Chapter 4
Higher Education Spaces and Protracted
Displacement: How Learner-Centered
Pedagogies and Human-Centered Design
Can Unleash Refugee Innovation
Barbara Moser-Mercer, Erin Hayba and Joshua Goldsmith
4.1 Introduction
Today, the world is seeing the largest number of refugees and displaced persons in
history, with a total of 65.5 million forcibly displaced and over 22 million refugees in
2016 (UNHCR 2016). The average conflict lasts 10 years, and families are displaced
for an average of 20 years. Against a backdrop of competing humanitarian needs
and priorities, the education response is often limited, leaving entire generations
uneducated, developmentally disadvantaged, and unprepared to contribute to their
society’s recovery (UNHCR 2011).
Traditionally, Education in Emergencies responses have focused on primary education; higher education opportunities have often been perceived as a luxury. Current
statistics on refugee access to education confirm this ongoing trend: 50% of refugee
children access primary education, 22% secondary education, and only 1% higher
education. Children and youth are particularly vulnerable to losing their right to education, a basic human right that is enshrined in the 1989 Convention on the Rights of
the Child and the 1951 Refugee Convention, and is essential to the exercise of many
other human rights. In 2015, the United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, thereby broadening the education mandate to include lifelong learning.
While refugee youth have extremely limited options in conflict and crisis zones
(Sheehy 2015), rapid advances in technology, online learning and open educational resources (OERs) have laid the foundations for making higher education
opportunities accessible for refugee youth.
B. Moser-Mercer (B) · E. Hayba · J. Goldsmith
University of Geneva, InZone, Geneva, Switzerland
e-mail: Barbara.Moser@unige.ch
E. Hayba
e-mail: erinhayba@gmail.com
J. Goldsmith
e-mail: Goldsmith.joshua@gmail.com
© The Author(s) 2018
S. Hostettler et al. (eds.), Technologies for Development,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91068-0_4
41
Higher Education Spaces and Protracted
Displacement: How Learner-Centered
Pedagogies and Human-Centered Design
Can Unleash Refugee Innovation
Barbara Moser-Mercer, Erin Hayba and Joshua Goldsmith
4.1 Introduction
Today, the world is seeing the largest number of refugees and displaced persons in
history, with a total of 65.5 million forcibly displaced and over 22 million refugees in
2016 (UNHCR 2016). The average conflict lasts 10 years, and families are displaced
for an average of 20 years. Against a backdrop of competing humanitarian needs
and priorities, the education response is often limited, leaving entire generations
uneducated, developmentally disadvantaged, and unprepared to contribute to their
society’s recovery (UNHCR 2011).
Traditionally, Education in Emergencies responses have focused on primary education; higher education opportunities have often been perceived as a luxury. Current
statistics on refugee access to education confirm this ongoing trend: 50% of refugee
children access primary education, 22% secondary education, and only 1% higher
education. Children and youth are particularly vulnerable to losing their right to education, a basic human right that is enshrined in the 1989 Convention on the Rights of
the Child and the 1951 Refugee Convention, and is essential to the exercise of many
other human rights. In 2015, the United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, thereby broadening the education mandate to include lifelong learning.
While refugee youth have extremely limited options in conflict and crisis zones
(Sheehy 2015), rapid advances in technology, online learning and open educational resources (OERs) have laid the foundations for making higher education
opportunities accessible for refugee youth.
B. Moser-Mercer (B) · E. Hayba · J. Goldsmith
University of Geneva, InZone, Geneva, Switzerland
e-mail: Barbara.Moser@unige.ch
E. Hayba
e-mail: erinhayba@gmail.com
J. Goldsmith
e-mail: Goldsmith.joshua@gmail.com
© The Author(s) 2018
S. Hostettler et al. (eds.), Technologies for Development,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91068-0_4
41