Education Research in Conflict and Protracted Crisis (ERICC)

Access to high-quality and continuous education is a fundamental right for all children, including those affected by conflict and protracted crises. Yet, a recent study revealed that 268 million children and adolescents across 73 countries are affected by crises, of which an estimated 72 million are out of school, and 127 million are enrolled in school but not achieving minimum proficiency levels in reading or math. Despite a range of efforts, significant barriers and extensive gaps in evidence remain on ‘what works’ to improve education and wellbeing outcomes in settings of conflict and crisis. 

 

Typical applied research in this field is developed for policy makers and rarely includes rigorous primary evidence. This fragmented body of research, mostly designed by global north actors with limited local stakeholder engagement and lack of attention to the political economy of education dynamics, cannot effectively inform decision making to transform education. 

 

The Education Research in Conflict and Protracted Crisis (ERICC) is developing a robust and coherent body of rigorous research for uptake in order to identify the most effective approaches for improving access, quality, and continuity of education in conflict and crisis. ERICC aims to bridge research, practice, and policy with accessible and actionable knowledge, at local, national, regional and global levels to produce high impact, cost-effective education policies and programming.

 

ERICC Research Programme Consortium (RPC) is committed to four primary principles for conducting rigorous research:

• The development and use of theERICC Conceptual Framework to conduct systematic evidence reviews, evidence building and evidence based decision-making
• Developing contextual understandings of the Political Economy of Education of different conflict and crises settings
• A co-constructive approach to building research agendas through stakeholder engagement from the start for evidence use and evidence uptake
• Applying a research methods framework to build evidence in a systematic and rigorous way

To co-constructively build the ERICC research agendas with end-user stakeholders and decision makers, each ERICC country research team facilitates stakeholder workshops and key informant interviews to discuss the evidence gaps across key education issues, and collectively identify the most pressing gaps for building a research agenda to improve access, quality and continuity of education and policy-practice coherence.

Cox’s Bazar - Bangladesh, Jordan and Nigeria are the first cohort of focal countries where research is being conducted, followed by Lebanon, Myanmar, South Sudan, and Syria. 

Each country faces different education related issues that are influenced by the relative political, social, and economic context, for instance education in Cox’s Bazar as a segregated and stateless situation, education in a protracted refugee crisis in Jordan, and an internal crisis in Northeast Nigeria where education has been a target of attack. 

Country-specific publications:

Below also are the latest ERICC publications, including Evidence Reviews, Data Systems Reviews, Political Economy Analyses and co-constructed Research Agendas for country-specific programmes:

Cox’s Bazar:

• From evidence to practice: The case of education in an emergency context – Cox’s Bazar
• ERICC Research Agenda for Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh
• Data system mapping of Cox’s Bazar education for Rohingya refugees and host community
• Political economy and (in)coherence of the education system in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh
• Myanmar Curriculum Pilot (ongoing study)
• Older Adolescent and Girls (ongoing study)
• Madrassa Education (ongoing study)
   

Jordan:

• Taking stock in Jordan: The evidence landscape and gaps in Jordan’s educational response to the Syrian refugee crisis 
• ERICC Research Agenda for Jordan
• Jordan Data Systems Review (coming soon)
• Jordan RISE Framework (coming soon)
• Students at Risk of Dropping out and Out of School Children in Jordan (ongoing study)
• Temporary Contract Teacher Study (ongoing study)
   

Nigeria:

• The Evidence for Improving Education in Conflict-affected Areas of Nigeria and existing gaps
• ERICC Research Agenda for Nigeria
• Nigeria Data Systems Review (coming soon)
• Nigeria Political Economy Analysis (coming soon)
• Nigeria Policy and Systems study (ongoing study)
• Teacher Identification, Recruitment and Deployment Policies in Kaduna and Adamawa States (ongoing study)
   

South Sudan

• South Sudan Evidence Review (coming soon)
• South Sudan Data Systems Review (coming soon)
• ERICC Research Agenda for South Sudan (coming soon)
   

Syria

• Syria Evidence Review (coming soon)
• Syria Data Systems Review (coming soon)
• ERICC Research Agenda for Northwest Syria (coming soon)
   

Global and regional

• ERICC Global Evidence Review (coming soon)
• ERICC Global Research Agenda Overview (coming soon)