Interventions to improve refugee children’s access to education and quality learning: A scoping review of existing impact evaluations

The scoping review identifies a critical shortage of robust quantitative evidence regarding refugee education interventions. Out of 1,873 screened articles, only eight met the strict methodological criteria for impact evaluation. Findings suggest that while cash transfers can increase the time children spend in school, they do not necessarily increase overall enrolment. Promising results for learning quality were found in early childhood development programmes, online game-based solutions, and language-enhanced physical education for second-language acquisition, as well as child and youth learning centres for literacy and numeracy in camp settings. The authors highlight significant gaps in research concerning the Global South, long-term impacts, and gender-specific needs for girls.

• There is a severe lack of rigorous quantitative research evaluating the impact of educational interventions for refugees; a search of 1,873 peer-reviewed articles published between 1990 and 2021 yielded only eight studies that met strict methodological inclusion criteria.
• Cash transfer programmes, such as the 'No Lost Generation' initiative in Lebanon, can increase the amount of time refugee children spend in school and increase household education expenditures, but they do not provide evidence of increased overall school enrolment rates.
• Second-language acquisition can be positively impacted by several different intervention types, including early childhood development (ECD) programmes, online game-based solutions, and language-enriched physical education classes.
• In camp settings, specifically at Buramino Camp in Ethiopia, child and youth learning centres (CYLCs) were found to improve literacy and numeracy skills, with older children and boys showing more significant gains than younger children and girls.
• The effectiveness of certain interventions, such as drama therapy, may depend on the length of time a refugee has stayed in the host community; one study showed significant mathematics improvement for newly arrived refugees, while a later randomised control trial for refugees with emotional and behavioural problems showed no significant difference in grades.
• Community school (CS) practices that integrate multiple special services can improve academic outcomes (GPA) for both refugee and non-refugee students and may reduce the risk of dropout for English Language Learners through counselling and trauma-sensitive training.

APA

Palik, J., & Østby, G. (n.d.). Interventions to improve refugee children’s access to education and quality learning: A scoping review of existing impact evaluations. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/45499745-8eba-42c7-b7c6-1fba4e20241b/Palik and Ostby Interventions to improve refugee childrens access to education and quality learning.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Palik, Júlia, and Gudrun Østby. Interventions to improve refugee children’s access to education and quality learning: A scoping review of existing impact evaluations. Peace Research Institute Oslo, n.d. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/45499745-8eba-42c7-b7c6-1fba4e20241b/Palik and Ostby Interventions to improve refugee childrens access to education and quality learning.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Palik |first1=Júlia |last2=Østby |first2=Gudrun |title=Interventions to improve refugee children’s access to education and quality learning: A scoping review of existing impact evaluations |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/45499745-8eba-42c7-b7c6-1fba4e20241b/Palik and Ostby Interventions to improve refugee childrens access to education and quality learning.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{palikndinterventions, author = {Palik, Júlia and Østby, Gudrun}, title = {{Interventions to improve refugee children’s access to education and quality learning: A scoping review of existing impact evaluations}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/45499745-8eba-42c7-b7c6-1fba4e20241b/Palik and Ostby Interventions to improve refugee childrens access to education and quality learning.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }