In Focus: Ita Sheehy
Ita Sheehy is former Head of Education at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and has worked on education for over three decades. We spoke to her about her goals when she first started leading UNHCR’s education work, where the field of refugee education stands today, and the role of research in policy and practice.
“Inclusion in education, per se, is not a given. Even when a government has a very sound policy in favor of inclusion, there are so many different aspects that can mitigate against children and youth being able to go to school and stay in school. ”
What were some of your goals for refugee education when you first took on the role of heading up UNHCR’s education section?
When I started at the end of 2010 there was very little structure around what UNHCR was doing in refugee education. It seemed that a lot of the work being done was very haphazard. There was a focus on primary education, but there didn’t seem to be any understanding of the importance of refugee access to every level of education. It was very clear that UNHCR needed to have a policy and a strategy for education to guide the country offices. So, that was the first priority.
The policy and strategy were launched at the start of 2012 and from then on a lot of support was given to ensure countries developed a strategy themselves. Also, I really wanted to see more evidence brought in of what was working in refugee education and to expand programming based on evidence.
Where do you think we are now in terms of the field of refugee education?
If we look at the global emphasis that’s being placed on education for forcibly displaced populations I think we are really in quite a good place. A lot of that is built on the development of that first strategy in 2012 and the external education networks becoming engaged in refugee inclusion in education. And from people I meet, be it within international organizations and global networks, NGOs around the globe or in country offices, people are aware of the recent 2019 strategy, Refugee Education 2030, and they’ve actually read it.
Some of the learning that has come from the implementation of the strategy is how contextual it needs to be, how we need to have a very proactive approach to working with partners at various levels. Inclusion in education, per se, is not a given. Even when a government has a very sound policy in favor of inclusion, there are so many different aspects that can mitigate against children and youth being able to go to school and stay in school.
Can you share some more of your reflections on the ways in which research has informed some of these policy developments and how they get implemented in practice?
What we really want is research that’s working closely with actors on the ground so that the knowledge coming from the research is being put into practice and is being used not only in the context in which it's being developed, but more broadly.
What comes to mind is the area of accelerated education, in which UNHCR has invested quite heavily. It was clear to us that we needed to develop much stronger support in favor of certified flexible programs that are not strictly within the traditional formal sector. So, we formed a group of engaged organizations and donors to work on this, putting a lot of emphasis on building up evidence of what works. Dedicated funding for research has been built into the program, recognizing that a lot of what’s done in refugee education and in education generally is often not based on any solid evidence base, though it should be. I think the evidence-based component is what’s helped us to build up a robust accelerated education program with implementation now in a growing number of countries.