Teacher and learner well-being amidst displacement in South Sudan and Uganda

This chapter examines the relationship between resilience and well-being over time among teachers and learners living in Palabek settlement in northern Uganda and Juba, South Sudan. It draws on participants’ conceptualizations of their own well-being, and how teacher and learner well-being interact with one another. The chapter describes the central role of relationships, role fulfilment, and resources in helping or hindering well-being for learners and teachers. The analysis draws on the voices and experiences of research participants and identifies the interactions among these dimensions across home, school, and community spaces. Teaching and learning amidst crises makes the promise of education all the more important as teachers’ and learners’ current participation in education and future hope for education contribute to their well-being as schooling provides purpose, structure, and promise; however, the challenges of living amidst conflict and displacement often disrupt and complicate teachers’ and learners’ participation in education and hope for education, which impedes their well-being. This tension points to the importance of recognizing and learning about the broader context in which teachers and learners live, teach, and learn through research and the need to advocate for intersectoral programming that responds to the realities of living, learning, and teaching amidst crisis.