1. Summary
The purpose of this consultancy is to assist in the collection of data on the social networks and schooling experiences of Jordanian and Syrian students in sixth grade in Jordan. The research assistant will be responsible for assisting in identifying 12 schools in and around Amman by coordinating with the relevant educational departments at the Ministry of Education, completing informed consent in Arabic, collecting & cleaning data, and contributing to the analysis under the supervision of Daniel Shephard who is a Ph.D. candidate at Teachers College, Columbia University and the Primary Investigator (PI) for this study. The project will involve working with a research team including 2-3 Research Assistants and the PI.
2. Background and objectives
More than 12 million refugee children have been forced to leave their homes and disrupt their education as they seek refuge in new and sometimes hostile places. In order to provide these children with an education, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its partners have promoted a policy of including refugees in public schools since 2012. This goal of inclusion within the public-school system manifests itself in distinct institutional structures, sometimes involving separate schools, shifts, or classrooms for refugee students. Little is known about the individual and social effects of these institutional structures on students from both the refugee and the host communities. Jordan provides a unique case to investigate this phenomenon because over 100,000 refugees attend public schools in different institutional settings, including integrated, double-shift, and camp-based schools. During an academic year this longitudinal study will combine in-depth qualitative observations and a 3-wave sociometric survey to explore how institutional forms of refugee student inclusion affect the social and academic trajectories of both refugee and host-community students. The findings of this study will contribute to the literature on social cohesion, education in emergencies, and social network formation during early adolescence.
The study will cover 12 schools in and around Amman (within a two hours’ drive). Travel costs related to the project will be compensated by the PI.
3. Key responsibilities
3.1. Training and Orientation
Research assistants will be required to attend a training and orientation session. It is expected at the end of the training participants will:
- Be familiar with the research questions, methods to be used and protocols to be implemented
- Have a clear understanding and capacity to recruit participants for the study in an ethical manner according to the research protocol
- Have a clear understanding of the health and sanitary protocols to be used throughout the study due to the ongoing COVID-19 health pandemic
- Have knowledge of the analytic techniques to be used to analyze the data, strategies for data protection, and management strategies to ensure participant confidentiality
3.2. Respondent Recruitment and Data Collection
Each research assistant will be expected to adhere to the following during the research. Each of these topics will be covered in detail during the training.
- Work in a sensitive and respectful manner with communities to recruit participants through obtaining informed assent from learners and consent from a trusted adult for each learner
- Ensure protocols to obtain informed consent are adhered to
- Undertake focus group discussions and in-depth interviews in Levantine Arabic in a manner that can be understood by participants
- Undertake survey data collection (in Arabic) at three time points during the academic year
- Undertake at least 10 classroom observations during the academic year
- Ensure equipment such as tape recorders are working, that there is back-up equipment, and that appropriate measures are taken to keep the data safe and secure
3.3. Data Cleaning and Support Data Analysis and Results
Each research assistant will be responsible for:
- Assisting in cleaning all data and doing quality checks of Arabic transcripts and English translations
- Working in a collaborative manner with the other research assistants and the PI to identify themes from the data
3.4. Clear Communication
- Work in a collaborative, respectful, sensitive manner with participants
- Maintain clear, ongoing communication with the PI about the progress of the data collection
- It is critical that the PI is immediately informed of any issues that can compromise the research and/or the safety and wellbeing of the participants and/or research assistant
- Participate in regular team meetings with the other research assistants and qualitative research consultant
3.5. Deliverables may include, but are not limited to
- Regular progress reports on field data collection activities
- Data collection
- Data entry
- Data cleaning
4. Education and experience
- Undergraduate degree in social sciences, preferably a current or recent graduate student in education or sociology
- Complete fluency in Levantine Arabic and English
- Experience conducting focus group discussions, interviews, observations, and surveys with children
- Strong analytical, written and oral skills
- Experience working with a research team
- Knowledge of issues related to education-in-emergencies and refugee education
5. Terms
The RA will be engaged for 40-60 days between September 2021 and July 2022 and the position will be compensated between 25 and 50 JOD per day depending on the candidate’s experience.
6. Selection Process
Qualified candidates should send their resume to [email protected]. Top ranked candidates will be invited for interviews.