Navigating Displacement, Educational Challenges, and Interventions for Internally Displaced Children in Oromia and Amhara Regions of Ethiopia

Abstract

Prolonged conflict has caused great internal displacement to Ethiopia and disrupted education in the Oromia and Amhara regions of the country. The research paper examines the existing systemic obstacles to education among internally displaced children and explores the possibility of community and psychosocial factors mediating the efficacy of Education in Emergencies (EiE) interventions. A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was used and involved 624 participants (IDP children, caregivers, and teachers). Quantitative data were explored in terms of descriptive statistics, multiple
regression, and mediation analysis (model fit: R 2 =.75, F (9,614) = 38.50, p <.001), and qualitative data were analyzed in terms of reflexive thematic analysis, with the ethical considerations being IRB approval and informed consent/assent. These findings suggested that Temporary Learning Spaces (0.30 = 0.001) and Accelerated Learning Programs (0.28 = 0.001) were the most significant predictors of positive educational results. Overcrowding, untrained teachers, and student trauma,along with community involvement and psycho-social support, were found to be the major barriers and the basic mediators of intervention acceptance and sustainability, respectively, identified through qualitative analysis. The researchers find that successful EiE demands a paradigm shift from
standalone efforts to integrated and community-based intervention and recommend, among other things, multi-year funding of integrated intervention packages, forced training of teachers in trauma models, formal certification systems of accelerated learning, and investment in community-based governance systems.