UK Partner
Ann Emerson, Doctor, Senior Lecturer School of Education and Sociology
Ukraine Partner
Volodymyr Filippov, Doctor of Economic, Professor of Department of Management, Institute of Economics and Management
Project objectives
For children who are living through war, schooling provides a sense of normalcy and a safe place to be children, as well as continuing their academic progress. Schools should also focus on the wellbeing of teachers in times of crisis so that they can support their students (see International Rescue Committee’s Healing Classrooms). In Ukraine, many children are carrying on their schooling online rather than in physical schools, either from their homes, as internally displaced people, or as refugees. This research would aim to understand how and if schooling in this form serves the benefits usually associated with education in conflict. This research would look at how both teachers and students are experiencing education online and whether it is serving the academic and psycho-social purposes that education in emergencies. It could inform both teaching practice and policy in Ukraine as well as to inform international practice of education in emergencies.
Project goals
This research will begin with a literature review to fully understand the state of education in Ukraine. Next, the co-researchers developing two online questionnaires. The first will be for teachers and will address their practice to support their students’ wellbeing, and the second will be for students aged 12 to 18. We will utilise the International Rescue Committee and the Interagency for Education in Emergencies guidance on supporting the wellbeing of teachers and students in times of conflict as the basics for our questionnaires. The questionnaires will be translated to Ukrainian by an English teacher in the Institute of Economics and Management. We will aim to survey 80 teachers and 100 students who are studying from their homes, who are internally displaced (living away from home in Ukraine), and those who are currently living abroad. Once data from the questionnaires is collected and analysed, we will conduct focus groups with up to 20 teachers and separately with up to 25 students to capture any important data that was missed through the questionnaires. Dr Filippov has connections with Schools in Odesa, so will be able to organise these groups easily. The data collected will provide an in-depth analysis of the experiences of online schooling for children in Ukraine in terms of promoting their wellbeing. We will be able to them make recommendations for teachers to improve their practice to help their students with their wellbeing. Additionally, we will make recommendations for the government of Ukraine and humanitarian organisations to support teachers as well as students.
Role of each Partner
• Dr Filippov will do literature review to fully understand the state of education in Ukraine
• Dr Emerson and Dr Filippov will share the responsibility of developing the questionnaires
• Dr Filippov will distribute the questionnaires
• Dr. Emerson will take the lead on analysing resulting qualitative data
• Dr Filippov will take the lead in analysing quantitative data
• Dr. Emerson & Dr Filippov will share the responsibility of developing questions for focus
groups with students and teachers
• Dr. Filippov will organise/ schedule the focus groups
• Dr. Filippov will lead focus groups and Dr. Emerson will co-lead online focus groups
• Dr. Emerson will take the lead on analysing the focus group data (once transcribed)
• Dr. Emerson & Dr Filippov will share the responsibility of developing analytical report including recommendations for future practice which will be posted on the website of the Ukrainian Economic Scientific Portal including recommendations for teachers to improve their practice and recommendations for the government of Ukraine and humanitarian organisations to support teachers as well as students
Timing
Project Start Date: 15 February 2023
Project End Date: 31 August 2023
Expected results
1. An analytical report in English and Ukrainian including recommendations for future practice which will be posted on the website of the Ukrainian Economic Scientific Portal: https://economics.net.ua/analytics
2. 1-3 academic articles published in education (e.g. comparative & international education Society), security (Global Change), and on economic scientific portal (https://economics.net.ua/en/journal, https://economics.net.ua/en/journal-print, https://mdt-opu.com. ua/index.php/mdt)
3. Presentation of work at UKFIET or similar International Education conference in the UK
