Refugee Teachers as Peer Researchers: Experiences of inclusion and research
This collection of think pieces was authored by 18 peer researchers from Chad, Uganda and Zambia. Written midway through their research journey, they offer honest reflections on what it means to teach and research in contexts of displacement, and what is gained when refugee teachers are meaningfully included, recognised and supported.
In this post, our three Research Advisors (Bello in Chad, Joyce in Uganda, and Abraham in Zambia) share their reflections on the second training week, which took place in late 2025.
The training focused on:
Building on initial project definitions
Strengthening peer researchers’ awareness of research ethics
Analysing findings from the first data collection round
Critiquing and strengthening tools for the next data collection
Practising interviewing and focus group facilitation
Presenting and discussing findings with key refugee education stakeholders
What was your perception of peer researchers’ progress during this training week?
Abraham: During training Peer Researchers (PRs) increased their understanding and everyone participated fully in group work. They asked questions and committed fully to written assignments. Their confidence grew; it was clear that they were presenting findings willingly rather than needing to be convinced.
Bello: One of the most notable developments among the PRs was their increasing ability to actively lead discussions, ask critical questions, and explain research concepts in their own words. During Training 2, I observed that they became more confident in facilitating group work, interpreting tools, and linking research concepts to their lived experiences as refugees. They were also more comfortable collaborating as a team, supporting one another, and providing constructive feedback—something I had not seen so clearly before.
Joyce: The Peer Researchers in Uganda demonstrated notable maturity and progress during the second training session. Compared to the first engagement, participants were more confident and actively contributed to making sense of the findings from the initial round of data collection. They provided valuable contextual insights and engaged constructively with questions and suggestions from government representatives, responding with clarity and confidence.
Peer Researchers in Chad discuss research findings related to teacher professional development and support alongside members of the core GERE team.
How have you developed as a Research Advisor: what did you learn through the process of preparing and supporting the training?
Abraham: I have achieved a lot during my engagement – I have learned and improved during the process. I have learned a lot about good facilitation, planning training, stakeholder engagement, and presenting research findings. Crucially, I have deepened my knowledge and skills in terms of mentoring and managing the PR research team.
Bello: This training contributed greatly to my own professional growth. Preparing and supporting the training helped me strengthen my facilitation skills, adaptability, and ability to explain complex research ideas in simple, accessible ways. Working with PRs from diverse backgrounds reminded me of the importance of patience, cultural sensitivity, and flexibility. I also improved my ability to observe group dynamics and adjust my support based on participants’ needs, rather than following a rigid plan.
Ajak William Bulpresents to his fellow Peer Researchers and members of the GERE core team in Uganda.
What was one highlight from this training for you?
Joyce: Throughout the training, the Peer Researchers consistently sought clarification, supported one another, and participated actively in group work. A key strength of the session was the adequate time allocated for practicing interviews and focus group discussions. This practical exposure helped to significantly reduce the fears and anxieties that participants had expressed earlier in the training.
Bello: One particular highlight of the training was seeing PRs apply what they had learned in practical exercises, especially during group discussions and role plays. Witnessing their confidence grow—especially among those who were previously quiet—was very encouraging. It showed that the training approach was effective and that the PRs were truly owning the process.
Abraham: The group work was one of the most interesting parts. Peer Researchers explored together different tasks relating to wellbeing and agency, which attracted full participation of everyone. It was good to see self reflection from the PRs and watching them thinking about who they are in this project.
Three Peer Researchers in Zambia discuss research findings during Training 2.
What was one important learning point that you took away from this training?
Joyce: The experience underscored the importance of allocating sufficient time for practice and demonstration of data collection methods, and of linking these methods to real school practices to enhance relevance and understanding. In addition, sustained stakeholder engagement throughout the research process will be essential to securing government buy-in and ensuring the uptake and use of research findings.
Abraham: One important learning is that stakeholder mapping involving the Research Advisors needs to be in place from the beginning so that we can engage with stakeholders and build up relationships prior to implementation. Stakeholder engagement should be carried out through existing structures and using the committees in which most of the relevant stakeholders already participate.
Bello: One important learning for us as a team is the value of continuous capacity building combined with practical application. PRs learn best when theory is closely linked to real-life examples and hands-on activities. For future training, we should continue to build in more time for practice, reflection, and peer learning, while also planning additional support for participants who may need it.
This video was prepared for a roundtable debate at the Global Refugee Forum 2025. The participatory roundtable aimed to amplify the lived realities of refugee teachers, elevate their policy-relevant perspectives, take stock of progress and learning, whilst reinforcing the urgent need for sustainable and equitable financing for education and teachers in crisis settings. Our GERE-Research contribution included hearing from our refugee teacher researchers in Chad, Uganda and Zambia, as well as some emerging findings from our research.
The Scaling Refugee Teacher National Inclusion Models for Enhanced Agency and Well-being project is a 33-month research study as part of the GERE research initiative – a partnership between Jigsaw, Refugee Education UK and UNHCR. Running from 2024–2027 in Chad, Uganda, and Zambia, the project explores how refugee teachers can be more effectively included in national education systems in ways that strengthen both their agency and their wellbeing.
Across the three countries, 18 refugee teachers have been recruited as peer researchers. They play a central role in shaping research tools, conducting fieldwork, and bringing critical contextual insights to the study. Through an accredited training programme, they are being equipped not only as researchers but also as reflective, evidence-based practitioners.
The Scaling Refugee Teacher National Inclusion Models for Enhanced Agency and Well-being project is a 33-month research study as part of the GERE research initiative – a partnership between Jigsaw, Refugee Education UK and UNHCR. Running from 2024–2027 in Chad, Uganda, and Zambia, the project explores how refugee teachers can be more effectively included in national education systems in ways that strengthen both their agency and their wellbeing.
Across the three countries, 18 refugee teachers have been recruited as peer researchers. They play a central role in shaping research tools, conducting fieldwork, and bringing critical contextual insights to the study. Through an accredited training programme, they are being equipped not only as researchers but also as reflective, evidence-based practitioners.
The first round of training and data collection is complete in each country. Peer researchers took part in a week-long programme covering core research methods, and then each peer researcher administered 30 teacher surveys in their communities, contributing over 540 responses across the cohort.
At UKFIET 2025, we shared a short video in which peer researchers introduced themselves and reflected on the first phase of the project. They speak about their experiences of teaching in their host countries, and their first steps as researchers in this project. Their contributions were warmly received, and the video was especially appreciated for bringing refugee teacher voices directly into the conference space.
The voices of our peer researchers highlight the potential of refugee teacher researchers to shape more inclusive and equitable education systems.
In this post, we share our key takeaways from the training conducted in Chad, Uganda and Zambia with the team of refugee teacher researchers.
What did we do?
In May and June 2025, research team members from Jigsaw, UNHCR and Refugee Education UK (REUK) worked with teams of refugee teachers (10 in Chad, 13 in Uganda and 13 in Zambia – overall 10 women and 26 men) on a week-long training on core research methods. Six refugee teacher researchers in each country were selected, based on observation and a short interview, to continue as peer researchers to the end of the project in March 2027.
The training covered:
An introduction to the project and research partners. We collaboratively defined key research terms, discussed the purpose and objectives of the project and mapped the refugee education ecosystem in each context.
An introduction to research methods: different approaches to research, the importance of clear research questions and a deep-dive into the research questions for the project. We also looked at action research and the ways research could impact the refugee teachers’ classroom practices.
The importance of research ethics and positionality as a researcher.
A focus on administering surveys in preparation for the first round of data collection including time to practise administering the survey in pairs.
The team of refugee teachers along with staff from Jigsaw, UNHCR, Windle International and Finn Church Aid in Uganda.
Participant feedback
The teacher participants were overall very positive about the training. Specifically, they shared:
1. The content was useful, comprehensible and applicable even outside the context of the research project
They found the training content really useful, particularly the sessions on research ethics, research methods and research objectives. Although the concepts covered were often new to them, they found that facilitators were able to present them in ways that felt easy to understand. One participant positively reflected on the collaborative approach to the training delivery which helped participants make sense of new and complex ideas.
“The facilitators and the participants were able to break complex topics into small chunks for easy understanding. Highly interactive methods were used to deliver the topics.”
Facilitation during the training in Chad.
Participants thought that the topics covered in the training would help them in their work outside of the project as well. One reflected:
“The skills we have got from the training will help us to generate knowledge and solve different problems of life.”
2. Appreciation for group work and participatory approach to training delivery
Many participants reported that working in smaller groups helped them connect with others, one saying “…it was motivating since the facilitators allowed us to feel the training by participating in the groups where we learnt from our friends.”
Group work was said to be “a good opportunity to share ideas and make a strong, thoughtful and reasonable work and reach a better understanding of the concepts presented” as well as “a very helpful way to help even the weakest to understand the topic”.
Participatory activities during the training in Zambia.
The participatory approach enabled participants to feel shared ownership over the content and the larger research project. One teacher highlighted:
“The aspect of us creating our own definitions to the major terms used in the research. It felt like we were making the research feel more personal and relatable.”
Refugee teachers participating in a group discussion during the training in Uganda.
Having energisers and breaks peppered across each day, and the friendly demeanour of the facilitators created a space for the participants to feel comfortable. The participatory approach also helped participants feel heard and ensured maximum engagement:
“The training delivery was very satisfying. The Inclusive, participative and practical teaching methodologies performed by the training team made acquisition of knowledge easy and promoted attention and participation of all.”
3. Well-planned logistics
Participants appreciated the timely payment of per diem and travel allowance, which enabled them to meaningfully participate in the training. Some participants had to travel from a different settlement to the location of the training and they reported on the long travel times required to reach the training location on time.
Participants also appreciated the location of the training, finding it “clean , spacious, ventilated…and a secure space to be trained from”, and enjoyed the use of a projector and visual aids.
Lessons for the next round of training
1. Create space for multi-lingual learning
Participants in Chad hugely appreciated having the training materials translated into Arabic, and delivery in Arabic with interpretation into Sudanese Arabic throughout the training. They said:
“the most positive thing is the use of Arabic language as the first language and the existence of a translator who explain and help us whenever there is something complicated”.
Conversely, participants in Uganda and Zambia, where training was run predominantly in English, reflected that they would’ve benefitted from having translation in at least one other language spoken by a majority of the participants.
2. Build in additional space for travel time
Where the training is not residential, we would have benefitted from additional travel time between refugee teacher researchers’ accommodation and the training venue. In future rounds, training times will be set accordingly.
In this post, we share our key takeaways from inspiring scoping visits to Uganda, Zambia and Chad, providing a foundation for the research approach.
More information on the study objectives and approaches can be found in our previous blog post.
What happened?
In January and February 2025, research team members from Jigsaw, UNHCR and Refugee Education UK (REUK) were inspired by visits to Chad, Uganda and Zambia that will shape the rest of the project. They were an essential part of study preparation, helping to ensure that the research process and outcomes are of maximum relevance to teachers who are refugees, and those supporting them in the education ecosystem.
What were the objectives?
Establish and develop relationships with key stakeholders at the national and subnational levels;
Meet with refugee teachers to understand their perceptions and priorities, which will shape the research design;
Gauge refugee teachers’ interest in participating in the study;
Understand contextual challenges and test the feasibility of planning with those who know the contexts best.
How did we achieve them?
Most importantly, in each country the team spent several hours with groups of refugee teachers, talking to them about the study, their understanding of research, inclusion, well-being and agency, and their opinions about our plans for the study. We also spoke with other education stakeholders, including Education Ministry officials, NGO and teacher union representatives and teacher training institutions.
What did we learn?
1. Teachers have clear ideas about research, ‘well-being’ and ‘agency’
Teachers’ understanding of research covered areas such as: looking for knowledge, solutions, and new ideas; thinking through what to teach students; and making use of the available data, as lessons can be improved using research.
Ideas for the meaning of well-being included: having enough, ideas, physical health, happiness, dreams; swimming in the sea; being honoured or validated; and being able to do what you want.
Agency was defined as: being able to make decisions to change things when work is not good; and not being forced to do anything.
2. All stakeholders are enthusiastic about the study.
Refugee teachers see the opportunity to participate in training on research methods and conduct their own research as a valuable way to share their experiences and views and to develop their skills inside and outside the classroom. Stakeholders within ministries, teacher unions, NGOs and other institutions are excited about the potential to understand better how to support refugee teachers, and to improve the education system for all teachers. to.
3. It is more helpful to conceptualise inclusion as a series of ‘pathways’ than as ‘models’.
In all three contexts, it became clear that there is no one model for including refugee teachers within national education systems. There are a number of pathways, some more accessible than others, that enable refugees to attain different levels of inclusion as teachers. We decided to use the term ‘pathways’ rather than ‘models’ to describe the options available to refugee teachers. The articulation of these pathways through the research will be the starting point for exploring how they may be scaled in ways that enhance teacher well-being and agency.
4. Issues affecting refugee teachers often also affect host community teachers, with implications for their well-being and agency.
Issues such as large class sizes and limited resources affect national teachers and refugee teachers alike. Stakeholders emphasised the importance of including national teachers in the study. The inclusion of host community teachers will help identify issues that need to be addressed for all teachers, alongside those that are specific to the situations of teachers who are refugees.
5. In Chad, bilingual training delivery will be essential.
Navigating language emerged as a priority for the project in Chad. On UNHCR advice, the study will focus on settlements hosting refugees from Sudan, in an area of the country where the bilingual education system offers instruction in Arabic or French. Schools for Sudanese refugees operate in Arabic, and although some refugees speak English, there is no need for it as a teacher in Chad. Training in Chad will be conducted principally in Arabic through an Arabic-speaking Research Advisor with the support of a French-speaking Jigsaw trainer and an interpreter into Sudanese Arabic. Materials will be provided to teachers in Arabic and English, and to education authorities in French.
6. Education ministry representatives will lead national advisory group meetings.
Ministry representatives in each country demonstrated their commitment to the project by volunteering their leadership of national advisory groups, with the support of UNHCR and Jigsaw. These groups will provide a critical platform for the refugee teacher researchers to engage with other stakeholders to sense-check findings, advise on project processes and mobilise new knowledge.
Next steps?
Based on the rich learning from these visits the research teams has designed a process for recruiting refugee teacher researchers. The first research methods training week will precede the launch of data collection. Look out for our next blog to hear about the next steps on this exciting journey!
We are excited to announce our latest GERE project. Conducted in partnership with UNHCR, this 33-month study will explore how to ensure that refugee teachers are able to work within the formal education systems of their host countries. Crucially, we will work to understand how the inclusion mechanisms that refugee teachers access can be scaled in a way that enhances their agency and well-being.
Study overview
Refugee teachers are often prevented from teaching within national education systems in the countries that host them. They may not meet host country eligibility criteria or documentation requirements, and may be subject to varying forms of discrimination.
Three models designed to help teachers overcome these barriers – one national, one regional, and one global – have been identified to be the focus of this study. The research aims to generate and mobilise evidence on scaling the impact of these inclusion models. The aim is to identify ways of doing this that support refugee teachers to be well, and to make choices and take actions to realise changes – their well-being and agency.
Specific objectives
Within the overarching objective described above, the study aims to:
Generate knowledge about the nature of three refugee teacher inclusion models, in Chad, Uganda and Zambia: their impact and potential to scale in a way that maximises refugee teachers’ agency and well-being and promotes gender equality and inclusion;
Strengthen the capacity of school leaders, provincial and national ministries of education, and other education stakeholders, to prioritise refugee teacher agency and well-being when implementing refugee teacher inclusion policies and programmes;
Mobilise evidence (generated by the study) relating to how to include refugee teachers in a way that prioritises their agency and well-being as well as gender equity and inclusion, particularly in the lead up to and during the next Global Refugee Forum in 2027.
Focus countries/context
Chad – a national model: Chad hosts refugees from Sudan, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In Chad, refugees are provided with opportunities to access national teacher training pathways. There are two training pathways which provide teachers with a degree that allows them to teach at either primary or secondary school level.
Uganda – a regional model: Uganda primarily hosts refugees from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Uganda is governed by the Djibouti Declaration, which promotes the inclusion of refugee teachers. The International Labour Organisation is running a pilot to support refugee teachers in getting their qualifications equated with those issued in Uganda.
Zambia – a global model: Zambia hosts refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Burundi, Rwanda and Somalia. Zambia is one of the countries piloting the UNESCO Qualification Passport (UQP), modelled on the European Qualifications Passport. The UQP is designed to enable refugees to access further studies in tertiary education institutions and labour markets, and provides information on a refugee’s education level, work experience and language proficiency.
Research design summary
The study is using a mixed methods approach. The methods include:
A longitudinal panel survey: to assess refugee teachers’ levels of well-being and agency, investigate the relationship between this and their inclusion journeys, understand how refugee teachers feel inclusion models impact their classroom practice, and how the models could be improved.
Interviews with refugee teachers: to gain a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between refugee teachers’ inclusion journeys and their agency and well-being over time, as well as their perspectives of how mechanisms impact their classroom practice, and how the models could be improved.
Interviews with other education stakeholders: to get a wide range of perspectives on how the inclusion models are working, how they are impacting teacher agency and well-being and student learning outcomes, and what different education actors need to better facilitate refugee teacher inclusion.
Classroom observations: to understand how refugee teacher inclusion models impact teachers’ classroom practice.
Reflection logs completed by refugee teachers: to further understand how perceptions of inclusion models, personal well-being and agency, and classroom practice change over time.
Capacity sharing sessions with education stakeholders: to explore how knowledge about scaling refugee teacher inclusion, and about scaling more broadly, can be effectively mobilised for uptake by the international education community.
Adopting GERE’s holistic model of refugee participation, the research design places refugee teachers at the heart of the process. Across the three focus countries, 15 refugee teachers will be recruited as co-researchers who will shape the definitions and tools upon which the project relies, conduct core research activities, and bring critical contextual insight into the research process. They will be equipped to participate through an accredited training programme, which will also support them to become reflective, evidence-based education practitioners. Learn more about our Refugee Researcher cohorts here.
Voices of Refugee Youth: Reflections on a Participatory, Youth-Centered Study
This peer-reviewed article, published in the Journal on Education in Emergencies (JEiE), critically reflects on the participatory approach adopted by the Voices of Refugee Youth initiative and offers valuable lessons about involving young refugees meaningfully in the research process.
Authors: Katrina Barnes, Rebecca Daltry, Amy Ashlee, Aime Parfait Emerusenge, Khalid Khan, Asma Rabi, Aimée Mukankusi, Julia Pacitto, David Hollow, and Bethany Sikes.
Date: December 2023
Recommended citation: Barnes, Katrina, et al. 2023. “Voices of Refugee Youth: Reflections on a Participatory, Youth-Centered Study.” Journal on Education in Emergencies 9 (1): 183-95. https://doi.org/10.33682/su9c-xzkg.
Led by Jigsaw and Refugee Education UK – in partnership with UNHCR and funded by Dubai Cares – this research initiative focused on building the evidence base for post-primary refugee education, while also increasing young refugees’ access to and representation within education research. It acts as a prototype research study for GERE: the first of a series of research studies which position refugees at the centre of evidence-building.
The full set of research publications from Voices of Refugee Youth can be found here. This includes: the full research report; an executive summary of the findings and recommendations; two youth-authored education advocacy reports, one focused on Pakistan and the other on Rwanda; a toolkit for conducting participatory research; and a policy brief.
On Wednesday 18th October, to celebrate the launch of the research publications, Jigsaw and REUK hosted a webinar to share the findings from Voices of Refugee Youth and reflect on its participatory methodology. We were also delighted to be joined by Cirenia Chávez Villegas from UNHCR and Salim Salamah from FCDO. If you were unable to join us and would like to listen to the webinar, then please follow the link below.
This policy brief represents a synthesis of the key findings and recommendations from the Voices of Refugee Youth initiative. It seeks to inform policy-making in refugee education on the basis of rigorous evidence with refugee youth at its centre.
