EDUCATION AND CONFLICT REVIEW 2020 Education and Conflict Review Rebuilding Syrian higher education for a stable future Editor Tejendra Pherali Issue 3 Guest editor Juliet Millican July 2020 Centre for Education and International Development University College London, United Kingdom 1 EDUCATION AND CONFLICT REVIEW 2020 Cover image: College of Arts, Raqqa, Syria © Hassan Almohammed Image page 8: Main entrance of the College of Pharmacy, Raqqa, Syria © Hassan Almohammed Image page 37: College of Science, Raqqa, Syria © Hassan Almohammed Images page 52: Free Aleppo University in the Liberated Areas, Northern Syria Education and Conflict Review Rebuilding Syrian higher education for a stable future Editor Tejendra Pherali Guest editor Juliet Millican 1 EDUCATION AND CONFLICT REVIEW 2020 About Education and Conflict Review Education and Conflict Review is an open-source journal published by the Centre for Education and International Development, University College London. It focuses on debates about broad issues relating to education, conflict and international development and aims to provide succinct analyses of social, political, economic and security dimensions in conflict-affected and humanitarian situations. It provides a forum for knowledge exchange to build synergies between academics, practitioners and graduate students who are researching and working in these environments. CENTRE FOR EDUCATION AND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Centre for Education and International Development (CEID) Department of Education, Practice and Society UCL Institute of Education University College London 20 Bedford Way London WC1H 0AL Email: [email protected] a lifeline to academics at risk The publication of this special issue was supported by Cara (the Council for At-Risk Academics). Cara was set up in 1933 by academics and scientists in the UK. Cara’s Syria Programme, remains the only international programme to focus on supporting Syrian academics who have sought refuge in countries neighbouring Syria, facilitating professional connection and continued academic development and contribution. 2 EDUCATION AND CONFLICT REVIEW 2020 Message from the Editors Violent conflicts disrupt academic environments, often causing adverse impact on the nation’s educated community who may be repressed, maimed, killed or exiled. As universities are critical spaces for personal development, professional formation and research and innovation, they play a central role in the knowledge society. It is vital to protect and provide academic opportunities to scholars who have been displaced due to fear of persecution so that their knowledge and professional expertise might be utilised in post-war rebuilding. Generally, universities are seen to have three key ‘pillars’: teaching, research and service (Knight, 2004). The service notion is key in terms of how universities can contribute to post-war recovery and reconstruction, which may be examined Dr Tejendra Pherali within the framework of ‘developmental’ universities (McCowan, 2018). In conflict-affected contexts, universities cannot wait for the war to end in order to play their part in societal development and can be crucial to the survival, thriving and educating of citizens during periods of disruptions caused by violence. To be able to effectively perform this role, they need to navigate the constraints around political repression, loss or expulsion of their academic community, security challenges and destruction of their physical infrastructure or long-established academic practices and systems. In doing so, they stand a better chance of preserving what has survived the war and addressing challenges caused by societal divisions. In this process, protection of academics and their continued involvement in teaching, research and community support is crucial. More importantly, in promoting the role of universities in Dr Juliet Millican conflict mitigation and reconstruction, Syrian universities could potentially adopt what McCowan (2018: 193) identifies as ‘the developmental model’ with four key features of such type of university: a) a higher education institution whose primary goal is to serve its surrounding communities and the society at large; b) it serves the community in ‘an egalitarian way’ so that the most marginalised populations of the society are able to benefit from its offers; c) it focuses on ‘non-academic benefit’ that the goal is to support economic, social and political engagement of the populations; and d) the ‘application of knowledge’ is at the core of this process through which theoretical knowledge is translated into serving ‘practical and immediate’ needs of the communities. This is perhaps what differentiates a service-oriented university that is geared towards rebuilding society from a conventional higher education institution. 3 EDUCATION AND CONFLICT REVIEW 2020 Syrian higher education has been severely cover work from research sites within Syria that impacted by complex violent conflict since 2011. would be almost impossible to reach without strong The vast majority of higher education institutions internal support networks. All the papers have in non-regime-controlled areas have been further higher education as the major theme, but some also impacted by an almost complete lack of any explore other domains of Syrian society that are national or external support and many also having linked with higher education teaching and research been displaced and forced to relocate on more and the possibility of a post-war future. than one occasion. A large number of academics have been either exiled or killed; any research that Abedtalas et al. explore the role of universities in existed has almost disappeared and teaching has fostering social capital as a means to building a been disrupted by absenteeism, lack of resources sustainable peace in Syria. Belugi and Parkinson and limited numbers of experienced faculty discuss shared strategic insights based on higher members. education experiences of academics from (working in) Belarus, Bosnia Herzegovina, Kenya, Northern This special issue of Education and Conflict Review Ireland, Palestine, Serbia and South Africa. Their (ECR) looks at the impact of the conflict on the paper reflects on possibilities for mutual support from universities in Syria; argues for the importance academics who have faced similar circumstances in of supporting them; and evidences some of the different contexts, identifying a number of common contributions its academics are able to make dominant themes. Khuder and Petrić look at issues despite the ongoing violent conflict. Featuring of co-authorship and collaborative writing practice mainly the works by Syrian academics in exile, in facilitating the academic literacies development several articles share the results of research studies of scholars in exile who use English as an Additional supported by Cara (Council for at-Risk Academics). Language (EAL). Fincham reports on the role of As an international organisation that has served higher education in helping Syrian refugees cope academics who have been persecuted by with the challenges faced in displacement, the authoritarian regimes or forcibly displaced into exile opportunities on offer, particularly in the MENA to avoid risks to them and their families since 1933, region, and their political, social and economic Cara’s Syria programme is a core part of its current implications for young people’s lives. work. ECR’s partnership with Cara stems from our ethical and moral obligation to extend solidarity and Millican draws on conversations with Syrian support fellow academics who have been exiled academics in exile to explore the ways universities due to violent conflict or fear of political persecution in non-regime areas might be supported, highlights by the Syrian regime. It is an attempt to provide how they reflect those of many universities in states an academic space where Syrian colleagues that are fragmented or divided and notes the are able to disseminate their work and continue importance of capacity building and peer support. engaging in academic activities. This issue of Hanley’s paper presents a comparative analysis ECR also exemplifies the importance of academic Cara’s current Syria Programme and their earlier collaboration between colleagues who are based work in Iraq in 2011. She argues for the importance in Northern universities and have supported the of a committed, high quality and engaged group Cara programme, some writing jointly with Syrian of academics, the production of new locally colleagues; peer reviewing the papers; and others relevant research and the creation of national and reflecting on learning from these collaborations. international networks to support recovery of the Many of the eleven articles included in this volume higher education sector. Shaban draws on a study 4 EDUCATION AND CONFLICT REVIEW 2020 of three universities in Northern Syria during 2019 to We hope that this special issue will not only highlight the situation of the higher education sector serve as an important resource for those outside the control of the Assad regime, identifying interested in researching higher education in their urgent need for reconstruction of infrastructure Syria but also researchers and practitioners who and support for academic and administrative staff support education in conflict-affected contexts and students. around the world. Abdullah et al. examine the possibilities for Finally, we are grateful to all the contributors; incorporating Syrian heritage