Refugee higher education: Contextual challenges and implications for program design, delivery, and accompaniment

Refugees experience limited access to adequate education at all levels but opportunities for higher education are especially lacking. This study explores the perspectives of 122 students involved in a pilot program of higher education in two refugee camps and one urban setting. Students reported gratitude for the experience but uncertainty about the future, and widely different contextual challenges to pursuing education. In a forced migration context, higher education may constitute a psychosocial intervention as much as an educational program. This unique dynamic begs the need for systemic thinking, with implications for program planning and delivery as a means of accompaniment.