Gender, higher education and Capabilities within the Syrian context

This paper critically examines whether higher education (HE) is living up to its potential in terms of expanding refugees’ freedoms and enabling them to live lives that they value (Sen 1999, Vaughn 2007). Using data gleaned from empirical qualitative research with Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey (with focus groups as the primary research method), the paper uses a Capabilities lens to analyse the extent to which HE is enabling both female and male refugees to achieve their desired ‘functionings’ and ‘capability sets’ related to ‘the self’, ‘the social’ and ‘the souk’ (marketplace) (Al-Fattal and Ayoubi 2013). The paper argues that while there has been an increase in HE learning opportunities for refugees in quantitative terms, agendas supportive of particular education outcomes and ‘gender blind’ education policies have limited refugees’ opportunities to develop the full set of functionings and capabilities that they value.