Barriers to Refugee Teachers’ Professional Development Integration into the National Education System: A Study of Bokolmayo Refugee Camp, Bokolmayo, Ethiopia
Keywords:
national education system; integration challenges; professional development; Welch’s ANOVA; multiple regression; refugee teachersAbstract
Refugee camp teachers’ professional development (PD) is the backbone of equitable and quality education, particularly in crisis-affected contexts. However, the host state policy is less responsive to inclusive PD, specifically in terms of accrediting camp teachers’ prior qualifications and providing them access to accreditation, neglecting global commitment to refugee inclusion in general and teachers’ PD in particular. Despite the recognition of systemic barriers faced by camp educators, little is known about how institutional and policy-related barriers shape camp teachers’ access to formal accreditation in Ethiopia. Thus, the study explored both institutional and policy-related obstacles that significantly predict camp teachers’ perceptions of PD accessibility. Using a cross-sectional design, data were collected from 81 randomly selected camp teachers through a structured survey questionnaire that captured data on PD barriers and demographic information rated on a 5?point Likert scale. Welch’s analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated no significant group difference according to teaching experience, gender, and age (F(2, 56.3) = 1.04, p = .36). However, the regression analysis indicated that both institutional and policy-related barriers predict PD perception (R² = .42, p < .001). The findings reveal that PD perception is shaped by structural exclusion, such as a lack of a structured PD pathway, accompanied by the unrecognition of pre-refugee certification. Therefore, addressing these deep-rooted PD obstacles is vital for achieving the SDG 4 target for system inclusive and national pledges under the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) for camp teachers’ accreditation pathway through comprehensive, structured, and equitable PD.
https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.24.12.35
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