TY - CPAPER
AU - Nanyunja, Sandra
AU - Akello, Martha
AU - Atherton El-Amine, Brooke
AU - Cole, Georgia
AU - Egwalu, Robert
AU - Gallagher, Michael D.
AU - Kompogo, Mary
AU - Lugala, Cosmos
AU - Miranda, Juan-Jose
AU - Mulondo, Apollo
AU - Symons, Kate
PY - 2021
DA - December
TI - Blended learning in refugee education: An interim report on the Foundations for All project in Kampala and Kiryandongo, Uganda
AB - This paper presents interim findings from the Foundations for All pilot. Foundations for All is a blended learning bridging program aimed at supporting refugee students and disadvantaged members of the host community in two Ugandan locations to access higher education. Through discussing the Foundations for All pilot’s teaching and learning design, multi-partner collaboration, use of technology, emphasis on a psychosocial support model, and learner-centred curriculum, we offer relevant practical perspectives applicable to using blended learning in teaching in emergency contexts like the Covid-19 global pandemic, as well as situations of conflict and displacement. Our interim findings contribute to practice through making concrete recommendations for other institutions wishing to embark on a similar model. We contribute to research by proposing a distinction between ‘thick’ models of refugee access programmes which offer blended or online content along with substantial psychosocial and other support, interaction with specialist tutors, contextually-relevant learning design and content, accessible technology and learning centres and financial support, along with meaningful exit pathways for students, against ‘thin’ models which offer curated online content for free to refugees without the additional support. A further contribution outlined in the paper is the role which expert psychosocial support can play in enhancing refugee learners’ engagement with teaching.
PB - University of Edinburgh
UR - https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/publications/372cd1d3-0b95-481a-a3b1-00a00c36dd6d
KW - Coronavirus (COVID-19)
KW - Education
ER