81138 ED U C AT I ON RE SILIE N CE APPROAC H ES Field Notes Issue No. 1 March 2013 Violence in Central America and the Carribbean Violent internal conflict shook Central America most prominently throughout the 1980s. The Rapid Social Response Nicaragua finally negotiated peace in 1998, and El Salvador and Guatemala Trust Fund supports a resilience signed their Peace Accords in 1992 and 1996, respectively. As post- approach to evidence-based conflict societies, the expectations were for equitable opportunities and long-lasting peace. However, in policy making the post-conflict period new forms of violence emerged in the form of extremely violent youth gangs “Central America and Caribbean Protection of Youth Vulnerable to and organized crime, affecting Violence and Conflict” was a year-long knowledge exchange project especially children and youth in poor, marginalized and vulnerable supported by The World Bank’s Rapid Social Response (RSR) Trust communities. In Guatemala for Fund (February 2012-March 2013). Focusing on the education sector, example—a country with the 4th the project used a resilience approach to address evidence needs on highest chronic malnutrition rate in the world and more than 50 percent the complex and multivariate risks of violence and the knowledge of its population below the poverty gaps for relevant and effective response, especially for vulnerable line—homicide rates among both children and youth. youth victims and perpetrators have been on the rise. The World Bank A resilience lens in education systems seeks to identify the assets and opportunities compared the number of homicides between Spain and Central America, in difficult contexts to better respond to the adversities that affect schools. It also both with an approximate population points to the role that education (and other relevant sectors, such as family and of 40 million: in 2006 Spain registered child protection) can play in reducing risks and mitigating exposure of children and 336 murders, while Central America youth to them. In violence affected contexts, resilience findings can support a policy registered 14,257 (almost 40 a day). dialogue on response, protection and prevention strategies and programs. In 2005, a UNDP-financed study estimated that the annual cost of In Central America and the Caribbean, the RSR project’s approach was to work with violence in El Salvador was 1.7 billion local researchers to build in-country capacity for generating evidence that could (or 11.5 percent of GDP). A law contribute to the design and implementation of education policies and strategies enforcement approach, alone, has not been sufficient to stop the tide to prevent and reduce violence, and to mitigate its impact on children and youth. of growing violence and its effect Applying a resilience lens and drawing from a comprehensive literature review, on children and youth. Nor has the three “Violence Resilience Research Skills Workshops” were designed. Over a period education sector’s comparative of 8 months, more than 20 researchers from five Central American and Caribbean advantage been fully understood in universities were trained in how to conduct resilience research. The first workshop terms of its contribution to protection took place in Guatemala in March 2012, the second in Nicaragua in May 2012, and and longer term prevention of violence, alongside other sectors. March 2013 - The ERA Program Field Notes 1 the final CREA (Conflicto y la Resiliencia these quickly evolving realities on the Facilitator Educativa) conference in October ground, resilience research offers a new 2012, in Honduras. The workshops approach to close existing research- Dr. Linda supported the implementation of five policy gaps. locally led research studies in Honduras, Liebenberg from the Nicaragua, El Salvador and Colombia. Resilience is an interactive process Resilience Research Center between individuals at risk and their Progress feedback from these studies environment. Through this dynamic was presented at the final CREA process, individuals seek to make conference, with additional participants sense and find purpose in spite of the from Guatemala and Haiti. The studies adversities lived. It implies seeking are being published in the World Bank’s well-being and some level of control in Education Resilience webpage (www. such difficult contexts. Overall, children worldbank.org/education/resilience). and youth affected by violence and We present here some of the lessons other adversities search for connection learned in this innovative RSR project with others, for care, commitment and linking emergent evidence, that of accountability. These inherent resilience resilience, to a chronic problem in the needs can be expressed in either region: gang and youth violence. socially acceptable or sanctioned ways. In Central America, for example, many Resilience research contributions youth seek a sense of belonging, identity to gang and youth violence and control in gang membership. prevention and impact Understanding this dynamic resilience mitigation in Central America The Rapid Social Response (RSR) Program perspective can offer governments and is a multi-donor endeavor to help the world’s and the Caribbean ulnerable poorest countries to build effective social organizations in Central America and children and youth. protection and labor systems that safeguard the Caribbean more opportunities to poor and vulnerable people against severe shocks and crises. RSR has been generously Current research on gang and youth intervene and better support children supported by the Russian Federation, Norway, violence in Central America and the and youth living in the chronic state the United Kingdom, Australia and Sweden. Caribbean provides limited policy and of violence in the region. Especially, intervention options for managing its relevant and contextually appropriate impact on education systems. Available education services, informed by studies tend to take place at the macro a resilience perspective, can help level and focus on the negative impacts vulnerable children and youth navigate of insecurity and criminality and are the ever present risks. A resilience directed towards the implementation perspective can also help governments of punitive actions. In the face of create the conditions for social justice Workshop on impact evaluation Education Resilience Approaches for risk and resilience contexts The World Bank The ERA Program is a World Bank program that offers a systematic process to collect evidence that can support local efforts to improve education services in violence and conflict affected contexts. Field Notes Series The Field Notes series is produced to share lessons around this process in an effort to disseminate ERA’s support for the collection of global evidence on resilience in contexts of adversity. 2 March 2013 - The ERA Program Field Notes and satisfy basic needs necessary for Mixed-Methods Research Skills. The Regional Education Resilience the well-being of youth, their families main objective of the RSR project Conferences. The RSR project and communities. was to contribute knowledge and supported the first regional evidence to foster the role of the conference on violence and Helping to close the evidence- education sector in the protection education resilience (called CREA), policy gaps on youth violence of children and youth from violence. held in Honduras from October prevention: a regional To achieve this, the project team 25th-26th. It generated attention to community of practice on supported the capacity development the role of education in protecting resilience and mixed-methods of twenty local researchers from the youth from violence and in education research skills youth. Central American and Caribbean contributions to prevent the region through the two workshops escalation of violence in society The RSR project had several outputs, mentioned above. emphasizing the following: but three major achievements stood out. The first workshop in Guatemala Promoting the positive presented the conceptual and resilience mechanisms present 1 A Central America and Caribbean theoretical foundations of violence among children and youth community of practice made up of prevention and resilience, and living in contexts of adversity researchers interested in the study of the second training in Nicaragua and linking these to available violence, resilience and education introduced a mixed-methods social services and protection 2 The design and implementation of (qualitative and quantitative) resilience research approach to help activities; training on mixed-methods research Understanding the country research teams to design on violence and education resilience contribution of coordinated their own in-country violence and efforts across social sectors to 3 Regional conferences for knowledge education resilience studies. Today transform the roots of violence exchange the skills gained are being directly towards peace in communities applied to the production of local Community of Practice. The RSR and schools; mixed-method research projects project intended to harness the that address varied yet contextually Uncovering innovative and inherent value of a regional process relevant aspects of education related available ways to use and of learning, knowledge sharing and risk and resilience. adapt education services capacity development. To this end, several workshops took place over the course of the year to bring together Risks facing children and young people in and subsequently consolidate a Central America and the Caribbean network of actors researching and working on education resilience in While the experience of children and young people differs the region; these were Honduras, by context and country, the RSR supported resilience-led studies Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador undertaken revealed several commonalities. In addition to the and the Caribbean Coast of Colombia, documented increased in violence exposure, other risks include with representatives from Haiti social exclusion, lack of identity and sense of belonging, the legacy joining the process in the later stages of past conflict and post-conflict societies, intra-family violence, and for the final CREA conference. a proliferation of involvement in criminal and illicit activities in the absence of other socioeconomic opportunities. In addition, this exercise supported Nonetheless, most youth affected by violence maintained an the creation of tools and the education-related purpose (they wanted to complete their studies systematization of a process for and remain in school); many schools and teachers provided a safe undertaking locally grounded space from street violence (which was explicitly recognized by research to influence public policy students); and the participation of parents and community members and the delivery of pertinent in schools was stated as an asset by the various study participants. education resilience focused In terms of education system support, recommendations interventions.the creation of tools included the need for policies to explicitly recognize the role and and the systematization of a process contributions of education systems to prevent chronic violence and for undertaking locally grounded mitigate its impact on education communities, and to address the research to influence public policy and combined academic, socioemotional and violence protection needs the delivery of pertinent education of children and youth. resilience focused interventions. March 2013 - The ERA Program Field Notes 3 in crisis and emergency, and (IDB) conducted a second conference incorporate relevant innovations focused on flexible education into the long-term development modalities for youth and a resilience of education systems. lens to make these modalities relevant in violence affected contexts. An This initial regional conference on alliance between the World Bank and violence and education resilience IDB has been formed around the theme has already impacted other similar of education resilience in the Central activities. For example, in June 2013, American region. the Inter-American Development Bank What have we gained from the RSR process? Findings from the implementation of violence prevention, reduction and this project cover both content related impact mitigation. These traditional issues (through the finding of the models need to be challenged and education resilience studies supported unorthodox approaches to service by this RSR project) and aspects of provision considered. using a resilience approach and being Understanding and assessing the Facilitator engaged in a capacity building process. particular context of violence was Learning about resilience in the found to be of crucial importance for all Martha Laverde studies. Vulnerable groups differed in from The World Bank region. their needs and resilient responses. office in Colombia Preliminary progress reports of their Hidden resilience in youth and is made more relevant for youth in resilience case studies were presented education communities was contexts of adversity. at the CREA conference and included the following findings: found across a variety of the case Among the key factors found studies, in some instances against for promoting resilience among Criminalization, the current all expectations. For example, youth students were setting goals and dreams response to gang violence, has involved in gangs still attend school, related to their education; celebrating changed many dynamics in schools. since they maintain hope that achievements and providing positive Teachers report experiencing fear and education would provide them with a reinforcement; promoting self-esteem feeling overwhelmed by the violence. more positive life alternative. Parents, among vulnerable students; and Schools currently have few coping especially mothers, are present in focusing on both the most vulnerable mechanisms regarding gang violence, schools and are a source of socio- students but also on the entire and the only solutions seen are emotional support to students and education community by stimulating criminalization and the management school staff. These examples of high families and promoting non-violent of violence prevention only by security resilience potential suggests there relations in school. Understanding forces. In many cases, actors do not are still important opportunities for students’ family context was especially see a role for school communities in intervening and ensuring schooling noted as crucial since family related adversities affected the classroom environment and students’ patterns of behavior and attitudes in school. Aligning school access, teaching and learning, and management to these needs was a key priority. Relationships with supportive adults were also critical for resilience - more often than not, this meant teachers who could provide important emotional support alongside the learning process. Teachers offered 4 March 2013 - The ERA Program Field Notes this support in both explicit and implicit ways. However, they in turn required support to be able to do this effectively. Teachers themselves are also affected by the adverse contexts in which they live and work – something that should be better taken into account in teacher training, management and support policies, and education system strategies overall. Learning about the research process. Because the project was designed not only to support the implementation of resilience studies but to strengthen the local research capacity, it has yielded Research teams have found is not a term that exists for many several process-related outcomes. resilience to present a more indigenous and rural communities, sustainable paradigm. This was resilience related research must take Strengthening the analytical reflected both in terms of the research this into account and foster links with capacity in local universities content as well as the way that the local understandings prior to data to understand violence threats and collection. Research products need to available in-country strengths to research allowed for building bridges respond directly to school needs and overcome them, is an important between academia and public interventions, rather than being just an component for locally collected policy within a particular country. resilience evidence and a contribution academic exercise. As a dynamic concept, resilience to empower education systems to research has helped highlight the Following the CREA workshops, the contribute to violence prevention and participants contributed to a series of potential relevance of resilience based impact mitigation. follow up events: a workshop between interventions provided by education the Ministry of Education of Honduras, The capacity building process systems and aligned to key transition the World Bank, USAID and Universidad undertaken through this RSR has points in the life of an individual at risk. Pedagogica on policy alternatives to allowed the country research teams Research ethical processes mitigate violence risks in schools; a to establish reciprocal relationships especially for violence affected conference on resilience and flexible between the communities they are contexts need to be defined and education modalities hosted by IDB; the working in, research institutions and creation of a new course on resilience contextualized further. Understanding ministries. These partnerships have research at Universidad del Valle of and fostering resilience requires a not only been crucial to the ability Guatemala, and the revisions to the longer term process to build trust to conduct the research but have ERA Program’s RES-Research manual and confidence among community enriched the findings and possibilities and training strategy to be piloted in members. Especially, since resilience of its application. South Asia in November 2013. Facilitator Joel Reyes from the The World Bank office in Washington, DC, facilitates a session on community participation in contexts of risk and violence March 2013 - The ERA Program Field Notes 5 Participants speak up: Comments from the community of practice, and training and workshops participants The principle of resilience is very useful for our work as it has allowed us a new perspective on public policies and different programs that could be adjusted to promote resilience. It allows us to bring theory and policy together. We already have strategies for this but the ERA process has provided more clarity about where to go and how to get there. We have also been thinking about how it can be applied to other sectors of our work such as preventing violence against women. Xiomara Bello, Technical Advisor: Ministry of Family, Nicaragua Overall this process has come at the perfect time – there has been a change in government and associated processes of change are underway. Looking ahead we would like to consider how this applies to the Early Childhood Development sector and more direct work with families as we see this as a universal concept that can bring together the crucial trio of individuals, families and communities. Using resilience better allows us to manage this complexity. Guillermo Lopez Lopez, Director, Children and Risk: Ministry of Education, Nicaragua This has been a great opportunity and is highly pertinent to our situation. It provides a perspective of hope rather than some of the more fatalistic approaches that research thus far has uncovered. Through a resilience lens we will be better able to engage in public policy debates as we can provide evidence to support the construction of policies – we’re not starting from zero anymore. It’s also allowed us to better engage with the MoE. Suyapa Padilla, Director of Research, UNPFM, Honduras It has been very rewarding to be a part of this group and have the opportunity to follow up on the development and implementation processes of resilience research. It allows us to foresee the possibilities in not only to assess resilience but to focus on the more positive aspects of what’s in place and the resources that exist already. In the long run this is a better strategy – it’s more sustainable and a healthier approach. From a personal perspective to have the opportunity to bring universities into the work has been very valuable and has the potential to have a larger impact for the development of policies. María del Pilar Grazioso Rodriguez, Director of Research, Masters in Psychlogical Health and Mental Health, Universidad Del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala Adopting a resilience questionnaire in the research allowed us to access a lot more information than we may have hoped for otherwise. Now we need to cross-reference this with our goals and objectives. Overall it provides greater direction for the program. Right now we are in phase one during which we are observing resilient attitudes and behaviours: next we would like to contrast this in the schools to see how the institutional framework may be supporting this. Oscar Picardo Joao, Director of Science, Technology, Innovation, University Francisco Gavidia, El Salvador Resilience is a very useful concept and one they learnt a lot about following the earthquake in terms of response and recovery. But the new elements of resilience that they have learnt about here broadened the concept and can better help them frame their responses. Learning from other participants [during the CREA conference] was also useful – perhaps it doesn’t have immediately direct impacts but having the contacts and sharing general experiences will support us over the long run. It was very useful to learn about conducting research. Jean Frito Tocel, Professor, Ecole Normal de Fréres, Haiti 6 March 2013 - The ERA Program Field Notes