Research by Patricia Kubow to impact refugee students in Jordan
Professor Patricia Kubow hopes her research will help both refugee and native students adapt to change
As one country in the Middle East continues to change with refugees coming in from Syria, Patricia Kubow, a professor in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies department, is hoping research she’ll be doing next year will help both refugee and native students adapt to that change.
Kubow will be in Jordan from January through May 2018, where she’ll be examining how Jordanian and Syrian refugees students in primary and secondary schools understand their Arab identities and the role of schooling in shaping citizenship.
“The study will aid understanding of the experience of Jordanian children and youth, as well as Syrian refugee students in Jordan, at this important time,” Kubow said. “The findings will be used to develop a theory and practice of child voice in Jordan’s double-shift schools.”
A massive influx of refugees has led to overcrowded public schools coupled with a double-shift system of Jordanian students taught in the mornings and Syrian refugee students in the afternoons, Kubow notes School violence, bullying, and social exclusion are signs of Jordan’s larger struggle for unity and national identity. Starting with interviews and focus groups amongst students, Kubow will create a quantitative survey to be administered across schools in Jordan. The findings will then be used to inform educational public policy in the country.
Kubow was awarded the 2017-2018 Core Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award, and her work is sponsored, administered, and funded by the Jordanian-American Commission for Educational Exchange (JACEE).
