On 29 July, teachers, researchers, and education practitioners came together for the second in a series of research workshops organised as part of a new partnership between Jusoor, the Centre for Lebanese Studies (CLS), and the Contractual Teachers' League in Lebanese Primary Public Schools (CTLP). The workshop focused on research ethics and the foundations of research, including research questions, conceptualisation, operationalisation, methodology, and research design.
Lebanon's education system has been under sustained pressure for over a decade. Since 2011, the country has hosted one of the world's largest refugee populations, putting immense strain on an already fragile education sector. Research by the Centre for Lebanese Studies shows that many international responses rely on top-down, external expertise that sidelines local voices and often reinforces rather than reduces inequality. This project aims to break this pattern by building an equitable collaboration between CLS, CTLP, and Jusoor.
Funded by the Spencer Foundation and running from October 2025 to September 2027, the partnership brings together three organisations rooted in Lebanon's education landscape. Together, they are co-designing and conducting research that reflects the realities of teachers and students navigating ongoing crises. The work focuses on three areas identified through community consultations: educational inequalities, inclusion, and mental health. The research projects address a range of timely issues, including remote learning in formal and non-formal education, the transition of students returning from Lebanon to Syria, parental engagement in education, and student assessment and learning in primary education.
As part of this collaboration, the partners are organising a series of research workshops that bring together teachers from CTLP and Jusoor alongside researchers from CLS, to co-develop research projects grounded in their lived realities and educational experiences. The first workshop, held on 9 May, explored the purpose of educational research and the different stages of the research process. The second, held on 29 July, focused on research ethics and the foundations of research. Over the coming months, teachers and researchers will continue working together to further develop these research projects and generate knowledge that can inform educational practice and policy.
Trained community-based researchers, teachers, and representatives of education groups will lead much of the data collection and analysis. Several of Jusoor’s teachers are part of the research groups. One group is researching the impact of remote learning on non-formal education instruction in West Bekaa and Mount Lebanon. The other group is researching the effect of primary school curriculum variations on the academic performance of Syrian students returning from Lebanon, with the latter research led by our Lebanon center teachers who returned to Syria.
Through collaborative research, open dialogue, and evidence-based advocacy, the project seeks to promote localisation, amplify marginalised voices, and support more just and inclusive education policies for all children in Lebanon. The partnership will culminate in the production and publication of a quarterly journal called Education Space, which aims to promote a wider research-informed debate on education in Lebanon.
