An Instructional Design Model for Better Refugee and IDP Education

Abstract

Education in refugee and internally displaced people (IDP) IntroductionEducators and students in refugee and IDP camps face some of the worst educational challenges that one can ever imagine. Resilience seems to be at its peak in these extraordinary settings. Financial challenges, psychological trauma, dire poverty, security risks, lack of basic educational materials, health problems, just to name a few, are some of the challenges that both educators and students face in refugee and IDP camps. Yet, everyone expects education to be the golden key to secure a successful life of everyone in these settings (Drechsler, Munsch, & Wintermeier, 2005;Duong & Morgan, 2001;Lin, Suyemoto, & Kiang, 2009;Skonhoft, 2000;Sommers, 2001;Tillman, 2001;Waters & Leblanc, 2005). Although this expectation may be farfetched, education certainly plays an important role in addressing past issues of refugee and IDP learners, their current life needs, and preparation for their future. It is therefore important to invest all needed effort and resources to support education in refugee and IDP camps.One of the most important factors to consider in refugee and IDP education is the customization of the curriculum to the needs of the learners. Refugee and IDP learners have needs that differ from those of the students in mainstream schools. The instructional setting is also different from what most people know as school. For instance, according to the study on which the proposed instructional design model is based (Wa-Mbaleka, 2013), most classrooms