Borderless Higher Education for Refugees: Lessons from the Dadaab Refugee Camps

Description

Higher education is increasingly recognized as crucial for the livelihoods of refugees and displaced populations caught in emergencies and protracted crises, to enable them to engage in contemporary, knowledge-based, global society. This book tells the story of the Borderless Higher Education for Refugees (BHER) project which delivers tuition-free university degree programs into two of the largest protracted refugee camps in the world, Dadaab and Kakuma in Kenya. Combining a human rights approaches, critical humanitarianism and a concern with gender relations and intersecting inequalities, the book proposes that higher education can provide refugees with the possibility of staying put or returning home with dignity. Written by academics based in Canada, Kenya, Somalia and the USA, as well as NGO workers and students from the camps the book demonstrates how North-South and South-South collaborations are possible and indeed productive. Cover page Halftitle page Series page Title page Copyright page Contents Illustrations Contributors Acknowledgements Introduction Our Approach in This Book The BHER Project and University Programs The Dadaab and Kakuma Camp Context The Book: Self-Reflection and Response Part One Putting a Project into Action 1 Historical and Political Contestations in the Dadaab Refugee Camps and North-Eastern Kenya Contested Terrains New Beginnings: Two Sides of a Story Conclusion 2 Gender Disparities in University Access in the Kenyan Kakuma Camps Methods and Methodology The Camp Context Gender Disparities and Barriers to Access and Retention in University Programmes ‘Higher education has driven us into choosing career pathways’ (Namarome, Ugandan woman student): The Benefi ts of Higher Education for Women, Their Families and Communities Conclusion 3 The Challenges of Reciprocity and Relative Autonomy in North/South Partnerships What We Know about North/South University Partnerships Funding Assumptions and Reciprocity Challenges Financial Arrangements and Institutional Autonomy Student Access, Inclusion and Accommodation A Shifting Social and Political Landscape Personal Commitments and the Creation of a Collegial Community Conclusion 4 Development of a Community Health Education Degree Programme through a North-South Collaboration: Lessons Learned Introduction Reflection on Our Positionalities Theoretical Foundations Successes Completion of the Collaborative Research Development of the BSc CHEd Degree Programme Challenges Financial Issues Communication Issues Security Issues Reflection on Our Success Key Lessons Learned and Conclusions Part Two Students and Teachers: Inside the BHER Supported Classroom 5 Refugees Respond: Using Digital Tools, Networks and ‘Production Pedagogies’ to Envision Possible Futures Framing our Conversation: Course Contexts, Tools and Theories Outcomes from Our Conversational Inquiry 6 Technology and Flexibility: The Online Learning Experience of Teaching Assistants and their Students in the Dadaab Refugee Camps The Students and Teaching Assistants Education in Conflict and Crisis Experimenting with Innovative Communication Tools Flexible Approaches to Learning Conclusion 7 Out of Bounds: The BHER Bones of Teaching Geography Across Borders Geography and the BHER Project: Opportunities and Challenges of Internationalizing Education Lessons Learned Conclusion 8 Academic Philanthropy and Pedagogies of Resilience Administrative Assumptions about Dadaab Lorrie Miller Reflecting on Working from Vancouver Elizabeth Jordan on Teaching Science and Special Needs Courses in Dadaab Espen Stranger-Johannessen on Collaborative Student Learning in Dadaab Kimberly Baker on Relationships with and in Dadaab Rita L. Irwin on Learning from Dadaab Graham W. Lea on Teaching and Time in Dadaab Samson Madera Nashon’s Concluding Thoughts Conclusion 9 Refugee Students’ Experience of Accessing English Language Learning in Dadaab, Kenya Dahabo Ibrahim’s Language Journey Seraphin Kimonyo’s Language Journey Context Matters Language is Power Concluding Remarks 10 A Gallery to Rethink and (Re)place the Anthropocene: Framing from A Place-based Borderless Higher Education The Course: Place and Learning (Re)placing Anthropocene A Gallery of Possibilities The Projects Place-based Borderless Higher Education: A Gallery to Rethink and (Re)place the Anthropocene Afterword Notes References Index