Voices of the Displaced: A Rights holders Analysis of Educational Barriers and Child Agency in Bishan Gurracha, Ethiopia

Background

Forced displacement represents one of the most pressing humanitarian and developmental challenges of the twenty-first century. According to data from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC) 2020), the global number of forcibly displaced persons escalated from 38.1 million in 2000 (comprising 16.9 million refugees and 21.2 million internally displaced persons) to 89.3 million by 2021.Crucialy, internally displaced persons (IDPs) constitute the majority of this population at 53.2 million, with children, accounting for approximately 42% of the total displaced people worldwide (Diwakar 2015).

Within this global landscape ,the Horn of Africa remains one of the most severely affected regions, with Ethiopia hosting one of the world’s largest internally displaced population due to localized conflicts, border disputes, and recurrent climatic shocks (IDMC 2020; Sewenet and Belay 2019). The disruptive nature of this displacement is profound; it shatters the social fabric of communities, erodes family livelihoods, and induces severe health vulnerabilities while compromising child protection and holistic development (Seguin 2016). Amidst these crises, displaced children face severe disruptions to their fundamental right to education through diminished access, structural inequities, and compromised educational quality.

Global and regional normative frameworks, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, Education Cannot Wait (ECW ), and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognizes education as a vital protective mechanism in conflict and displacement zones (Verdelho 2022). Quality education restores a sense of normalcy, protects children from systemic exploitation, fosters resilience, and equips them with self-reliance necessary to navigate long-term post- conflict recovery and national development (Nwokeocha 2021). Consequently; the Ethiopian government with various international actors has introduced targeted educational interventions to mitigate these crisis impacts.

Despite ongoing policy and humanitarian interventions, a significant conceptual and empirical gap persists in how post displacement educational programs are designed, evaluated, and understood and researched. Earlier studies have heavily relied on top- down, adult-centric, and quantitative methodologies. These studies predominantly prioritize duty bearers perspectives, adult-proxy reporting ,macro-level psychological trauma metrics , raw enrollment counts or structural causes and impacts of displacement (IDMC 2020; Ahmed et al. 2019; Gebrie and Sultan 2024; Hiller and Rozo 2026; Maru 2017; Okonkwo 2021; Sarkinfada 2022; Tesfaw 2022)

Consequently, displaced children-despite being the largest demographic among IDPs and primary rights-holders are conceptualized as passive aid recipients or victims to be seen but not heard (Wessells 2021). This passive framing contradicts Article 12 of United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), which challenges the idea of children as merely vulnerable objects in need of protection, recognizing instead their status as active social actors capable of expressing their views and exercising (Austin et al. 2024). Crucially, comprehensive evidence centering children’s own accounts regarding how they interpret systemic educational barriers, articulate emotional realities, and navigate daily educational constraints remains under-researched (Merga et al. 2025; Mooney 2023; Ushie et al. 2026). Without grounding intervention design in children’s lived realities, educational programming risks remaining culturally detached, structurally inadequate, and operationally unsustainable, underscoring the need to conduct this study.

To addresses these empirical, theoretical, and methodological gaps, this study examines the educational barriers and children agency residing at the Bishan Gurracha Settlement. This study can address this gaps by executing a rigorous rights holders analysis, shifting the analytical lens from the providers of aid (duty-bearers) to the children themselves (rights holders). In doing so, this research positions child as active social critics capable of evaluating educational provision, articulating their own educational needs, and exercising agency despite structural constraints.

By moving beyond descriptive empirical reporting of localized experiences, this study advances the literature on forced displacement and child rights through four key contributions: This study presents significant theoretical implications by enhancing the understanding of internal displacement and education through the lived experiences of children. This study advances the educational literature by shifting the analytical lens from duty bearers to rights holders (children) themselves. It also propose conceptual shift from short-term humanitarian aid paradigms toward a rights-restoration framework that embeds state accountability, child participation, and long-term development permanence.

Methodologically, the research bridges localized realities with global discourses on displacement, offering a strategic roadmap for policymakers, educators, and humanitarian actors. This connection allows for the identification of operational gaps and the development of more comprehensive, adaptable, and sustainable intervention strategies. Furthermore, study addresses a crucial ethical responsibility by amplifying the voices of a historically marginalized group, thereby underscoring the need for human-centered, culturally sensitive, and dignified educational practices. The study shifts the analytical lens from duty-bearers (aid providers/government officials) directly to rights-holders (children), demonstrating the necessity of child-led evaluative research in displacement contexts.

In terms of policy significance, the study provides an objective institutional analysis of capacity constraints, infrastructural barriers, language mismatches, and policy implementation gaps, yielding actionable evidence for context-sensitive interventions. It argues that equitable or accessible educational interventions must incorporate the feedback and aspirations of displaced children.. Practically, the findings extends to real world applications, fostering further research and enhancing policy-oriented discussions on displacement and enriching existing knowledge in policy-oriented discussions surrounding displacement

Considering this, there is a need to conduct a study focusing on understanding the systemic educational barriers and children’s agency through the rights holders’ analysis, taking Bishan Gurracha, a settlement site of populations displaced from the Somali Region in 2018, as a case study. Hence, the following research questions attempt to address the specific areas of the study.

1. What systemic barriers do internally displaced children face in accessing and pursuing their education?

2. How do these children exercise their agency to navigate and mitigate the structural effects of displacement?

Theoretical Frameworks of the Study

To capture both the structural constraints imposed on internally displaced children (IDCs) and their active capacity for individual agency (negotiation), this study integrates two complementary theoretical perspectives: Katarina Tomasevski’s 4A’s Framework and the New Sociology of Childhood. Rather than treating state obligations and child action as isolated dimensions, this dual –lens framework establishes an analytical bridge between macro-level institutional supply and micro-level socio-educational agency.

Tomasevski’s 4A’s Framework: The Structural Rights Lens

To analyze systemic educational barriers, this study adopts Katarina Tomasevski’s (2006) 4A’s Framework as a normative analytical standard. This theoretical framework serves as the structural standard for evaluating the educational interventions provided by duty bearers and the educational barriers they face, defining what the state must provide to fulfill the right to education from the following dimensions. The first element of the 4A’s Framework is availability, which refers to the physical and human resources required for schooling. Evidence indicates that, in order for governments to meet the “availability” obligation, functioning educational institutions and programs must be available in sufficient numbers (Tomasevski 2006). The second element of the 4A’s Framework is accessibility, which requires that education be accessible to everyone without discrimination, including economic affordability and physical proximity. The third element of the 4A’s Framework addresses educational acceptability, focusing on the quality, safety, and minimum standards of education, including cultural, language and curricular relevance and environmental appropriateness. The fourth element, adaptability relates to whether the education provided can be tailored to the changing needs of the children.

While the 4A’s Framework robustly diagnoses institutional deficits, capacity constraints, and policy implementation gaps from the top down, it primarily centers on the operational obligations of state duty-bearers. Consequently, it requires an analytical counterpart to capture how rights-holders experience and navigate these structural conditions from the bottom up

The New Sociology of Childhood: Children Agency

To complement the structural focus of the 4A’s, this study incorporates the New Sociology of Childhood, pioneered by James and Prout (1997) and further elaborated by Christensen and James (2008). This framework fundamentally challenges the traditional view that children are "adults-in-the- making "or "becoming or mere recipients of humanitarian aid. Instead, these frameworks conceptualize children as active social agents (beings) who interpret, critique, and shape their social worlds. Instead, it views them as “beings,” considering children as active social actors and arguing that their lived experiences are distinct from those of their parents and adults. While the 4A’s focus on the system, the New Sociology focuses on the individual. This shifts the perception of children from being seen as adults in the making to active social actors. This theory is relevant as it empowers children to claim their rights and aligns closely with the researchers’ use of narrative interviews.

Theoretical Integration: Bridging Structural Supply and Demand –Side Agency

The study emphasizes that a single theoretical Perspective is insufficient to examine the complex reality of post-displacement education. By Integrating Tomasevski’s 4A’s Framework with New Sociology of Childhood, a comprehensive analytical framework is established that links macro-level state obligations (duty-bearers) with micro-level lived experiences (rights-holders).

The 4A’s framework outlines the legal obligations of the state as duty bearers, while the New Sociology of Childhood offers sociological realities faced by the students as rights holders’ .This integration highlights the gaps in state obligation and illustrates how these deficiencies impact children’s dignity and their capacity to exercise agency. Ultimately, the 4A’s identify the accountable party, the state, while; the New Sociology of Childhood empowers the children to claim their rights, demonstrating that a multifaceted approach is essential for achieving the research objectives.

Operational Definition of Terms

Burdened Agency: In this study, it represents a high- stakes, stressful form of decision making forced upon vulnerable children out of necessity, where voices are driven by survival rather than personal growth (Olanrewaju et al. 2019).

Children’s Agency: Refers to their ability to take action, make decisions, voice their opinions, and actively shape their social lives, relationships, and the cultural contexts of their societies (Wessells 2021).

Rights holders: In this paper, it refers to internally displaced children (IDCs) who are generally categorized as the marginalized and vulnerable groups classified as the beneficiaries whose rights are the one expected to be protected (Thomas and Thomas 2011).

Rights-Restoration Model: In this study context, it represents a systemic framework moving beyond emergency relief toward sustainable rights realization strategies that view the child as an active social actor and rights-holder, responsible for shaping the educational environment and accountability.

Methodology and Approach

The researchers employed a narrative inquiry research design to conduct this study. The design considers the subjective nature of the problem, the diverse experiences of participants, and presents the results in a way that directly reflects the terminology used in the research questions (Hajan et al. 2024). This method is suitable for gathering detailed and comprehensive information about personal experiences related to specific issues from the narrators’ own perspectives. It is also preferable when researchers aim to present the story that a person has about a specific phenomenon in a structured and meaningful manner from the storyteller’s perspective (Mertova and Webster 2019). Such narratives are essential to learn from children by drawing out each other’s ideas and experiences (Wessells 2021). Additionally, the researchers employed a qualitative approach to better understand the subjective experiences of displaced children in their daily lives. Using this research design and approach was essential for addressing the research objectives.

The study aimed to analyze the voices of displaced children regarding educational barriers and children’s agency through their perspectives by taking the Bishan Gurracha settlement as the study setting. The town of Bishan Gurracha is located in the Oromia region of Ethiopia, approximately 264 km from Addis Ababa along the highway to Hawassa, and hosts one of the largest camps for the displaced population, accommodating around 2,000 households primarily from the Somali Region of Ethiopia. This site was selected purposively because it is located in a remote area of Oromia, compared to other settlement camps that receive less attention than other urban camps, making it a critical context for investigation.

The participants of the study were sixteen (16) IDCs (nine of them female), all in the age range of 13 to 18 years, selected from the Bishan Gurracha settlement. The selection of participants was purposive, based on their capacity to express their experiences, willingness to participate; those experienced internal displacement, a minimum residence of one year and currently resided within the camp, and fell within the developmental age range of 13 to 18 years with the help of classroom teachers as inclusion and exclusion criteria. The researchers believed that using such sampling techniques was crucial, as it ensured the comprehensiveness of the data needed for the study and prioritized individuals with unique experiences essential for the study’s purpose (Creswell, 2012.).

To mitigate the institutional bias and power dynamics, the researchers conducted independent, informal observations and site visits over an initial one- week period to establish rapport with the children rather than accepting a pre-formulated list of selections from teachers. Furthermore, the researchers purposely distanced themselves from the school administration during the assent process, assuring participants that their responses would have no impact on their academic grades, relationships with teachers, or household aid allocation. This can contribute to minimize selection bias related to the teachers for their students.

Purposive sampling was used to select Bishan Gurracha as the study site. This site is believed to be one of the largest settlements for the population displaced from the Somali Region and is located in a remote area of Oromia Regional State compared to other settlement camps, which receive little attention.

The study engaged participants through semi-structured interviews and observations to explore participants learning environment. The interviews focused on capturing the nuanced, lived experiences of the participants, while observations were employed to evaluate the adequacy and appropriateness of the interventions provided by duty bearers and identify the systemic educational barriers. An interview guide was initially prepared in English language and latter translated into Afaan Oromoo to accommodate the participants’ language preferences. Interviews were conducted in Afaan Oromoo, recorded and transcribed for analysis. Observations were guided by structured checklists that evaluate various aspects, including service types, support mechanisms, infrastructure, and facility standards. This method allowed for effectively triangulating the qualitative data obtained from the interviews.

Concerning researchers’ positionality, the authors, as academic researchers in education, acknowledged the existing power imbalance when working with marginalized child participants. To respect a child -centered approach, they positioned themselves as facilitators, allowing the children’s voices to shape the conversation. They practiced ongoing reflexivity through journaling and debriefing, ensuring that the thematic analysis reflected the genuine perspectives of the participants rather than institutional biases.

The study employed a thematic data analysis approach to identify, analyze, and categorize recurring patterns within the narratives. This approach is essential as it serves as a fundamental method for qualitative data analysis, equipping researchers with the necessary competencies for various qualitative analyses (Braun 2006).

Regarding the connection between narrative inquiry and thematic analysis, these two qualitative approach functions as a highly connected and supported issue. Narrative inquiry was employed to capture the temporal, contextual, and relational nuances of participants’ lived experiences as unbroken personal stories while thematic analysis was then applied across narratives to systematically identify cross-cutting thematic patterns without losing individual participant context.

The data analysis process was conducted through the following steps. First, the researchers immersed themselves in the raw data by transcribing audio recordings and actively reading the transcripts closely to gain familiarity. Two independent researchers then conducted line- by- line open coding to identify recurring empirical indicators. Next, they aligned their analysis with the research questions. To ensure analytical rigor, any disagreement regarding code assignment or conceptual boundaries were resolved through an iterative review of the raw audio and field notes until a 100% inter-coder consensus was reached. Related codes are then grouped into broader themes to uncover conceptual overlaps and mapped directly onto a matrix aligned with the 4A’s framework .Researchers review and refine these themes by comparing them against the coded extracts and the entire data set. After establishing the themes, they are defined and named to clearly convey their significance. Finally, researchers interpret the selected extracts, weavering together an analytical narrative that addresses the research question and maintained daily reflexivity journals to actively recognize and challenge their own academic privileges. In this data analysis, students (children) were assigned codes ranging from SR1 (Student Respondent 1) to SR16 (Student Respondent 16).

To ensure qualitative rigor and trustworthiness of this study, this research strictly adheres to the four dimension of trustworthiness framework established by Lincoln and Guba:

Credibility: The credibility framework aids researchers in comprehending and evaluating their fieldwork experiences, enabling them to articulate their experiences clearly and insightfully (Coker 2026). Trustworthiness and credibility in qualitative research depend on systematic, transparent methods that document prior practices and improve results. The authors ensured credibility through prolonged engagement at the Bishan Gurracha settlement site over several weeks, establishing peer rapport and reducing participant anxiety. Furthermore, the authors also employed data source triangulation of children narratives against qualitative field observation of classroom conditions and formal semi-structured interviews with local teachers. Peer debriefing sessions were conducted to critically challenge our interpretive boundaries

Transferability: Transferability in qualitative research refers to the extent to which the findings of the study can be applied to other contexts or settings (Lim 2025). To facilitate contextual transferability, we provide a highly detailed thick description of the settlement site, and the demographic profile of the participants.

Dependability: Dependability in qualitative research refers to the consistency and stability of the research findings over time and under similar conditions (Lim 2025)To guarantees dependability, we maintained a meticulous, transparent audit trial. This archive preserves all raw, transcribed audio files and step by step conceptual memos that led to our final thematic analysis.

Confirmability: This can be ensured by our inter-coder consensus protocol and by incorporating verbatim, unedited narrative blocks throughout the findings section to let the data speak directly.

To ensure strict ethical compliance, ethical issues and protocols in research were maintained throughout the study. Before conducting data collection, participants were fully informed of the study’s objectives, their voluntary participation and their rights to withdraw from the research at any time without penalty. They were also assured that their personal data would be treated with complete confidentiality through the use of anonymized coding. Informed consent was obtained from parents or care givers for those under the age of 18, alongside the affirmative assent of the children themselves (age 13-17) and assent was obtained from parents or caregivers for those aged 13-17, except where adolescents were heads of the household.

To safeguard the identities of the participants, all personal identifiers were immediately stripped during the transcription process. Participants were assigned unique codes (SR-1 through SR-16), which are maintained consistently across all findings. To reduce power imbalance and ensure comfort, interviews were conducted in neutral, non-intimidating, open-air spaces chosen by children. The field researchers were trained professionals acquainted with trauma-informed active listening, whenever the participants displayed signs of emotional distress, the audio recorder was immediately paused, and the narrative prompt was redirected to a neutral, safe topic. Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the College of Education and Behavioral Studies Ethics Committee at Addis Ababa University (Ref.No.C&I/06/23/24).

Findings

This study presents the findings derived from data collected on the educational barriers and experiences of internally displaced children (IDC).It identified systemic barriers as well as how they exercise agency to mitigate the effects of displacement. Data gathered through semi-structured interviews was systematically categorized into themes, and coded to address the core research questions. Both the systemic barriers and the manifestation of child agency were analyzed through the lenses of Katarina Tomasevski’s 4A’s framework and the New Sociology of Childhood. To provide an analytical overview prior to the narrative exposition, the comprehensive thematic matrix generated during data analysis is organized into two major themes and seven subthemes, detailed with illustrative participant quotes in the table.

Key themes related to Systemic Barriers: A 4A’s Framework Analysis

Sustainability Gaps and Infrastructural Inadequacy: Undermining Availability

Tomasevski’s (2006) availability pillar mandates that the right to education is not a one-time act of humanitarian charity but consistent and non-negotiable state obligation throughout the child’s developmental process. However, the narrative from Bishan Gurracha reveals a lack of sustainability of support. One participant (Rights-holder) articulated this shift from presence to absence:

"The government stopped support under the belief that displaced communities should be self-reliant, despite the fact that we have nothing. "(SR-8)

The narratives of the above rights holder underscore the systemic failure of the availability pillar, manifested by the absence of a permanent support system. Through the lens of availability, the absence of a permanent support system represents not just logistic shortage; it is a structural withdrawal of children’s right to education which emanate from premature self-sufficiency policy. From the New Sociology of Childhood perspectives, we understand that children are active social critics who critically evaluate and understand the failures of duty bearers and the breach of state obligations. The cessation of support reveals the states of IDP education as a short -term project rather than a long- term constitutional right and shifting the burden of persistence onto the displaced children themselves and placing them at the periphery compared to others.

Regarding the problems of availability identified by the rights holder, the result of the interview obtained from the Oromia Region Busa Gonofa Bureau Deputy noted:

Due to the large number of displaced people in the country, and the direction given from the Federal Disaster Risk Management Bureau that prohibit the support provision, we stopped providing support for this group (KI-19).

The above results of the interview further confirm the systemic failure of availability which highly undermines children live and education both at present and future.

The Illusion of Accessibility: Economic Barriers and Hidden Costs

Tomaseviski’s (2006) accessibility pillar mandates that education must be physically reachable, affordable, and open to the community without discrimination. However, the findings demonstrate that the school is physically accessible, but it is not economically accessible for these children due to the hidden costs of education. One student (rights holder) recalled:

“The nearby health center is so poorly equipped that we are forced to sell our limited aid resources, such as food or supplies to buy essential medications from private pharmacies, and we are feeling disappointed.” (SR -3).

This narrative evidence exposes the critical problems of accessibility due to hidden economic costs and the absence of integrated services, where the rights of children to learn are sacrificed for their right to survive and forces a systemic de- prioritization of education, as the duty bearer shifts the burden of survival onto the rights holder.

Acceptability and Socio-linguistic Disposition.

Acceptability pillar requires education including curriculum and methods of teaching to be high quality, and culturally appropriate and relevant for the needs of the learners. The findings reveal 'that the interventions often fail to meet these standards, neglecting the specific linguistic needs and rights of the rights holder that emerged from systemic failure. One student narrated the challenges experienced as follows:

“We…returned to lower grades due to inability to read or write in the new instructional medium (Afaan Oromoo.”(SR-4)

Student’s lived experience demonstrates that the language bridging support provided to help children become familiar with the new language (Afaan Oromoo) was inadequate which emanate from systemic failure of acceptability and adaptability. The linguistic incompatibility and lack of bridging programs represent a neglect of child potential and agency. This narrative demonstrates the system’s failure to require the children to adapt to the school, rather than the school adapting to the child. By ignoring the rights holders’ linguistic heritage, the system treats the child’s existing knowledge as a deficit, silencing their social agency and violating the principles of acceptability.

Regarding the challenges related with the cultural barriers children and their families faced, one respondent articulated their experiences:

We experienced obtaining high income there in the Somali Region by doing some work while here in Bishan Gurracha, we obtain minimum money by working much. We have no experiences of eating the food given for us like wheat. (SR,-15).

The above narrative evidence exposes the systemic failure of adaptability. The state failure to integrate and adapt with the host communities culture reveal that the IDP community is still considered as guest and not permanent citizen and language and culture differences is still continuous as a barriers.

Key theme Related to Children Agency: A New Sociology of Childhood Analysis

The thematic analysis identified under the pillar of children agency involves four primary areas navigated by IDC. These are categorized as: (1) Children as economic agents and providers (2) The adult- Child and caregiving agency, (3) Navigating Survival and Peer Agency, and (4) Resilient Aspirations: The Agency of Hope

Children as Economic Agents and Providers

By rejecting the view of children as passive victims, the study shows them as active social actors navigating resources depletion. To navigate their life and the lives of their families, children exercised a form of agency through participating in strategic labor .One student participant narrated their agency:

“Priority is given to immediate survival…We goto school one day and work the next day.” (SR-8)

The narrative of SR-8 demonstrates social agency by alternating between work and school to balance immediate survival with long-term educational goals. This strategic decision- making fills gaps left by duty bearers, building the child’s resiliencies and self-confidence rather than leaving as a passive victim of their circumstances.

The other participant also demonstrated their agency as follows:

“We sell our limited aid resources, such as food or supplies to buy essential medications due to the absence of integrated services” (SR-3)

The above narrative demonstrate children agency by selling limited aid resources to buy medication (SR-3)reveal that children are acting as resources managers and making strategic prioritization( the right to life currently more urgent than the right to nutrition) in a system that has failed to provide integrated services. They are rights holders forced to manage their own survival because the duty bearers have failed to provide services they are expected to provide.

Furthermore, the lived experiences of SR-9, where students contribute money to buy books, demonstrate a shift of burden from duty bearers to rights holder. One student (rights holder) noted,

“We {Students} contribute money to buy books even though we are poor.” (SR -9)

The analysis reveals students exercise of agency where the state failed to provide essential learning materials ( a failure of availability) that shows a violation of the state’s obligation to educate its displaced citizens and exercising responsibility to fill the gaps emanate from the state failure. The act of buying books is not a simple transaction rather an act of collective resistance to systemic failure of availability.

The Adult- Child and Caregiving Agency

The other research participant described the effects of displacement and how children exercise their agency as follows:

At the age of 12, I shoulder the responsibility of caring for my 2-year-old brother after losing our parents to conflict, often facing challenges in class. Despite the difficulties, I remain hopeful that we will eventually find stability and thrive together."(SR-2)

The above narrative evidence illustrates the situation where children take an adult responsibility at younger age to prevent family’s dissolution. The classroom is transformed from a learning space to a child care space. The child is attempting to claim the right to education while fulfilling the right to survival of his brother. The child’s crying in the class serve as a protest of systemic conditions and barriers of displacement.

Navigating Survival and Peer Agency

Under the 4A’s framework adaptability is the responsibility of the state to make school adaptable to fit the needs of displaced children (language support).One respondent noted:

"Upon our arrival at Bishan Gurracha, we experienced language difficulties; however, we were able to learn gradually with the assistance of our peers." (SR-7)

The narratives reveal that in the absence of bridging programs (a failure of the 4A’s adaptability component), children exercise horizontal agency through peer tutoring to overcome the language barriers. This represents child-led adaptability in a vacuum of state support. It demonstrates the children’s recognition of systemic failures in accessibility and acceptability; consequently, and they bypass the traditional top -down system by utilizing horizontal learning networks. Ultimately, the gaps created by the state systemic failures are being filled by the labour and agency of the children themselves. On the other hand, one participant explained their agency in navigating language related problem as follow:

“We…returned to lower grades due to inability to read or write in the new instructional medium (Afaan Oromoo.”(SR-4)

The narrative data demonstrate choosing to return to lower grades( SR-4) to master Afaan Oromoo is a self-directed educational strategy and strategic grade repetition and they are making a long term investment on their future by clearly understanding the role of language proficiency for their future progress.

Resilient Aspirations: The Agency of Hope

Regarding the impact of displacement on children’ s future aspirations which arises from the difficulty to realize ambition, one student respondent explained his future aspirations despite the challenges they encountered as follows:

“Our aspirations exceed our present problems….Isha Allah ’ we will not give up”(SR-3)

The narratives evidence demonstrate an argentic refusal of the current systemic condition (displacement) to define their internal horizon and the use of available cultural tools to maintain hope, build resilience, and maintain control over uncertain future.

Discussion

Regarding the systemic barriers faced by Internally Displaced (IDP) children, the study’s results highlight several critical barriers to their education. These major barriers include a severe sustainability gap driven by over-reliance on temporary relief, Survival-education trade-off" due to the hidden costs of schooling ,Linguistic and cultural Barriers , underfunding and resource Constraints by both government and donors fails to match the massive scale of the crisis ,and the wide spread inadequacy of supports function as main barriers to children education as experienced by children themselves as below:

While the government initially provided foundational support, a critical sustainability gap now exists. This gaps suggests that educational efforts were treated as temporary humanitarian aid rather than a long –term developmental solutions an ,inadequacy of interventions that limits access to, quality of, and continuity of education for certain groups during crises (Pherali 2026). This finding directly contradicts established research indicating that strengthening the well-being of displaced children requires sustainable interventions that cannot be adequately addressed within a temporary emergency setting (Wessells 2017). Ultimately, this shift from early support to systemic neglect, marked by the withdrawal of directly violates the principle of educational availability. The inadequacy of resources adversely affects the school system (Diwakar 2015) significantly undermining children’s learning potential and future employment opportunities (Salvador 2021).

In these settings, educational accessibility is often an illusion, as physical proximity to a school does not guarantee genuine access. A “survival-education trade-off” forces families to prioritize immediate physiological needs over schooling as their resources dwindle. This finding aligns with evidence that displaced children face severe risks to their survival food security, health, and education (Jones and Pincock 2020). Such pressures are further intensified by hidden costs, such as the necessity of selling food rations to afford essential healthcare. Ultimately ,this reality directly contradicts the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, which mandate that displaced persons have a right to an adequate standard of living, including health and education services (Inter-Agency Standing Committee 2010). Consequently, education is deprioritized due to systemic resource depletion rather than a lack of interest from families.

These results mirror broader evidence that internally displaced persons often face harsh conditions, including overcrowding, poor sanitation, and limited employment opportunities (Awotipe and Gilbertson 2025).When duty bearers fail to provide integrated services, the right to education is effectively sacrificed for the right to survival. This scenario highlights a systemic problems in meeting the requirement for collaborated ,evidence-driven investment among various stakeholders to guarantee that children both to survive and flourish (Pitt and Arnold 2026).

To meet the required standards of acceptability, education must be both culturally relevant and of high quality; however, a significant issue of “linguistic incompatibility” remains unresolved. Particularly, the sudden change of language of instruction from Af-Somali to Afaan Oromoo has created a barrier, putting displaced children at a disadvantage by making them in lower grades without the gaining bridging programs. The findings are consistent with earlier research that shows IDP children often encounter communication difficulties (Nwokeocha 2021; Moghli et al. 2020).

Rejecting the view of children as passive victims, the study shows that children exercised economic agency by engaging strategic labor. They alternated between work and school to balance immediate survival with long-term educational goals, rather than remaining passive victims of their circumstances. This is aligned with the finding that working as a coping strategy is significantly associated with symptoms of anxiety, and depression among refugees in Nepal (Seguin 2016). They also demonstrated agency by selling limited aid resources to buy medication, prioritizing their needs strategically with in a system that failed to provide integrated services. In addition, strategies related to education and work were linked to feelings of relief and hope, as well as a route out of poverty (Alamgir et al. 2024). They also manifested agency by contributing money to buy books, when the state failed to provide essential learning material, an act of collective resistance against a systemic failure of availability.

Regarding children care giving agency, children also asserted their agency by assuming adult responsibilities at a young age to prevent their family’s dissolution such as ensuring a sibling’s right to survival which served as a protest against the systemic conditions and barriers of displacement. This study is consistent with study conducted in Georgian IDP women demonstrating adapting new roles and responsibilities as coping strategies (Seguin 2016).

In relation to survival and peer agency, children exercised horizontal agency through peer tutoring to overcome the language barriers created by the systemic state failures in the absence of language bridging programs (a failure of the 4A’s adaptability component). They also demonstrated agency by strategically opting to repeat a lower grade to master Afaan Oromoo, reflecting a clear understanding of how language learning serves their future opportunities and holistic development.

Concerning the agency of hope, the children also demonstrate an argentic refusal of the current systemic condition (displacement) to define their internal horizon and the use of available cultural tools to maintain hope, build resilience, and maintain control over an uncertain future. This finding is consistent with the finding that indicate emotion oriented coping ( positive cognitive restructuring is significantly associated with mental distress among IDPs in Ethiopia, especially among women(Seguin 2016). This study is generally confirmed with the study results indicating that adapting to new roles and responsibilities as problem solving domain, focusing on mental strength and faith as cognitive restructuring, Support seeking as the main coping strategies in Georgian IDP women (Ihaji and Ajonye 2024).

Implications of the Study

The findings of the study highlight the complex nature of educational barriers and children agency in displacement setting. The study has essential implications for theory, practice, and research. For theory, this study calls for a transformative approach to educational interventions for displaced populations, advocating for a shift from ‘passive access’ to ‘active agency’ that recognizes displaced children as key stakeholders in shaping their educational experiences. It also calls for a reconceptualization of the 4A’s Framework not as a passive checklist for governments, but as an active rights contract where the child’s voice is the primary measure of acceptability and adaptability.

Practically, it offers a framework for integrated, rights based education that addresses survival needs and schooling, thereby eliminating the ‘survival-education trade-off’ and promoting student retention through supportive infrastructure. For research, by addressing the ‘Sustainability Gap,’ the research establishes a methodological foundation for future studies, urging the global academic community to focus on evidence-based strategies that enable displaced children to thrive rather than merely survive. It calls for longitudinal rights holders’ analysis that tracks how the withdrawal of state support affects the long- term life trajectory and future agency of displaced population. It also shifts the research agenda from how children survive to how systems fail them

In terms of policy significance, the study provides an objective institutional analysis of capacity constraints, infrastructural barriers, language mismatches, and policy implementation gaps, yielding actionable evidence for context-sensitive interventions. It argues that equitable or accessible educational interventions must incorporate the feedback and aspirations of displaced children. Practically, the findings extends to real world applications, fostering further research and enhancing policy-oriented discussions on displacement and enriching existing knowledge in policy-oriented discussions surrounding displacement

Limitations of the Study

While this study provides critical insights into the educational experiences of displaced children, several limitations warrant acknowledgment and offer a roadmap for future research.

Methodological Scope: The analysis of educational barriers and children agency relied primarily on semi-structured interviews and observation. To achieve a more multifaceted understanding of children’s lived experiences; future research could employ participatory visual methodologies, such as photo voice, children’s drawings, or longitudinal document analysis.

Sample Size and Generalizability: The study utilized a purposive sample of 16 children within the specific context of the Bishan Gurracha settlement While this allowed for deep qualitative inquiry, future research incorporating larger, more diverse cohorts across varied geographical and socio-political settings would enhance the robustness and generalizability of the findings. Stakeholder Triangulation: This research focused predominantly on the perspectives of the displaced children. To capture the full complexity of the “sustainability gap,” a mixed-methods approach is recommended to triangulate data from a broader range of stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs),parents, state officials, and frontline educators. Such integration would provide a more holistic evaluation of policy implementation and the systemic effectiveness of educational practices in displacement contexts.

We clearly acknowledge that utilizing “the ability to articulate ideas clearly” as a primary screening criteria introduces selection bias. While this approach support the narrative inquiry’s practical demand for verbal data, it potentially marginalized the most vulnerable, deeply traumatized, or non-verbal children within the camp whose psychological distress may manifest as selective structural withdrawal. Readers must interpret our findings knowing that they represent the experiences of children who possessed the immediate cognitive and emotional capacity to narrate their journeys. The researchers recommend the future research to consider comprehensive selection criteria that can incorporate all irrespective of their vulnerability rather than only focusing on those who can articulate their views. Concerning sampling bias, we explicitly acknowledged teacher-assisted sampling bias and articulate-participant bias.

Conclusion

The findings reveal a critical sustainability gap as educational barriers emanated from state capacity constraints and policy implementation gaps of the duty bearers to IDCs in the Bishan Gurracha settlement. While the initial provision of infrastructure and personnel by government and NGO actor established a baseline of availability, these efforts remain inconsistent and unsustainable. The withdrawal of essential support systems, specifically school feeding programs and material aid, has effectively transformed schools from sites of opportunity to spaces of hardship, eroding student motivation and learning potential.

Ultimately, this research demonstrates that physical availability is inadequate if not matched by accessibility, acceptability, and adaptability. The premature Policy of Withdrawal which undermine availability (2) the Illusion of accessibility and hidden costs (3) Acceptability and Linguistic Dispossession underscore a systemic educational barriers resulted from the failure of duty bearers to move beyond “emergency schooling” toward a permanent , rights based, quality education. As a response to the above stated systemic educational barriers, the children demonstrated forms of agency while navigating the effects of conflict and displacement .These may involves Children as economic agents and providers by engaging in labor work, and selling their limited food obtained through aid to buy medication, children caregiving agency for their younger brother when separated from their families due to displacement , navigating Survival and peer agency through horizontal tutoring to learn language, through agency of hope for their future despite the existing barriers.

To respect the right to education, duty bearers must move beyond fragmented interventions toward a coordinated, child-centric Rights-Restoration Model that integrates the 4A’s framework into the architecture of displacement planning. Only through sustained institutional commitment and meaning full inclusion of children’s voices can the cycle of educational marginalization be broken and the promise of transformative education be realized.

About the Author

Tolossa Bahiru Gari is a PhD candidate in Curriculum and Instruction at Addis Ababa University and a lecturer at Salale University (Ethiopia). His research interests include preprimary education, working with marginalized groups, and other multicultural issues.

Co-Authors

Ambissa Kenea Boru (PhD) is a Professor of General Education at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. He works as a senior researcher, teacher, trainer, and development consultant. His research interests include education and diversity (multiculturalism), curriculum development, and teacher professionalism, among others.

Getahun Yacob Abraham (PhD) is an Associate Professor at Borås University, Sweden. His research interests include interculturality, social justice, migration, pedagogical knowledge of social work, multicultural education, and democracy in picture books

Authors Contribution

Tolossa Bahiru Gari: Collecting data, writing, reviewed, analyzing and rewriting from the beginning to the end. Prof.Ambissa Kenea Boru (PhD): Supervising, commenting and editing, ensuring relevancy and assessment of quality. Dr. Getahun Yacob Abraham (Associate Prof.): Supervising, commenting and editing,ensuring relevancy and assessment of quality.

Data Availability

The authors confirmed that the datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Ethical Approval

Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the College of Education and Behavioral Studies Ethics Committee at Addis Ababa University ( Ref.No.C&I/06/23/24) All ethical procedures were followed in this study, confirming that human related procedures were performred in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations.

Consent to Participate

For all research involving human subjects; freely-given, informed consent to participate in the study must be obtained from participants (or their parent or legal guardian in the case of children. Based on this, informed consent was obtained from participants aged 18 and above.For participants under the age of 18(in case of children), informed consent was obtained from parents or legal guardians, while assent was secured from the children themselves.

Consent to Publish

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interests /Ethical concerns concerning this publication. Standard ethical procedures were followed to ensure participants confidentiality throughout the research process.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that there is no existing conflict of interest regarding the publication of this manuscript.

Funding

The researchers received no funds

Acknowledgements

The authors extend their profound gratitude to the children and participants of the Bishan Gurracha settlement. Their courage in sharing their lived experiences provided essential evidence for this research