8 218.8
Number of teachers – elementary school (in thousands) 76.6 78.5 79.8
Number of teachers – secondary school (in thousands) 20.0 21.4 23.3
Average of students per teacher – elementary school 17.6 17.4 17.5
Average of students per teacher – secondary school 10.2 10.0 9.4
Adapted from the Year Book, 2013, Department of statistics of Jordan. Source: author
4
WORLD BANK. Available at http://www.worldbank.org/projects/P075829/education -reform-knowledge-
As demonstrated in this table, in less than 3 years, in elementary and secondary schools the number of students increased substantially. On the other hand, regarding teachers, a reasonable number was hired for basic school. This Statistic Book 2013 showed a decrease in the average number of students per teacher. Despite the average number of students per teacher showing an improvement, interviewed teachers and principals mentioned overcrowded classes and a lack of teachers. Moreover, the Response Plan for the Government of Jordan states that, during 2012, around 17180 Jordanian students were transferred from private schools to public schools due to economic problems (RPGJ, 2013). As stated by a Director of one of the schools visited by this researcher, more than 200 students were enrolled for this new year and all of them Jordanians transferred from private schools (R44). Nevertheless, regardless of increasing enrollment on that particular school, it has the same amount of teachers, same amount of classrooms and desks, it means that more students will divide the same space, which will result in more pressure and further problems regarding the education delivery and quality. Therefore, combining those numbers, statements and field observations, it was clear that the ERFKE implementation was imperative for Jordan because of these new demands (R3).
The year of 2012 was also remarkable to the MoE because the results of TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) and PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) showed clearly how education was affected, for in 2007, Jordan was occupying the 1st place of the rank of Arabic countries, however, in 2012 Jordan dropped 4 positions and now it is the 5th among Arabic countries5 (TIMSS,
2011). Therefore, a joint action taken by MoE and USAID revealed more difficulties and impacts on the education, an assessment done by the National Early Grade Literacy and Numeracy Survey, where they could also evaluate early grades, not just depending on TIMSS and PIRLS to show the necessity for a new step (R41). The findings of this assessment revealed that a high number of students of early grades have difficulties reading, writing and with mathematics. Furthermore, it indicated that most teachers are not prepared adequately to teach early grades; they teach emphasizing memorization and the acquisition of information, rather than on understanding (RTI, 2013). Thus, the findings of this survey were that the mainstay to a change in Early Grade Curriculum, was not solely driven by the Syrian crisis (R41).
Consequently, in 2014 a new Curriculum was launched, applied from the 1st to the 3rd grade. It was known by teachers in just mid-August, while they began to be trained regarding the curriculum and the new methods. Interviewed teachers said that the new books are more reasonable, focusing on basic knowledge; some of them were being training to use the new books while this research was conducted during summer break 2014. The main change in new curriculum was in certain subjects: Arabic, mathematics and sciences.
Besides formal education, the MoE is managing non-formal education. This initiative has the support of UNESCO on conducting the non-formal education program. This component has around 45 centers in the country, targeting dropouts and youth between the ages of 13-21 (UNESCO, 2013), either Jordanian or from other nationality. This program aims to bring those young students back to the formal education system. This program prioritizes “a safe participatory learning environment, teachers reoriented to facilitate learning and self-discovery, and a student-focused strategy for critical thinking, instilling how to think rather than what to think” (Rhodes, 2011).
Wherefore, the program consists of 3 levels, each one of 9 months; after graduation the student can receive a certificate for the 10th degree of formal education. After this process, this student can either do home schooling, in order to continue their formal education: Tawjihi6 and High Education. Or the student can choose go to a
vocational center7 (R27). The non-formal education program has special platforms and
special books concentrating in mathematics, Arabic and English as major topics.
Different settings for education are present in Jordan nowadays, where international agencies are together with MoE providing education for Syrians and Jordanians (R26). However, according to key respondents there are some discrepancies between MoE and international agencies as in some plans they do not interconnect in order to assess results, which is leading to problems regarding educational management, as said a key respondent. Taking this information into account, we have a
6
Preparatory year for General Secondary Education Cert ificate Exa mination. Available
http://www.moe.gov.jo/en/newsAll.aspx. Accessed at 30 oct 2014
7Another setting regarding education in Jordan is the vocational program. There are two types of programs under
the umbrella of two M inistries: Education and Labor. Consequently, vocational education is divided in two areas. In those centers that are applying 80% of the curriculu m on books and regular c lasses and 20% application for a job, are under the umbrella o f the MoE. On the other hand, in those centers that are applying 20% of the curriculu m on books and 80% application for a job, are under the umbre lla of the Min istry of Labor. Another ma jor d iffe rence is that a student of the vocational center of the Ministry o f Labor cannot get a high degree diploma; however, those who are part of the vocational center of the M inistry of Education can get a high degree diploma, under the condition of having the best scores (R26; Rhodes 2011; UNESCO, 2013).
background to now consider the core research, which focuses on the tensions between the Jordanian host community and Syrian refugees in different cities and in the refugee camp Al-Zaatari. This in turn has important implications for social cohesion and pressure schools.
3 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
In this section the main concepts for this research are discussed. The understanding of how refugee flows affect the quality of life in a host country is essential, but broad. Therefore, this research is focused on the role of education provision in Jordan. Thus, it is required that we look at three different literatures: tensions, social cohesion and social rights, which all are intertwined with education. Primarily, pressures as an indirect threat (Loescher & Milner, 2007) caused by a refugee influx is one the central concepts of this study. Therefore, tensions within the relation between host community and refugees is the main topic, as this indirect threat is caused by competition for resources and services, such as education, tensions within education will be a sub section. Furthermore, strains caused by the refugee influx, particularly in education, can generate grievances and possible conflicts affecting the society, thus, the understanding of social cohesion is important and required. Additionally, because this conflict is more tangible due to the sense of abandonment by the authorities and lack of rights, the concept of education as a social right will be discussed as a secondary part of a background, underlying a continuum from social cohesion to conflict caused by refugee flows.
3.1 REFUGEE INFLUX
The term “refugee influx” in this research aligns to the explanation presented by Jacobsen (1996, p.657), which represents as the large forced displacement in a short period of time, where people flee their own country to the host country. Expanding the understanding on refugee influx, the Journal Forced Migration explains this phenomenon using the term ‘crisis migrant’, which means that asylum seekers move because of humanitarian crises, indicating that such movements are consequence of those crises. Furthermore, there are three categories which can define this ‘crisis migration’ phenomenon: displacement (directly affected by humanitarian crises), anticipatory movements (anticipation of future threats) and relocation (directly affected by humanitarian crises but cannot move due to several reasons, including physical, financial and so forth) (Martin & Weerasinghe & Taylor, 2014, p.6).
To elaborate on this term, there are two differences of refugee status, which are: protracted and situational. Protracted refugee status is an understanding of UNHCR where the refugee had fled their country for more than five years and there is no immediate possibility of repatriation. Important to differentiate for this research is the concept of situational and protracted refugees, the former being a group who left their home in panic, because of the war, in which there is a major willingness to return home, while for the latter even if willing to go back, the migration has become a long-term situation (Crisp, 2002; Lischer, 2003). However, this term could be expanded to comprehend and explain current situations, where people had fled their country for a period less than five years, but do not have the guarantee of repatriation as a short-term plan, thus, current refugee influxes are complex in the sense that it is a condition with a protracted bias. Noteworthy is that any refuge flows (situational or in protracted situation) usually negatively affect host countries, because it creates more than social and economic impacts, it has security implications, generating domestic instability, fostering internal pre-existents tensions and conflicts (Loescher & Milner, 2007).
The large scale of refugee movements being hosted by developing countries has engendered an imperative concern throughout the world. Since, these movements en masse can accelerate and deepen a humanitarian crisis, implying short and long-term impacts in the host countries quality of life (Martin & Weerasinghe & Taylor, 2014, p.6). Acknowledging that those impacts are vast, this section aims to focus and discuss broadly on the tensions and implications caused by refugee flows on host communities within their relation and further focusing on tensions around education provision issues.
3.1.1 Tensions in the relations between refugees and the host community
Placing refugee influx in recent history, during the Cold War, displaced people were considered a security problem, to the extent that the protection of refugees was intertwined with the capacity of a State to self-protect. In other words, the national security was always a priority, rather than humanitarian issues (Mangala, 2010, p. 42- 44). After the ending of Cold War, the understanding of forced displacement surpassed the idea of a product of war and a peripheral issue. While governments understood that
instability may be caused by a myriad of facts, the refugee issue thus became priority within the political and security agenda due to the humanitarian crises in 1990s, especially in Africa (Mangala, 2010, p.44).
According to Mangala (2010, p.45, 46), this discourse was based more on the State security, thus, a new comprehension regarding refugee-security was necessary. Consequently, the UNHCR started to advocate that the crucial component to State security was the security of the citizens and people. However, the focus given by UNHCR in early 2000 was on refugees livelihood and burden, considering refugees as the center of this approach, so attention was not given to the possibility of internal insecurity or conflict caused by refugee flows (Loescher & Milner, 2007), revealing this approach not applicable for this research, as a refugee influx might cause burden and further conflict within the host community. This point will be highlighted in the discussion section.
Policy approaches have shown that refugee flows encompas a combination of understanding as a humanitarian crisis and fear for the latent threat to the ‘social, economic and political stability of host states caused by streams of unwanted newcomers’(Kirui & Mwaruvie, 2012). Therefore, many States respond to the phenomenon labeling refugees primarily as “burdens” and threats to the host government and society in general, (Lischer, 2008). When the refugee situation is becoming protracted or it is recognized as no longer being a short-term concern, it increases mistrust between the host community and refugees. While in the beginning there may be acceptance, in the longer-term it will generate grievances and avoidance, because they may be a future cause of a host country’s instability, as they pose a humanitarian burden and social imbalance within the host community. Refugees can be seen as a cause of a decline in living standards, this resentment can generate discontentment and dissatisfaction among locals toward refugees and their government (Zetter, 2010; Salehyan & Gleditsch, 2006; Kirui & Mwaruvie, 2012). This situation was noticed during this research; therefore, resentment caused by refugees is discussed in the discussion section.
However, while it is controversial to state that refugees just constitute burdens for the host country, as stated by Ongping (2013) in her analysis about refugees in Tanzania, they also contribute to the increase of the economy, despite the refugee influx exacerbating competition between refugees and local citizens for common goods, they may be used as labor force by some citizens. Additionally, in this sense, refugees cannot
be just a burden if they have a legal permission to work (Kirui & Mwaruvie, 2012). This understanding can be considered paradoxical to governments and the local community. Bearing in mind, for a host government already dealing with internal problems, a high volume of refugees will exacerbate challenges and necessities, increasing the competition in labor market and for services. Because, before allowing refugees to have access to formal jobs, the government should foster its own economy, providing jobs to both citizens and refugees, which is the case of this study. Therefore, in Tanzania’s case, analyzed by Ongping, the government declared that receiving refugees was harmful for the local economy, causing serious problems.
Chambers’ (1986, p. 245) research on refugees highlighted that effects go beyond economic and societal; he states that there is a lack of studies concerning exclusively the poorest of the host community. Therefore, his analysis focused mainly on the impact of refugees on the poorest demographic cohort of hosts and their vulnerability. He attests that most of the International Organizations and NGOs work to help exclusively refugees, neglecting the poorest community of the host country. In doing that, the poorer population will face shortages and pressures on several ambits, such as on: food, education, health and so forth (Chambers, 1986, p.248-255). Therefore, it is paramount for international agencies to take into account the host country interests and necessities (Loescher & Milner, 2007). However, reflecting on that, this argument is incomplete, because Chambers’ (1986) analysis cannot be entirely applied in the case of this present study, since the “host community” as a whole is affected, where middle class is becoming poor due to the lack of income, where refugee influx was a condition to impoverish the middle class, changing the economic dynamic. Therefore, in this study, “poorer hosts” are categorized as ‘impoverished hosts’. Chambers (1986) mentions possible burdens in wages, labor force and services provision for the hosts, but focuses his analysis on the categorized groups (refugees, fortunate hosts and poorer hosts), rather than in the process of impoverishment trigged by a refugee influx.
Furthermore, there is a lack of studies regarding the indirect threats to security, considering the context where the refugees are being hosted. Those indirect threats intertwine with competition for goods, job and services, imbalances of power, notions of distributive justice and a lack of social cohesion or refugee integration (Loescher & Milner, 2007). Therefore, neglecting the vulnerable population of a host country is not just a matter of shortage or reduction of services, but also of security. Aligning to
Chambers (1986), Mangala (2010), Kirui & Mwaruvie (2012) and Loescher & Milner (2007) also state that competition between impoverished hosts and refugees, possibly leads to internal conflicts. Furthermore, the interplay between social programs to refugees and the neglect of impoverished hosts can lead to security problems inside the host country, because a collateral effect of humanitarian aid would be the sense of uneven attention towards refugees, as the rights of the citizens were taken from them and given to refugees. This situation can generate a sense of entitlement, thus heightening a nativist sentiment among the locals, generating xenophobia (Salehyan & Gleditsch 2006). An important point, as this situation is noticeable in Jordan, therefore entitlement and resentment are mentioned on sections 6, 7 and highlighted in the discussion section.
As stated by Chambers (1986, p.249-254) in his analysis about the “benefits and costs to hosts” refugees receive a special treatment in the refugee camps or in urban areas – even if most of the time, it is a stereotype and it is actually not the reality – while the impoverished hosts contend to access services, creating further competition and disputes. Mangala (2010, p.48) corroborates with Chambers’ line of thought, asserting that “tensions between refugees and the local population often arise from the belief that refugees receive preferential treatment. This is especially the case when the local people have difficulty accessing health, education or other services, while such services are readily available to refugees in camps”. This statement aligns to the findings of this research, where tensions arose embedded with this sense of injustice, which is argued in section 6 and mentioned in the discussion section.
Therefore, either national or international policy interventions must be based on a broad context, taking effects of refugee influxes on an impoverished host country into account, especially related to the scale and quality of the social programs already available (Chambers, 1986, p.245). Furthermore, another issue that must be analyzed is the possible changes or adaptations of policies regarding refugees’ effects on the internal economy and on social programs, such as budget reductions, ineffective public services or employment constraints and integration success, restricted immigration, cultural barriers, and a lack of legal status. Considering, the change and adaptation of policies based on the negative impacts of refugees on the host countries, these shifts can impact refugees’ lives and can undermine their capacity for positive contributions to the host country (Lamba,2003; Steele, 2002; Stewart,2008; RWJF, 2006; Raphael, 2000).
Thus, we can recognize the dialectical relationship between a host country’s policies and refugees. Where, they relate to each other, while the coping capacity of refugees or reducing of impoverishment of host community will depend on the efficiency of those policies.
Therefore, in most cases, the relationship between the host community and refugees is based on tensions. However, there are not a lot of studies conducted with regard to this, thus, this research bases its core theory on these tensions and consequences to both the local community and refugees, especially as stated by Chambers (1986) that education is one of the most affected services post-refugee influx. The authors before my research focused on these tensions and impacts in general terms, assessing it through indicators such as: shortages of food, price increases, conflicts and competition for land, lack of supplies on health clinics, overcrowded classes and so forth, without diving in those indirect threats related to conflict and a host country’s internal problems, insecurity and resentment around education issues. Therefore, the vast literature studied was insufficient to analyze the implications of public education provision as a cause of internal conflict between impoverished hosts and refugees. Recognizing the crucial role of education in refugee contexts, bearing in mind that education has a prominent aspect on a national budgets and that it is an area where both citizens and refugees pose pressure on because its importance for their children. Wherefore, the next sub section discusses about education and tensions.
3.1.2. Tensions around education provision issues
Education provision is part of a broader strategic action as a response in conflict- affected areas or in a refugee influx context. Elementary and secondary education are provided differently, where elementary education must be provided such as available to the citizens8 (Preston, 1991, p.65). It is perceptible that policy or decisions on providing
education for refugees will affect a country internally and less developed countries carry a deep burden, because according to Preston’s (1991) view those countries are unable of addressing the needs of their own citizens, therefore, providing education for refugees might threaten their national stability in the sense that it can be at the expenses of their own citizens. Taking preexisting constraints regarding social infrastructure into account
8“Signatories to the Geneva Convention and Protocol, if they do not reserve clause 22” (Prestom, 1991,
as a source of resentment, education provision might be worsened and tensions will arise more visible and stronger in those contexts. Nevertheless, without overlooking the possibility that refugees may represent improvement, because of International Agency interventions on education, as in Tanzania’s case and in Jordan with UNRWA schools9
for Palestinian refugees (Rutinwa and Kamanga, 2003; R2; FG7).
The importance of education to both hosts and refugees is well-known, because it can develop a sense of community, belonging, transforming contentious points into “shared freedom and responsibilities”, enabling impoverished hosts and refugees to be active economically and socially (Waters and Leblanc, 2005). Thus, its provision will affect directly parents of both communities, much more than the neglect of any other right. Therefore, access and quality must be central parts of education policies. Specially because nowadays most of the refugees are not living in camps, rather they live in urban areas turning education policies an urgent issue to be addressed (Anselme and Hands, 2010, p. 91), because in those cases where refugees live in cities or surrounding neighborhoods, they would share facilities and resources with hosts, thus governmental and international actions addressing this issues would mitigate or generate tensions between both communities.
Despite the literature on education discuss about peacebuilduing10 education,
its role on ethnical conflicts, curriculum and certification issues, education under attack11 and how education may be used as a way to spread conflict, it is insufficient to a
context like Jordan. There, refugees have no problem with certificate, schools are not burned and are not used as training centers for militias or there is no ethnical conflict caused by education and especially because Jordan is not a post-conflict area, rather is acting as a ‘home’ for refugees. Hence, in this section, points from the literature are highlighted according to this research focus.
An ambiguous and worrying link between education and conflict is recognized. Thus, within actions and interventions, different stakeholders may formulate policies, embedded within the EFA (Education for All) framework, targeting the increase of enrolments and to create educational inclusion. However, in most cases the concept of equity is not the main goal of these policies. In other words, as pointed out by Chambers
9
UNRWA built schools in Jordan in order to educate Palestinians and started to enroll Jordanians as well.
10
Briefly, in post-conflict contexts where education is used to foster peace between groups involved on the conflict.
11
(1986) and Novelli (2013) within this integration policy, when equity is not the main target, tensions will rise and it may foster educational exclusion, moreover when it is not reached, it will maintain inequality between groups, leading to poverty and aggravating the sense of social injustice (Novelli, 2013, p. 56; Bush & Saltarelli, 2000).
Corroborating with this comprehension, Tawil (2001, p.2) questions how formal education can contribute to social cohesion or as a trigger of internal conflict, and also what is the contribution of formal education reinforcement or rebuilding of social cohesion. These questions show the intrinsic paradox interconnecting conflict and education. This means, if education is misused or precariously provided, internal tensions and pressures may occur, especially between the impoverished hosts and refugees. Thus, delivering a good education is essential to foster cohesion due to its importance to social capital, as citizens and refugees will not compete for it or blame one another for problems on it, and moreover it will teach concepts as tolerance and acceptance. However, on the other hand, if there is a lack of good education or an uneven distribution of it, it will be the arena of struggles and resentment.
Therefore, there are some researchers interested in this, and their work is especially related to the positive and negative outcomes of education in conflicted- affected or post-conflict areas. Therefore, it is important to mention some of these negative outcomes, bearing in mind the focus of this research, which is in negative consequences of education related to the refugee context.
A noteworthy negative outcome here is in relation to the ‘hidden curriculum’ in schools. The hidden curriculum is understood as the unwritten behaviors or attitudes from the teachers toward the student. Where, violence or the fear of violence within the school is felt by students as a component in the educational process. While this component is hidden within schools, the negative behavior of teachers is focused on students from different ethnics and countries (Bush & Saltarreli, 2009, p. 26), however, it cannot be overlook that in this case, the hidden curriculum was also applied towards Jordanian students, justified by teachers as a consequence of stress and overwork, point highlighted on section 6, 7 and discussion section. This hidden curriculum is not official and not regulated by rules, which implies the effective presence of tensions and discrimination. In such circumstances education can be an instrument to generate and contribute to social exclusion, creating frustrations, leading to possible clashes between an impoverished host community and refugees (Tawil, 2001, p. 4, 5). Indeed, hidden
curriculum was present in this study. However, an important perspective to point out is that this reality can be changed or reduced by special training for teachers, where psycho-social aspects are the core of their studies. Point cited on the discussion section.
Another negative outcome of education is presented by Bush & Saltarelli as ‘ethnocide’. In most of the cases, this negative outcome is present in refugee context, where the host community accepts the refugees, but does not allow them to live their lives outside of the camp. Moreover, it can be defined as a process in which refugees cannot express their own culture, customs, beliefs, traditions and languages, causing an erosion of cultural values (2000, p.10). Nevertheless, in the Syrian refugee context in Jordan the concept of ‘ethnocide’ can happen differently, because the two populations speak the same language and have almost the same customs and traditions. However, currently they were not fully accepted as part of the local community, also, they can be seen as the ‘other in our midst’ (Pinsona & Arnot 2007, p.399). Indeed, most of them reported being mocked because of their clothes and accent, discriminated against and pointed out as “the Syrians”, indicating exclusion inside of public schools. Therefore most of the Syrians declared not being able to talk or express themselves among Jordanian colleagues. Additionally, ‘ethnocide’ in this study intertwines with economic problems, because the lack of acceptance of Syrian refugees in areas outside of the camp is intrinsically related to impoverishment of the local community caused by the Syrians. Therefore, refugees living outside of the camp and expressing their own traditions and Arabic dialect represent the impoverishment of the local community.
Deepening this notion of ethnocide, another negative outcome of education in refugee context is ‘hate curriculum’. As explained by Davies (2006, p.13), it is the representation of another ethnicity or religious groups as dangerous or subhuman, denigrating the enemy image. The ‘hate curriculum’ may happen in the daily life of students, especially refugees, and it may generate internal conflicts. While, there is an attempt at integrating both groups (the host community and refugees) providing the same services, it can accelerate internal differences and hinder the process of social cohesion targeted by the educational policies. This situation is latent in Jordan, where Syrians are considered the cause of problems, dangerous, spreaders of diseases and generally odd. Therefore, to understand how this situation can affect a society as a whole the next literature to be discussed is on social cohesion.
