Translational research to support early childhood education in crisis settings: a case study of collaborative working with Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar

Abstract

This case study used a co-creation approach to evaluate the effectiveness of a translational research strategy in supporting early childhood education. How Mapping Educational Specialist Knowhow (MESH) and Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) collaborated to enhance the training of volunteers and learning provision for 1,500 refugee children is explored. The findings highlight that: training empowered a marginalised community to enhance children’s learning; language variation was a challenge; common values enabled effective partnership working between MESH and VSO; maintaining the relationship is vital for developing socio-culturally relevant resources; MESHGuides have great potential although features could be redesigned to increase impact. The strategy addressed United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SGG) 4, to improve the quality of education for all and SDG 5, to enhance gender opportunities for girls and women.