Education During the Active War: Exploring Teachers' Perceptions and Practice in Syria

Abstract:Education is the basic right of every child in any condition. Unfortunately, the conflict in Syria has denied 2 million students education and destroyed 7,000 schools (United Nations Children's Emergency Fund [UNICEF], 2021). Education during conflict is even more critical to promote strong social, emotional, and cognitive development in children. There have been several studies to evaluate the availability and accessibility of education in conflict zones (Mundy & Dryden-Peterson, 2011; Badrasawi et al., 2018). However, there are rare, if any, studies to explore teachers' perception of teaching during war and their performance. Teachers in a war zone certainly have the most significant role in fostering students' development in a different aspect by implementing creative teaching in their lessons. Thus, this study explored the perceptions of primary school Syrian teachers about education in a war zone and their creative teaching practices.