Barriers to Education among Syrian Refugee Youth on the Greek Island of Lesvos: The Role of Technology in the Refugee Crisis (original) (raw)

Syrian refugee youth are currently facing a challenging situation in accessing educational opportunities and its availability in Greek refugee camps. Because their stays at the refugee camps are now longer, and less transient than previously, the situation has long-term implications. If the youth are not provided with an education, their ability to transition as productive members in their ultimate host country will be impacted. Notably, in Syria, the normal level of education was quite high, with a literacy rate of over 90%. This study seeks to identify how this challenge can most effectively be solved by discussing: 1) the language in which instruction should/could be taught; and 2) whether there are technological tools available to help address the situation, acknowledging that there are limited resources available in the host country and in refugee camps. In order to consider and address these issues in a real-life scenario, this study focuses on refugee camps on Lesvos. To start, this study explores how the current civil war in Syria has displaced millions of its citizens, forcing them to migrate. Many Syrians, including the youth, land on the Aegean island of Lesvos as their first point of entry into Greece from Turkey. This poses many research questions, to hopefully be answered through the process of this study. After addressing the camps’ terrible conditions and the language barriers that these Syrian refugee youth face in the camps on Lesvos, which prevents educational access, the study moves on to discuss and propose educational technology-based interventions used around the world. These are specifically targeted to refugees, and might be leveraged to improve the situation for these refugees. This study discusses the benefits and obstacles posed by using smartphones, and other technologies that may offer an effective platform to deliver education, as well as the positive effect it has on one’s psychosocial well-being. This study further explores, with the concepts of the Human Rights Theory and Technological Determinism, the question of whose responsibility it is to provide such educational access, and why refugees are being denied their right to an education. In addition, this study looks at the benefits of independence that comes from using technology, and whether using technology is merely a thin veneer covering the multitude of issues already there, or whether it provides an actual solution to the challenges present. The author collected data through six interviews with experts in this field, which demonstrated that there are multiple barriers to education in Greek camps. Language is the most frequently mentioned barrier, but each expert shared their view that, if the barriers can be overcome, technology has more benefits than adverse consequences. The study shares the experts’ views on the differences between classrooms and technological education platforms. Overall, technology would be a more sustainable resource in the long term, and is the way of the future even if face-to-face learning would be more beneficial (without regard to resource restrictions). Overall, a blended approach would be more advantageous. Based on observations made in the field and a literature review, many of the research questions posed are answered. There appear to be more education provisions on Lesvos than is reported, although the barriers found in the literature review are the same as the ones that respondents reported, with more to be included. There was no time to pilot an intervention and test it. As a result, the conclusions are based purely on comparative subjective opinion, which is often affected by individuals’ previous experiences, affecting the validity and reliability of responses. Overall, this study led to an increase in knowledge about what is currently happening on Lesvos, as well as the need for improvement for Syrian refugee youth education on the island. This study suggests a number of means to create and implement a tech-based intervention, and suggests a number of additional questions for future research.