Blended learning in refugee education: An interim report on the Foundations for All project in Kampala and Kiryandongo, Uganda

Sandra Nanyunja; Martha Akello; Brooke Atherton El-Amine; Georgia Cole; Robert Egwalu; Michael Gallagher; Mary Kompogo; Cosmos Lugala; Juan-Jose Miranda; Apollo  Mulondo; Kate Symons

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-06374-9_34

Blended learning in refugee education: An interim report on the Foundations for All project in Kampala and Kiryandongo, Uganda

Sandra Nanyunja, Martha Akello, Brooke Atherton El-Amine, Georgia Cole, Robert Egwalu, Michael Gallagher^*, Mary Kompogo, Cosmos Lugala , Juan-Jose Miranda, Apollo Mulondo, Kate Symons

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Abstract

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.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	e-Infrastructure and e-Services for Developing Countries. AFRICOMM 2021. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering
Editors	Yahya H. Sheikh, Edit Idris A. Rai, Abubakar D. Bakar
Publisher	Springer
Pages	510-526
ISBN (Electronic)	9783031063749
ISBN (Print)	9783031063732
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06374-9_34
Publication status	Published - 26 May 2022
Event	EAI AFRICOMM 2021: - 13th EAI International Conference on e‐Infrastructure and e‐Services for Developing Countries - State University of Zanzibar, Zanzibar, Tanzania, United Republic of Duration: 1 Dec 2021 → 3 Dec 2021 https://africommconference.eai-conferences.org/2021/

Publication series

Name	Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social-Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, LNICST
ISSN (Print)	1867-8211
ISSN (Electronic)	1867-822X

Conference

Conference	EAI AFRICOMM 2021
Country/Territory	Tanzania, United Republic of
City	Zanzibar
Period	1/12/21 → 3/12/21
Internet address	https://africommconference.eai-conferences.org/2021/

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

digital education
blended learning
refugee education
Foundations for All
Uganda

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-031-06374-9_34

NanyunjaEtal2021BlendedLearningAccepted author manuscript, 172 KB

Cite this

Nanyunja, S., Akello, M., Atherton El-Amine, B., Cole, G., Egwalu, R., Gallagher, M., Kompogo, M., Lugala , C., Miranda, J.-J., Mulondo, A., & Symons, K. (2022). Blended learning in refugee education: An interim report on the Foundations for All project in Kampala and Kiryandongo, Uganda. In Y. H. Sheikh, E. I. A. Rai, & A. D. Bakar (Eds.), e-Infrastructure and e-Services for Developing Countries. AFRICOMM 2021. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering (pp. 510-526). (Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social-Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, LNICST). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06374-9_34

Nanyunja, Sandra ; Akello, Martha ; Atherton El-Amine, Brooke et al. / Blended learning in refugee education : An interim report on the Foundations for All project in Kampala and Kiryandongo, Uganda. e-Infrastructure and e-Services for Developing Countries. AFRICOMM 2021. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering. editor / Yahya H. Sheikh ; Edit Idris A. Rai ; Abubakar D. Bakar. Springer, 2022. pp. 510-526 (Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social-Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, LNICST).

@inproceedings{372cd1d30b95481aa3b100a00c36dd6d,

title = "Blended learning in refugee education: An interim report on the Foundations for All project in Kampala and Kiryandongo, Uganda",

abstract = "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{\textquoteright}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 {\textquoteleft}thick{\textquoteright} 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 {\textquoteleft}thin{\textquoteright} 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{\textquoteright} engagement with teaching.",

keywords = "digital education, blended learning, refugee education, Foundations for All, Uganda",

author = "Sandra Nanyunja and Martha Akello and {Atherton El-Amine}, Brooke and Georgia Cole and Robert Egwalu and Michael Gallagher and Mary Kompogo and Cosmos Lugala and Juan-Jose Miranda and Apollo Mulondo and Kate Symons",

note = "Funding Information: Foundations for All is a pilot blended learning bridging programme investigating how best to enable learners whose educational opportunities have been limited by displacement and hardship to study at university. The project is a collaboration of Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program partners: the Refugee Law Project, School of Law, Mak-erere University in Uganda; the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Lebanon; and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. The project is funded by the Mastercard Foundation, which has extensive experience in supporting access to higher education for talented students from low-income African contexts through academic scholarships and transformative leadership training, and is planning to increase the number of scholarships offered to refugee students. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022, ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering.; EAI AFRICOMM 2021 : - 13th EAI International Conference on e‐Infrastructure and e‐Services for Developing Countries ; Conference date: 01-12-2021 Through 03-12-2021",

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doi = "10.1007/978-3-031-06374-9_34",

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publisher = "Springer",

pages = "510--526",

editor = "Sheikh, {Yahya H. } and Rai, {Edit Idris A.} and Bakar, {Abubakar D. }",

booktitle = "e-Infrastructure and e-Services for Developing Countries. AFRICOMM 2021. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering",

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Nanyunja, S, Akello, M, Atherton El-Amine, B, Cole, G, Egwalu, R, Gallagher, M, Kompogo, M, Lugala , C, Miranda, J-J, Mulondo, A & Symons, K 2022, Blended learning in refugee education: An interim report on the Foundations for All project in Kampala and Kiryandongo, Uganda. in YH Sheikh, EIA Rai & AD Bakar (eds), e-Infrastructure and e-Services for Developing Countries. AFRICOMM 2021. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social-Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, LNICST, Springer, pp. 510-526, EAI AFRICOMM 2021, Zanzibar, Tanzania, United Republic of, 1/12/21. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06374-9_34

Blended learning in refugee education: An interim report on the Foundations for All project in Kampala and Kiryandongo, Uganda. / Nanyunja, Sandra; Akello, Martha; Atherton El-Amine, Brooke et al.
e-Infrastructure and e-Services for Developing Countries. AFRICOMM 2021. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering. ed. / Yahya H. Sheikh; Edit Idris A. Rai; Abubakar D. Bakar. Springer, 2022. p. 510-526 (Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social-Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, LNICST).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

TY - GEN

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AU - Nanyunja, Sandra

AU - Akello, Martha

AU - Atherton El-Amine, Brooke

AU - Cole, Georgia

AU - Egwalu, Robert

AU - Gallagher, Michael

AU - Kompogo, Mary

AU - Lugala , Cosmos

AU - Miranda, Juan-Jose

AU - Mulondo, Apollo

AU - Symons, Kate

N1 - Funding Information: Foundations for All is a pilot blended learning bridging programme investigating how best to enable learners whose educational opportunities have been limited by displacement and hardship to study at university. The project is a collaboration of Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program partners: the Refugee Law Project, School of Law, Mak-erere University in Uganda; the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Lebanon; and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. The project is funded by the Mastercard Foundation, which has extensive experience in supporting access to higher education for talented students from low-income African contexts through academic scholarships and transformative leadership training, and is planning to increase the number of scholarships offered to refugee students. Publisher Copyright: © 2022, ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering.

PY - 2022/5/26

Y1 - 2022/5/26

N2 - 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.

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.

KW - digital education

KW - blended learning

KW - refugee education

KW - Foundations for All

KW - Uganda

UR - https://africommconference.eai-conferences.org/2021/accepted-papers/

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DO - 10.1007/978-3-031-06374-9_34

M3 - Conference contribution

SN - 9783031063732

T3 - Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social-Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, LNICST

SP - 510

EP - 526

BT - e-Infrastructure and e-Services for Developing Countries. AFRICOMM 2021. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering

A2 - Sheikh, Yahya H.

A2 - Rai, Edit Idris A.

A2 - Bakar, Abubakar D.

PB - Springer

Y2 - 1 December 2021 through 3 December 2021

ER -

Nanyunja S, Akello M, Atherton El-Amine B, Cole G, Egwalu R, Gallagher M et al. Blended learning in refugee education: An interim report on the Foundations for All project in Kampala and Kiryandongo, Uganda. In Sheikh YH, Rai EIA, Bakar AD, editors, e-Infrastructure and e-Services for Developing Countries. AFRICOMM 2021. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering. Springer. 2022. p. 510-526. (Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social-Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, LNICST). doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-06374-9_34

Blended learning in refugee education: An interim report on the Foundations for All project in Kampala and Kiryandongo, Uganda

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

FFA: Foundations for All

Hopeful futures for refugees in higher education: Cultivation, activation, and technology

Connected Learning in Crisis Consortium Yearbook 2022

Refugee inclusion in higher education in Uganda: discourses, digital technologies, and complexity

Blended learning for refugees, lessons learned, and a toolkit

Cite this

Blended learning in refugee education: An interim report on the Foundations for All project in Kampala and Kiryandongo, Uganda

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Projects

FFA: Foundations for All

Research output

Hopeful futures for refugees in higher education: Cultivation, activation, and technology

Press/Media

Connected Learning in Crisis Consortium Yearbook 2022

Activities

Refugee inclusion in higher education in Uganda: discourses, digital technologies, and complexity

Blended learning for refugees, lessons learned, and a toolkit

Cite this