Enhanced Wellbeing and Transformative Outcomes: Rethinking Online Learning and Higher Education in the Syrian Refugee Context in Lebanon

One of the long-term consequences of displacement is the
interruption of education and the increasing gap in meeting
education needs, including Higher Education. Nine years
into the Syrian crisis, only 6% of Syrian refugee youth in
Lebanon are entering university. Higher Education is
difficult to access due to a number of socio-political and
legal barriers. Given the crisis' protracted nature, the Syrian
refugee youth are at risk of being a generation with an
"unknowable future". Recently, distance learning is
emerging as an alternative approach to access education.
Facing unique challenges in their educational pathways,
studies suggest that a responsive and tailored educational
modality, including culturally relevant curricula and
educational practices, enables young adults to self-reflect
and re-conceptualize what the future might be for them
through a socially just and transformative learning journey.
Examining the design process of online tertiary curriculum
in protracted crisis through a case study of an international
blended learning is the focus of this research: What are the
processes, components and approaches that are critical for
delivering culturally relevant, transformative and quality
online Higher Education for Syrian refugees in Lebanon?
This study aims to contribute to the empirical and
theoretical debates of literature on online education and
Higher Education in humanitarian crises and to the broader
body of work in online learning in the Global South.