SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY
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SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS)
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS) Published in 2020 by the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab States - Beirut © UNESCO 2020 The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The ideas and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors; they are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization. 2
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS) Foreword There is no doubt that literacy is central in today’s world and in the social advancement of societies. Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Education 2030 Agenda, and the attainment of 21st century skills and global competencies, cannot be achieved without fully literate societies. Measuring the proficiency levels of youth and adult literacy is a huge challenge globally. In the context of youth and adult refugee populations, there has not been any systematic attempt to assess their literacy levels. It is important to understand the significance of such data both from national and global perspectives. With many populations fleeing their home countries due to conflict and seeking refuge in countries where education systems differ, there is an evident need to assess literacy among refugee youth, in order to be able to tackle their vulnerabilities and challenges, and respond to their needs. In the context of the Syrian refugee crisis, information on literacy and numeracy skills requires criticality to understand the situation that refugee youth face to participate in socio-economic development. Undertaking such a literacy assessment allows policy makers and programme implementers to better understand the population’s employability, life skills levels and any concern with regard to such skills. This way fast action could be taken to address the core and urgent issues, especially in non-formal and vocational education programmes for vulnerable and disadvantaged youth populations. The Syrian Refugee Youth Literacy Assessment Study was conducted in Lebanon between 2019 and 2020 and targeted Syrian refugee youth aged between 15 and 24 years. It aimed to assess their literacy, numeracy and life skills proficiency levels through administering background questionnaires and literacy competency tests designed specifically for this study and its target group. The report presents the study context and discusses its methodology, data collection tools, and results. Based on the findings, it identifies policy implications and programmatic recommendations for education actors to ensure that the identified literacy needs of Syrian refugee youth are addressed in education programmes. Syrian refugee youth show an overall positive attitude towards life, society and the environment. Most of the surveyed youth are keen to learn more and gain more skills and knowledge, and they aspire to pursue higher levels of education. Education stakeholders and actors hold the responsibility to respond to the youth’s needs and aspirations. It is only by improving the skills, competencies and know-how of Syrian youth that they will have the opportunity to improve their future and be able to participate and contribute fully in the socio-economic development of society. Hamed Alhamami Director UNESCO Regional Bureau - Beirut 3
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS) Acknowledgements The Syrian Refugee Youth Literacy Assessment Study that was conducted between January 2019 and April 2020 is the outcome of a collaboration between UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab States – Beirut and UNHCR Lebanon. Therefore, we would like to thank UNHCR for providing invaluable technical inputs at different stages of the study implementation, and for providing the contacts of the study participants from their database of registered Syrian refugee households in Lebanon. We would also like to thank them for facilitating the implementation of the pre-testing of tools in their partners’ community development centers for Syrian refugees. Special thanks also go to the UNESCO team in Beirut which was responsible for coordinating the study and supporting the development of the data collection tools and the study report. We would also like to thank UNESCO Damascus and Dr. Ali Al-Hosary, curriculum expert from the Damascus University, for their technical support in developing the literacy competency tests covering literacy, numeracy and life skills components. We would also like to extend our thanks to the Consultation & Research Institute (CRI) - Lebanon, who undertook the data collection between June and July 2019. Finally, our sincere appreciation goes to Dr. Venkatraman Subramaniyam, Assessment and Evaluation Expert and UNESCO Consultant, who led this project from beginning to end, including the development of the study tools and drafting of the study report. This study could not have been accomplished without the generous funding from the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS). We would like to express our deep gratitude to KFAS for their partnership with UNESCO and for their continued support to youth affected by the Syria crisis in Lebanon. 4
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS) Table of Contents Foreword ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………3 Acknowledgments ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………4 Glossary ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..7 SECTION I Literacy Assessment of Refugee Youth - Design, Challenges and Process ....................................8 1. Introduction, Background and Objectives ……………………………………………………………………………..9 2. Literacy Assessments ……………..…………………………………………………………………………………….……..11 2.1 SDG 4.6 and Context of Refugees ...................................................................................................... 11 2.2 Financing Refugee Education .............................................................................................................. 12 2.3 Data Focus ................................................................................................................................................. 13 2.4 Measuring SDG 4.6.1 .............................................................................................................................. 14 3. Context of Syrian Refugees Crisis …………………………………………………………………………………………15 3.1 Rationale..................................................................................................................................................... 15 4. Objectives and Research Methodology …..…………………………………………………………………..……...18 4.1 Research Methodology.......................................................................................................................... 18 4.1.1 Study Instruments .................................................................................................... 18 4.1.2 Sampling ................................................................................................................... 18 4.1.3 Questionnaires ......................................................................................................... 19 4.1.4 Development of Tools .............................................................................................. 22 5. A Brief Introduction to the Three Domains used for the Study …………….……………………………..23 5.1 Literacy Domains and Tasks ................................................................................................................. 23 5.2 Literacy Scale ............................................................................................................................................ 24 5.3 Numeracy ................................................................................................................................................... 25 5.4 Numeracy Domain and Tasks .............................................................................................................. 26 5.5 Numeracy Scale ........................................................................................................................................ 26 5.6 Life Skills ..................................................................................................................................................... 27 5.7 Definition of Life Skills - WHO Perspective ...................................................................................... 27 5.8 Life Skills Domain and Tasks ................................................................................................................. 28 5.9 Assessment Tools .................................................................................................................................... 29 5.10 Development of Literacy and Numeracy Test Items ................................................................. 30 5.10.1 Literacy: Item Mapping ........................................................................................ 30 5.10.2 Numeracy: Item Mapping .................................................................................... 31 5.11 The Data Collection Process .............................................................................................................. 32 5.12 Pre-testing of Tools .............................................................................................................................. 32 5.13 Validation of Items and Finalization of Tools ............................................................................... 33 5.14 Main Data Collection............................................................................................................................ 33 5.15 Challenges in Field Work .................................................................................................................... 33 SECTION II Household Characteristics and Youth Profile ...................................................................... 35 1. Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..36 2. Household Characteristics ……………………………………………………………………………………………………37 2.1 Household Characteristics .................................................................................................................... 37 5
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS) 3. Profile of Syrian Refugee Youth ……………………………………………………………………………………………40 3.1 Educational Attainment......................................................................................................................... 41 3.2 Employment .............................................................................................................................................. 42 3.3 Life Skills ..................................................................................................................................................... 42 3.4 Personal and Social Skills....................................................................................................................... 44 3.5 Institutional Survey ................................................................................................................................. 45 SECTION III Literacy and Numeracy Assessment ................................................................................... 49 1. Literacy and Numeracy Assessment ………………………………………………….………………………………..50 1.1 Literacy and Numeracy Competency Levels ................................................................................... 50 1.2 Performance by Regions ....................................................................................................................... 51 1.3 Literacy Test Performance .................................................................................................................... 53 1.4 Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................. 55 2. Numeracy Test Performance …………………………………………………………….………………………………..56 2.1 Performance by Proficiency Levels .................................................................................................... 56 3. Life Skills Performance …………………………………………………………………………………………………………60 SECTION IV Summary of Findings and Implications for Policy ................................................................ 62 ANNEXES .......................................................................................................................... 65 6
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS) Glossary ALL Adult Literacy & Life Skills Survey CRI Consultation and Research Institute GEMR Global Education Monitoring Report GMR Global Monitoring Report GRALE Global Report on Adult Learning and Education IALS International Adult Literacy Survey PIAAC Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies NEET Not in Education, Employment or Training NFE Non Formal Education PISA Programme for International Student Assessment RACE Reaching All Children with Education STEP Skills Towards Employment and Productivity Program SDGs Sustainable Development Goals SyLAS Syrian Refugee Youth Literacy Assessment Survey VASyR Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon UIL UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning UIS UNESCO Institute for Statistics WHO World Health Organization GCR Global Compact of Refugees BQs Background Questionnaires MEHE Ministry of Education and Higher Education TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training VET Vocational Education and Training 7
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS) SECTION I Literacy Assessment of Refugee Youth Design, Challenges and Process 8
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS) 1. Introduction, Background and Objectives The perceptions and perspectives on what constitutes literacy have been marked by the evolving dynamics of official dialogues and academic discourses, starting from the Freirean concept of social empowerment, through skill-building for the market economy, to the currently emerging new and more holistic agenda built on the three overlapping principles of lifelong learning, global competencies and sustainable development. Youth and adult literacy are seen to go beyond employability and foster active citizenship, strengthen personal growth and secure social inclusion1. Literacy is important in today’s world and it is a lifelong process of learning for all, particularly in the context of 21st century skills with their emphasis on sustainable development skills and global competencies, which cannot be attained without achieving a fully literate society. Defining literacy in the emerging transformational world of today is quite a daunting task. However, as a working definition for the purposes of this paper, its focus is on youth and adults and it comprises three essential features, namely, that literacy is about the uses people make of it, that it is plural or context-sensitive and that it involves a continuum of learning within the framework of lifelong learning, measured at different proficiency levels 2 . The Belém Framework for Action (2009) 3 recognized adult education as an essential element of the right to education, besides recognizing the criticality of lifelong learning in addressing global educational issues and challenges. The emerging transformational world scenarios, mentioned above, relate particularly to demographic shifts, like increased life expectancy with its concomitant increase in supply of labour force in higher age cohorts, migrations due to various reasons including conflicts, and the changing demand patterns of the international labour markets in terms of changing performance requirements of jobs caused by the ever-changing advancements and innovations in technology. These are in the nature of emerging superimpositions on the already identified issues of access, such as gender disparities, reaching the disadvantaged and marginalized populations, reaching remote areas, persons with disabilities, etc. An added dimension to these would be the local social and cultural contexts in which learning takes place, which again, is marked by wide variations even at the micro level. Thus, the understanding of the praxis of literacy is seen as moving away from social empowerment and market economy and a dichotomous approach of literate-illiterate towards its perception as a continuum of context-sensitive approach linked to learning throughout life4. While the international community has made great strides in promoting global literacy in the past 15 years, significant progress is still to be made. According to the UIS, 781 million adults (age 15 and over) globally lack basic reading and writing skills. While literacy rates have improved in almost every region of the world since 2000, these improvements have not been consistent. Women account for nearly two-thirds of adult illiterates, and this ratio has not changed between 1 UIL. 2013. Second Global Report on Adult Learning and Education: Rethinking Literacy. Hamburg 2 UNESCO. 2017. Reading the past, writing the future, Paris. 3 UIL. 2010. Confintea VI. Belém Framework for Action. 2010, Hamburg. 4 UNESCO. 2017. Reading the past, writing the future, 2017. Paris. 9
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS) 1990 and 2015 (UNESCO, 2014). Youth literacy statistics are not much more inspiring; approximately 126 million 15 to 24 year olds are still unable to read worldwide, accounting for 10.6% of the global youth population (UIS, 2014). In 2004–2011, only 6% of adults in 29 poorer countries had ever participated in a literacy programme5 . This results in an exclusion of low- literate and low-skilled youth and adults from full participation in their communities and societies. While there is very little availability of data, anecdotal evidence shows that the situation is dire particularly in conflict-affected areas and countries where access to education and opportunities for learning is extremely limited and interrupted for a very long time due to forced displacement (internally or externally), destruction of learning facilities and constrained resources, among others. Available evidence shows that a vast majority of youth affected by the Syrian crisis has been out of learning institutions for a very long time, which might as well be an indication of illiteracy or low level of literacy amongst the critical mass of young people. 5 UNESCO. 2016. Global Education Monitoring Report, 2016. Paris. 10
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS) 2. Literacy Assessments Measuring the proficiency levels of youth and adult literacy is a huge challenge globally. There has been several literacy assessments that were undertaken in the past such as the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL) and the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS)6, the World Bank’s Skills Measurement Programme (STEP 7 ) and Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC)8. However, it remains a challenge for most countries to undertake systematic literacy assessments that measure the proficiency levels. There has been one-off Literacy Surveys that also tested in a minimal way the literacy and numeracy skills of adults in a few countries but the fact remains that due to lack of clear methodological framework and lack of funding, measuring literacy among youth and adults remains a big challenge. Currently, there are attempts made at developing new common scales against which the minimum proficiency levels can be measured. In the context of youth and adult refugee populations, there has not been any systematic attempt to assess their literacy levels. It is important to understand the significance of such data both from national and global contexts. The next section highlights the need for literacy assessments to monitor progress of Sustainable Development Goal 4 with specific reference to target 4.6 and its relation to the context of this study. 2.1 SDG 4.6 and Context of Refugees Not leaving the refugees behind in the efforts to achieve a fully literate society is no less important than not leaving any other group behind. It may be noted that leaving no one behind “is among the most aspirational global commitments of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Migration and displacement are two global challenges the agenda needs to address in achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 4, that is, ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’. Migration and displacement interact with education in many ways. These links affect those who move, those who stay and those who host migrants, refugees or other displaced populations 9 ”. Migration and displacement affect education. They require systems to accommodate those who move and those left behind. Countries are challenged to fulfil the international commitment to respect the right to education for all. They must often act quickly, under severe constraints or even opposition from some constituencies. Qualifications and prior learning need to be recognized to make the most of migrants’ and refugees’ skills. SDG target 4.6 urges all countries to ‘(by 2030) ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.’ SDG indicator 4.6.1 seeks to measure ‘the percentage of the population in a given age group achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills. The target age group for this indicator is all those aged 15 and over. It may be noted that this target (4.6) defines adult literacy as a continuum of functional literacy and numeracy skills for which a fixed level of proficiency can be 6 http://www.oecd.org/education/innovation-education/adultliteracy.htm 7 https://microdata.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/step/about 8 https://www.oecd.org/skills/piaac/ 9 UNESCO. 2019. Global Education Monitoring Report: Migration, Displacement and Education – Building Bridges, not Walls. Paris. 11
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS) assessed. Currently, how ‘proficiency’ is defined can vary from country to country, which makes comparability of data a challenge. Standardization of recognition, validation and accreditation of such proficiency may help cross-country equivalence of such qualifications of youth and adult literacy acquired beyond the formal education system. Right to Education of Migrants and Refugees The two new compacts on migrants and refugees recognize education’s role and set objectives aligned with the global commitment to leave no one behind. The UNESCO GEMR 2019 makes seven recommendations that support implementation of the compacts: • Protect the right to education of migrants and displaced people10 • Include migrants and displaced people in national education systems • Understand and plan for the education needs of migrants and displaced people • Represent migration and displacement histories in education accurately to challenge prejudices • Prepare teachers of migrants and refugees to address diversity and hardship • Harness the potential of migrants and displaced people • Support education needs of migrants and displaced people in humanitarian and development aid. 2.2 Financing Refugee Education Refugee education remains underfunded. The GEMR 2019 of UNESCO estimates that US$800 million was spent on refugee education in 2016, split roughly equally between humanitarian and development aid. That covers only about one-third of the most recently estimated funding gap. If the international community employed humanitarian aid only, the share to education would have to increase tenfold to meet refugees’ education needs. Source: UNESCO 2018, Global Education Monitoring Report, 2019. 10 Displacement: ‘Forced removal/flight of a person from his/her home or country, often as a result of armed conflict or natural disaster.’ (GEMR, 2019) 12
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS) The Role of Teachers and Teacher Training Institutions in Refugee Education Teachers are sometimes the only resource available to students in displacement settings, when classroom space or learning materials are in short supply. However, including the displaced in national education systems poses challenges for teacher recruitment and retention. A proliferation of unregulated, substandard and short-term teacher contracts has a negative effect on working conditions. Teachers also need special training to develop teaching strategies to deal with overcrowded, mixed-age or multilingual classrooms, as well as the stress and trauma linked with displacement, such as helping children needing psychosocial support11. In the Syrian Arab Republic, 73% of teachers surveyed had no training on providing children with psychosocial support12. Teacher recruitment and management policies need to act fast to emerging needs. The Global Compact on Refugees The 1951 Refugee Convention defines the term ‘refugee’ and outlines the rights of the displaced, as well as the legal obligations of States to protect them. UNHCR serves as the ‘guardian’ of the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol. UNHCR, in cooperation with States, ensures that the rights of refugees are respected and protected, including the right to education. However, its core principle of shared responsibility has not been sufficiently addressed, necessitating a need to renew the commitment with a clearer support framework. This need has led to the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR), a framework for more predictable and equitable responsibility- sharing, which recognizes that a sustainable solution to refugee situations cannot be achieved without international cooperation. Regarding education, the GCR highlights the necessity of States and relevant stakeholders to support host countries by contributing resources and expertise to expand and enhance the quality and inclusiveness of national education systems to facilitate access to refugee and host community children (both boys and girls), adolescents and youth to primary, secondary and tertiary education. It makes clear the duty of countries to improve access to education and develop policies on refugees’ inclusion in national education systems, which is considered ‘best practice’ in the UNHCR Inclusive Education Strategy 203013. 2.3 Data Focus In the context of leaving no one behind, data play a crucial role for planning interventions. Therefore, data need to be of high quality and reliable, and collected at as disaggregated levels as possible. In this context, it has to be noted that several population groups suffer disadvantages masked by outcome averages. The SDG monitoring framework, therefore, explicitly focuses on disaggregation of indicators by various characteristics historically associated with disadvantage. In SDG 17, target 17.18 calls on donor countries to ‘enhance capacity‑building support to developing countries … to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by … migratory status … and other characteristics relevant in national contexts. Yet, according to the UNESCO GMR 2019, systematic data on the education status of migrants and refugees are patchy, including in otherwise data-rich countries. In the World Bank’s Microdata Catalogue, as of mid‑2018, over 2,000 out of almost 2,500 household surveys include information on education, but only around one out of seven of those includes migration, and only a small fraction of those includes information on refugees and/or displacement. Even where 11 Ibid. 12 Ibid. 13 UNHCR Inclusive Education Strategy 2030, available on https://www.unhcr.org/5d651da88d7.pdf 13
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS) administrative data, household surveys or learning assessments are available, they are frequently limited due to the small number of migrants sampled, responding and asked comparable and meaningful questions concerning their potentially complex migration and education backgrounds. 2.4 Measuring SDG 4.6.1 This indicator is about the percentage of youth (aged 15 to 24 years) and of adults (aged 15 years and older) who have achieved or exceeded a given level of proficiency in literacy and numeracy14. Measuring the proficiency levels of youth and adults is a huge challenge globally. As indicated earlier, while there are several literacy assessments such as ALL and IALS and the recent PIAAC15, many countries in the Arab region are yet to undertake systematic literacy assessments. UNESCO has been at the forefront of global literacy efforts since 1946, advancing the vision of a literate world for all. It views acquiring and improving literacy skills throughout life as an intrinsic part of the right to education. The “multiplier effect” of literacy empowers people, enables them to participate fully in society and contributes to improve livelihoods. Literacy is also a driver for sustainable development in that it enables greater participation in the labor market; improves child and family health and nutrition; reduces poverty and expands life opportunities. The New and Emerging Definition of Literacy Beyond its conventional concept as a set of reading, writing and counting skills, literacy is now understood as a means of identification, understanding, interpretation, creation, and communication in an increasingly digital, text-mediated, information-rich and fast-changing world. The definition of literacy in the context of refugee education needs to incorporate all these characteristics plus other aspects like critical thinking, self-confidence, leadership, respect for socio-cultural and linguistic diversities, inter-personal communication, coping and self- management, citizenship, and ability to identify and acquire skills needed most in the prevailing job market at national and international levels. 14 “The indicator can be calculated as the percentage of youth and adults who have achieved at least the minimum threshold of proficiency as defined for large-scale (representative sample) literacy and numeracy assessments. It can also be interpreted through as the use of a threshold that categorizes youth and adults as being below, at or above minimum proficiency levels. At present, however, there are no common standards for this threshold that has been validated by the international community. Current data originate from agencies and organizations specialized in cross-national household- based surveys of youth and adult populations. This is an issue that the UIS has raised repeatedly” (Sylvia Montoya, 2018, http://uis.unesco.org/en/blog/meet-sdg-4-data-measuring-youth-and-adult-literacy-and-numeracy) 15 PIAAC: The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) is a programme of assessment and analysis of adult skills. The major survey conducted as part of PIAAC is the Survey of Adult Skills. The Survey measures adults’ proficiency in key information-processing skills - literacy, numeracy and problem solving, and gathers information and data on how adults use their skills at home, at work and in the wider community.(https://www.oecd.org/skills/piaac/) 14
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS) 3. Context of Syrian Refugee Crisis 3.1 Rationale In the context of the Syrian refugee crisis, information on literacy and numeracy skills acquires criticality to understand the situation that the refugee youth face in participating in societal development. Literacy, in this context of limited time and resources, can at the least, be defined as ‘the ability to read (construct meaning from text) and write (create text that is meaningful)’. In undertaking a literacy assessment of this type, it allows the policy makers and program implementers to identify the population’s weaknesses in reading, writing abilities and practices, so that fast action could be taken to address the core and urgent issues. In Lebanon, the Reaching All Children with Education (RACE) strategy has realized a significant increase in the number of Syrian children enrolled in public basic education. In 2016, Lebanon adopted a five-year RACE II plan (2017 – 2021) with the goal of enrolling 255,647 Syrian children in formal education by the 2020-2021 school year16. In 2016, it finalized a framework for non- formal education, leading to the regularization of Non-Formal Education (NFE) enrolment and increased pathways to formal education. However, too many Syrian children are still out of school or not completing the cycle of basic education. The situation is dire for secondary education-aged children between the age of 15 and 17 where less than 10 percent of the age cohort is enrolled. According to VASyR (2018)17, 61% of Syrian refugees aged 15 to 24 were Not Employed, not in Education, and not attending any Training (NEET). The NEET rate is higher for female youth (79%) than for males (41%). Similarly, this rate is also notably higher among youth aged 19 to 24 years (67%) than those aged 15 to 18 (54%). This calls for efforts to know the status of youth literacy for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The results of a literacy assessment facilitate important breakthroughs in policy and planning, especially in NFE programmes for vulnerable and disadvantaged youth populations. 16 Human Rights New York. 2016. Growing up without an education, Barriers to Education for Syrian Refugee Children in Lebanon. 17 VASyR (Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian refugees in Lebanon). 2018. UNHCR/UNICEF/WHO, Lebanon. VASyR is the sixth annual multi-sectoral survey assessing the situation of a representative sample of registered Syrian refugee households to identify situational changes and trends. 15
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS) Box 1. Profile of Refugee Population (Highlights from VASyR 2018, UNHCR) • Approximately 54% of the refugee population was below 18 years of age. • Those between the ages of 18 and 59 made up 44% of the Syrian refugee population (see graph below) • Regional comparisons showed that Bekaa had the lowest number of individuals between the ages of 18 and 59, at 41%, while Beirut and Mount Lebanon had the highest, at 46%. • Of the total Syrian refugee population, 49.5% were male and 50.5% female. There were regional variations with the share of male refugees higher than that of females in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, at 52% male and 48% female for both regions. Age Distribution by Gender 1% .6% 70 years old and above 1% .7% 1% 1.0% 60-64 years old 1% 1.4% 3% 2.1% 50-54 years old 3% 2.9% 4% 4.7% 40-44 years old 6% 7.4% youth 9% 8.5% 30-34 years old 9% 5.8% 8% 6.1% 20-24 years old 8% 8.9% 12% 13.2% 10-14 years old 17% 18.4% 18% 18.4% 0-4 years old 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% Female Male Source: UNHCR: VASyR, 2018 The Lebanese education system is divided into public and private sectors. Public schools account for only 30 percent of Lebanese students enrolled in the Lebanese education system, with most schools located in several most impoverished areas in the country. Most refugees rely on Lebanon’s public education system. The influx of Syrian refugees has further strained public schools. Figure 1 shows the rising trend in the enrolment of non-Lebanese children in formal public schools from 2011 to 2019, except for the year 2018-19 when there is a dip observable in the enrolment. 16
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS) Figure 1. Number of Non-Lebanese Children Enrolled in Formal Public Schools from 2011 – 2019 Source: MEHE, 2019 There is lack of Information on the extent of the learning difficulties of the Syrian youth aged 15-24. Triangulated information from different sources indicates that about 72 percent of youth aged 18 to 24 have been out of learning institutions for a minimum of five years18. The lack of adequate information on literacy levels of Syrian refugees negatively impacts on planning for alternative education paths for the Syrian refugees19. Making available such information will assist in setting targets to be achieved to address the gaps in literacy and life skills competencies among the refugee population. This will also ensure that the host country prepares holistically to meet the global and national aspirations on Agenda 2030, in particular SDG 4 Targets 4.4. and 4.6. According to a study conducted by UNHCR (2014), the situation of the Syrian youth aged 15-24 years was characterized as follows: 41 per cent feeling depressed and hopeless; 6 per cent enrolled in schools; 78 per cent unemployed; 46 percent lacking contraception knowledge; and 31 per cent married20. The youth population requires appropriate knowledge, skills, practices and values to effectively participate in social and economic development. That means that the impact of alternative education programmes should translate to a literate and productive population. Good education is the cornerstone of success for an individual and the foundation for peace and cohesive living including economic prosperity. This makes youth drivers of economic development and therefore eradication of illiteracy a priority. Therefore, the information generated becomes useful for informing education systems on areas to address while diversifying learning pathways and strengthening national systems in the use of quality data. The Syrian Refugee Youth Literacy Assessment Survey (SYLAS) thus targets to collect core information on Syrian refugee youth aged 15-24 years in Lebanon, the results of which will be crucial for informing development partners on issues of addressing access to education within the Syrian crisis and support formulation of alternative, relevant and quality education programmes. 18 UNESCO. 2016. Regional Education Response Strategy for the Syria Crisis (2016-2017): Bridging Learning Gaps for Youth. p p.15 19 As per the 2019 February Statistical Dashboard of Inter Agency IM Unit/UNHCR the % of school-aged refugees (including Syrian Refugees) out of formal education in 2017 was about 59% 20 UNHCR .2014. Syrian Refugee Situation Analysis of Youth in Lebanon-Beirut. 17
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS) 4. Objectives and Research Methodology The objectives of the literacy assessment are focused primarily on addressing basic but critical questions that policy makers and donors are concerned with, which are as follows: 1. Establish the status of literacy and numeracy of the Syrian youth population (15-24 years) in Lebanon 2. Understand the life skills levels of the Syrian youth population (15-24 years) in Lebanon 3. Provide recommendations on addressing literacy concerns relating to Syrian youth in Lebanon 4.1 Research Methodology The SYLAS was designed to yield valid, reliable, interpretable and comparable estimates of student proficiency in reading and mathematics. This section describes the design of the SYLAS instruments and the sample. 4.1.1 Study Instruments The refugee youth literacy survey collected information about the Syrian refugee youth’s education attainment, proficiency levels in literacy and numeracy, life skills, and participation in alternative education programmes. The following instruments were used: Assessments through Tests Administered in Literacy, Numeracy and Life Skills i. Tested Domains The Literacy Skills assessed the three critical cognitive domains of 1. narrative, 2. expository and 3. document (more details on the development of test items and proficiency levels can be seen in the next section). The Life Skills tested fall under three broad categories of 1. inter-personal communication, 2. decision-making and critical thinking skills and 3. coping and self-management skills. The Numeracy Skills tested the three main cognitive domains of 1. number, 2. measurement and 3. space data. ii. Background Questionnaire consisted of: • Household questionnaire • Individual questionnaire • Institutional questionnaire 4.1.2 Sampling Sampling is that part of statistical practice which is concerned with the selection of a subset of individual observations within a population of individuals intended to yield some knowledge about the population of concern, especially for the purposes of making predictions based on statistical inference. Such knowledge, again, can be of use in policy making and planning suitable interventions. Sampling is, thus, an important aspect of data collection. 18
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS) Sampling, again, is useful where census cannot be undertaken. Researchers rarely survey the entire population for two reasons: the cost is too high, and the population is dynamic in that the individuals making up the population may change over time. The three main advantages of sampling are that the cost is lower, data collection is faster, and since the data set is smaller it is possible to ensure homogeneity and to improve the accuracy and quality of the data (Cochran, 197721). 4.1.3 Questionnaires i. Household and Youth Questionnaires The statistical unit in this study is a Syrian refugee household with at least one member belonging to the age group 15-24 years. Within the selected household, two background questionnaires (household and youth) were administered. The household questionnaire collected data on socio-economic characteristics of the household. The youth questionnaire targeted refugees (15-24 years) who were randomly selected from the household. For the present study, it was recommended that the selection could be of households through a two-stage cluster sampling methodology to yield a sample representative of youth refugees in Lebanon. In a two-stage cluster sampling design, a random sample of clusters (usually naturally occurring geographic unit such as a village, neighborhood or town) is selected, followed by a random sample of units (in this case households) within each cluster. The selection of clusters is done through a method known as ‘probability proportionate to size’. This means that villages/neighborhoods that have higher concentrations of youth are more likely to be selected as part of the sample. The World Health Organization (WHO) developed a two-stage cluster scheme based on a “30x7” sample which provides a precision of +/- 10 percentage points. In this method, 30 clusters were selected. Based on this calculation, the sample size of the household survey (3 questionnaires) was 400 households. UNESCO and UNHCR pre-selected regions also referred to as ‘clusters’ in Lebanon. In total, 30 clusters were selected (4 additional clusters were provided in order to be used as “replacement” clusters) and within each cluster a sample was drawn randomly from the UNHCR database of registered Syrian household refugees. Only households with at least one member belonging to the age group 15-24 years old were eligible for inclusion in the sample frame. Taking into account the need for substitution within each cluster (due to non-response rates, refusal, wrong contact, and illiterates, etc.), UNHCR provided a list of 1020 contacts residing in the 34 clusters. Table 1 shows the sample distribution of the survey. 21 Cochran G. William, 1977. Sampling Techniques (3rd Edition), John Wiley & Sons, U.S. 19
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS) Table 1. Distribution of Sample Adjusted Cluster Region District Cadaster Village Accomplished Sample 10 LEB- Bekaa Baalbek Aarsal Aarsal 14 27 11 LEB- Bekaa Baalbek Aarsal Aarsal 13 12 LEB- Bekaa Baalbek Baalbek Baalbek 13 12 13 LEB- Bekaa Baalbek Douris Douris 13 13 19 LEB- Bekaa Zahle Zahleh El-Maallaqa Karak Nouh 13 11 21 LEB- Bekaa Zahle Qabb Elias Qabb Elias 14 13 22 LEB- Bekaa Zahle Barr Elias Bar Elias 14 13 23 LEB- Bekaa West Bekaa Marj BG El Marj 13 14 24 LEB- Bekaa Zahle Majdel Aanjar Majdel Anjar 14 14 25 LEB- Bekaa West Bekaa Ghazzeh Ghazze 13 13 28 LEB- Bekaa Rachaya Kaoukaba Bou Arab Kaoukaba 13 13 RC3 LEB- Bekaa Zahle Taalbaya Taalbaya 4 LEB- Bekaa Sub-total 147 147 14 LEB- Mount Lebanon El Meten Bourj Hammoud Borj Hammoud 14 11 15 LEB- Mount Lebanon El Meten Dekouaneh Dekouane 13 13 16 LEB- Mount Lebanon Baabda Chiyah Ghobeire 13 24 17 LEB- Mount Lebanon Baabda Chiyah El Ouzaai 13 18 LEB- Mount Lebanon Baabda Bourj El-Brajneh Borj el Brajne 14 11 Choueifat El- 20 LEB- Mount Lebanon Aley Es Shwayfate 13 15 Aamrousiyeh 26 LEB- Mount Lebanon Chouf Barja Barja 13 13 27 LEB- Mount Lebanon Chouf Bsaba Ech-Chouf Bsaba 13 8 RC2 LEB- Mount Lebanon El-Meten Bikfaya Bikfaya 11 LEB- Mount Lebanon Sub-total 106 106 1 LEB- North Akkar Aamayer Amayer 13 13 2 LEB- North Akkar Biret Aakkar Bire Akkar 13 14 3 LEB- North Akkar Kfar Melki Aakkar Kfar Melki 13 13 4 LEB- North Akkar Mhammaret Abde 13 12 5 LEB- North El Minieh-Dennie Minie El Minie 14 15 Beddawi 6 LEB- North El Minieh-Dennie Beddaoui 14 14 Palestinian camp 7 LEB- North Tripoli Trablous Ez-Zeitoun Abou Samra 14 13 8 LEB- North El Minieh-Dennie Bakhaaoun Bakhaoun 13 13 9 LEB- North El Koura Kfar Aaqqa Kfar Aaqqa 13 13 RC1 LEB- North El Minieh-Dennie Sir Ed-Danniyeh Sir Ed-Danniyeh 0 LEB- North Sub-total 120 120 29 LEB- South Hasbaya Kfar Chouba Halta Hasbaya 13 9 30 LEB- South Sour Sadiqine Siddiqine 14 9 RC4 LEB- South El Nabatieh Kfar Roummane Kfar Roummane 9 LEB- South Sub-total 27 27 Grand Total 400 400 20
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS) ii. Institutional Questionnaire The Institutional Questionnaire was administered in 35 learning centres that offer literacy programmes to refugee youth. The head of the Non formal Education (NFE) centre where the youth studied filled the questionnaire. The detailed breakdown of institutions covered is indicated in Table 2. Table 2. List of Institutions Interviewed District Institution Number of interviews Akkar Concern 1 IRC 2 WCH 2 Baabda Ana Aqra Association 1 Baalbek Lost 1 Ana Aqra Association 2 Beirut Amel Institutions 1 ANERA (American Near East Refugee Aid) 1 Mouvement Social 1 Chouf Ana Aqra Association 1 El Meten Al-Fayhaa Association 1 El Minieh Dennie Sawa 1 Hermel WCH 1 Sour Alpha 1 Caritas 1 NRC (Norvegian Refugee Council) 1 Tripoli Al-Sunbula 1 Alpha 1 IRC 1 WCH 1 West-Bekaa IRC 2 Zahle Al-Sunbula 2 Ana Aqra Association 2 ANERA (American Near East Refugee Aid) 1 Lost (Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training) 1 Salam LADC 1 Save the Children 1 Sawa 1 WCH 1 Total 35 21
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS) 4.1.4 Development of Tools As part of the preparatory activities, a literacy assessment framework was developed detailing the tools of data collection, sampling design and the proficiency scale that would be used for the survey. The literacy assessment framework involves defining the target constructs to be assessed and describes the assessment designs aligned with the aims and constructs 22 . The main construct of the literacy survey is the assessment of the youth population (15-24 years) involving three domains: Literacy, Numeracy and Life skills. The documentation of the literacy assessment framework was guided by select questions of reflexivity of the research, namely: Why do we want to measure? What do we want to measure? How do we assess proficiency levels? How do we want to measure? How do we ensure the ‘results’ of our measurement are useful? How often should we measure? 22 Sabatini J. P., et al .2013. Preliminary Reading Literacy Assessment Framework: Foundation and Rationale for Assessment and System Design, ETS Research Report Series, ETS-RR- 13-30, New Jersey, ETS. 22
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS) 5. A Brief Introduction to the Three Domains Used for the Study According to UNESCO, literacy is defined as the “ability to read and write with understanding a short and simple statement on one’s everyday life”. A person with more stable literacy ability should be functionally competent and able to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute and use printed and written materials to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential and to participate fully in their community and wider society “(UNESCO, 2004)” 5.1 Literacy Domains and Tasks The literacy domains covered cognitive processes, focusing on participation of individuals in the society (participating), and use of a range of text types, such as narrative and interactive texts, in both print and electronic formats23. The items used were continuous texts (e.g., sentences and paragraphs) and non-continuous texts (e.g., schedules, graphs, maps). The characteristic of the literacy assessment process is that it takes into consideration the youth context/content based on materials that represent a variety of contexts and contents. Task construction for the assessment is drawn from materials selected from a broad range of both prose and document text types. The tasks identified reflect the process strategy based on specific questions that are directed to the respondents. A common framework or blueprint for the tests was developed based on skills domain and level of comprehension as given in Table 3 below. A team of experts from UNESCO, literacy assessment technical expert and independent expert on curriculum from Syria developed about 69 literacy items and 21 life skills items based on the reading skills explained in Box 2 in the three domains given in Box 3. There were seven main skills of reading that were considered while developing the test items. The skills considered were as follows: verbatim recall, paraphrase concept, find main idea, infer from text, locate information, locate and process, and apply rules. After initial pre-testing with a sampled population, 20 items (15 literacy + 5 life skills) were selected for the study. During the development of the test items, the skills identified were based on the five competency levels (see next sub-section on Literacy scale). The levels depended on item difficulty from the easiest to the most difficult. The literacy skills are described in terms of the sub-domains/areas (see Box 3). The domains are within the school/academic context versus non-school or everyday-life context (work and home related tasks) and types of materials or format in which literacy skills and tasks occur and associated purposes or uses within and across materials. The reading tasks in the context of work involve documents (graphs, charts, tables, schedules), forms with the purposes for reading to do or reading to learn. 23 https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/piaac/literacy.asp 23
SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTH LITERACY ASSESSMENT STUDY (SYLAS) The skills identified are explained as follows: Box 2. Seven Main Skills of Reading Verbatim recall To repeat the actual words that were spoken or written. Paraphrase concept To express in a shorter, clearer or different way what someone has said or written. Infer from text To form an opinion based on information that has been provided. Main Idea To plan or suggest a possible course of action, especially one that one thinks of suddenly. Locate information To find the exact position of information. Locate and process To find the exact position of information and get a meaning out of it. Apply rules To get the issues being sought based on information available. Box 3. Literacy Domains Narrative prose A continuous text that aims to tell a story, whether fact or fiction. Prose is a comprehension passage. Expository prose A continuous text that aims to describe, explain, or otherwise convey factual information or opinion to the reader, as well as to give instructions, directions procedures and rules. Documents Structured information organised in such a way that the reader is required to search, locate, and process selected facts rather than read every word of a continuous text. Document items include; simple list, combined or intersecting list, forms and charts/graphs, which represent information in various forms and formats for interpretation. 5.2 Literacy Scale In an assessment, the way the domain is organized determines the design of the test as well as how to report the scores of the test. The pool of tasks should be representative of the sub- domains to allow adequate reporting on a single scale per sub-domain rather than on one scale for the domain. Literacy tasks covers a range of difficulties (low, middle, and high) so as to provide a comprehensive picture of the range of skills of youth. The measurement of the literacy will apply a continuum of skills. 24
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