Paper Short Abstract:

This presentation examines the efforts of Syrian refugee mothers in Lebanon to enable their children’s education as a form of care. It broadens the concept of parental involvement by highlighting its affective dimensions in a cultural context where care is commonly expressed through practical actions and sacrifices.

Paper Abstract:

This presentation explores the efforts of displaced Syrian mothers living in Beirut to enable their children’s education as a form of care. While research on refugee education often focuses on assessing parental involvement—or the lack thereof—through practices like helping with homework or engaging with school personnel, this presentation broadens the definition of parental involvement. It illustrates how Syrian mothers not only actively support their children’s education but also make significant sacrifices to ensure access to learning under challenging conditions.

When the ethnographic data was collected in early 2023, Lebanon was already in the midst of a devastating economic crisis. Infrastructure had largely collapsed, making access to electricity, water, and fuel unreliable. Hyperinflation had severely eroded the purchasing power of salaries, making it difficult to cover basic living expenses. Lebanon’s primary education system depends heavily on the costly private sector, and even access to public schools has been precarious for Syrian refugees.

Despite these dire circumstances, Syrian mothers go to great lengths to enable their children’s education, including self-educating to better support their children, enduring racism when dealing with school personnel, and homeschooling. Many families even tolerate unbearable living conditions and cut back on food expenses to save money for private school fees. Using the idiom “enabling education as care,” this presentation expands the concept of parental involvement in education by highlighting its affective dimensions within a cultural context where loving care is commonly expressed through practical actions and sacrifices.