Does Teacher Training for Refugees Contribute to Post-Conflict Reconstruction of Educational Systems? Evidence from West Africa

Abstract

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) ran a successful refugee education program in Guinea for 17 years, serving Sierra Leonean and Liberian refugees. One aspect of that program included training thousands of refugees as teachers, school administrators, and classroom assistants. This report describes the research project carried out in early 2009 to trace those former refugee teachers and interview them about the influence of the trainings on their lives today, and to find out whether they are currently contributing to the reconstruction of the postwar education systems in their home countries. The aim was to discover the perspective of former refugee teachers on the long-term effects of their training, as well as the challenges they faced reintegrating in their country of origin.