Wednesday, 6 March, at 4pm GMT
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Articulating Syrian Women Refugees’ Education in an Age of Uncertainty
Political conflicts propelled a wave of refugees that are seen as a force that threatens the stability of the UK and Western Europe. It has left many refugees bewildered and vulnerable in a transition to a new land, which may or may not cater to their cultural, religious, ethnic, and social needs. This paper examines the role of adult education in the lives of Syrian women and education’s ability to bridge the gap between cultures. We posit that education serves as a tool of self-expression and integration for Syrian women refugees in their adopted communities. Using a feminist life history method, the stories of three Syrian women will be discussed. In doing so, we revisit the definition of ‘refugees’ and ‘immigrants’ as posited by various scholars to shed light on the crisis and how it has risen from a counter-terrorism strategy in the UK and reveal the implications that this has had over the past years on the British education system.
Dr. Shereen. H. Shaw
Shereen H. Shaw is an academic senior lecturer and researcher at Edge Hill University’s Secondary and Further Education Department at the Faculty of Education. She is also a lecturer in Existential Philosophy at the University of Liverpool’s Department of Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning. Shereen’s interdisciplinary research interest is in philosophy, literature, and gender. In 2015, she received a doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Liverpool. Since her appointment at Edge Hill, Shereen has taught on the PGCE/ PGDE programme and received a research investment fund for an interdisciplinary project on Britishness, Identify and Belonging. She is a senior fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Her work in this area explored Arab women’s sense of Shame in the Arab world, Shame in relation to FGM, issues within gender identity, education, sexual health, and the ontology of being, especially post- the Arab Spring. Shereen adapts an existential lens in her comparative research and focuses on various ontological questions on meaning and purpose. This enables her to philosophically explore critical discourses on Arab women, shame and guilt, identity, education, social justice, and cultural, and political debates.
Dr Ghada Nakhla
Ghada Nakhla is a Senior lecturer, course leader and researcher at Edge Hill University’s Secondary and Further Education Department teaching on the mathematics undergraduate programme. She is a senior fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Since working with other academics at Edge Hill, Ghada was successful in securing a grant of 7,948.50 from Edge Hill to research student engagement during the academic year 2014. She has also undertaken a secondment at Loughborough University where she researched ways of identifying and addressing students’ mathematical perceptions, strengths, and weaknesses in mathematics. She has secured funding from the NCETM to set up a local network aiming to create excellence in teaching and learning as well as supporting specialist mathematics teachers in delivering functional skills. Her research largely focuses on the applications of Structural Equation Modelling. She has used Structural Equation Modelling in a variety of educational contexts and utilised Confirmatory and Exploratory Factor analyses to assess the construct validity of research instruments. Her research interest and published work extend to the area of fear in and about education, social justice, gender and multi-cultural studies and debates.
Dr Sonia Soans
Dr Sonia Soans is a critical psychologist who works as an independent researcher and lecturer. She received her PhD from Manchester Metropolitan University. Her research interests include intersectional feminism, gendered violence, media, nationalism, addiction and theology. Focusing on the interconnected nature of these issues, her work explores how these issues play out in present day India. In addition to this, she is on the editorial collective of Asylum Magazine, a radical mental health magazine. Her recent publications reflect the transdisciplinary nature of her work. She is the founder of the Afro-Asian Critical Psychology Forum. Through this network she collaborates with scholars whose work looks at critical issues in the majority world and theoretical psychology. The network conducts events and writing projects.
