Using Technology in Science Tasks: Reducing Language Barriers for Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

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Lebanon has absorbed over half a million registered school-aged Syrian refugees in its unequipped state schools since the outbreak of the civil war in Syria in 2011; however, the foreign language of instruction of maths and science has disengaged young Syrian migrants, hampering their progression. The poor proficiency of Syrian migrants in English or French, the media of maths and science instruction in Lebanon, has pushed many to drop out from schools and join the labour force at a very young age. Indeed, the foreign language of maths and science instruction is already controversial in Lebanon as it also marginalises underprivileged Lebanese youth and incites many to leave school before completing compulsory education. In this project, I will collaborate with two Lebanese NGOs, Lebanese Alternative Learning (LAL) and Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT)-Lebanon, who work directly with Syrian refugees in state schools to provide interactive tasks in maths and science in three languages (English, French and Arabic) through an existing online platform called Tabshoura. I will engage in knowledge exchange with both NGOs by applying a framework based on my DPhil and more recent research to evaluate the quality of translation and design of existing Year 6 to 9 science tasks and offer guidance for material improvement. Moreover, a sample of Year 6 students will be interviewed using elicitation techniques to investigate translation and design issues of the online interactive tasks. Findings will inform the construction of improved exemplar tasks that the NGO could adopt as models for the development of new material. In return, the invaluable experience of the NGOs in using technology to meet the education needs of underprivileged youth in Lebanon will be essential for me to gain a deep understanding of the context and achieve impact. Moreover, I will contribute to capacity building in schools by offering workshops for practitioners focusing on task design and raising their awareness to specific language issues in task development. Insight and findings of this project will be disseminated through conference presentations, a comprehensive report and a sole-authored journal article as well as a policy dialogue in Beirut and a seminar in Oxford.This ESRC GCRF fellowship will be an excellent opportunity to promote my academic profile by disseminating my DPhil research in seminars and conferences to a wide academic and non-academic audience; expanding my publication record and developing a sole-authored peer-reviewed journal article; consolidating my research portfolio by acquiring new qualitative techniques; and broadening my international network to include the Arabic speaking world. More importantly, this fellowship will allow me to apply my DPhil and more recent research in a new context and engage with non-academic users such as students, practitioners, schools, teachers and national and international NGOs to achieve a wider impact in the provision of quality education to Syrian refugees in Lebanon.