Social and Structural Determinants of Urban Refugee Education in a Kenyan Context

Abstract Urban refugees’ educational access and achievement is shaped by structural and social factors at the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels. We draw on data from structured questionnaires, focus group discussions, and brief interviews in Nairobi, Kenya with refugee learners, caregivers, schoolteachers and administrators, and nongovernmental organisation (NGO) staff who work in refugee education to identify factors related to “learning out-of-place.” Determinants of education for refugees included structural and systems-level factors (e.g., national refugee-hosting policies, education system differences between countries of origin and Kenya), school and community factors (e.g., school types and resources, experiences of discrimination), and household and individual factors (e.g., living conditions, parental involvement in education, exposure to trauma, language proficiency). Education is a key strategy to integrate refugees into the social and economic fabric of host communities; as such, it is crucial to identify and address the various factors that affect refugees’ ability to obtain an education in countries of first asylum.