A comparative oral history study of the learning experiences of World War II and Afghan War survivors

This dissertation presents the findings of a comparative oral history study of twenty-seven learner experiences of education in two complex emergencies---World War II and post-1979 Afghanistan. Built around an oral history methodology, the study contributes to the developing research practice on education in emergency situations. The dissertation begins with a review of the literature on emergency education, which identifies a gap of learner experience expressed in or contributing to the discourse. Each of the case studies describes curriculum experiences in these war environments focusing on learner experiences of school and classroom routine, materials, teachers and teaching methods in both formal and non-formal learning including using primary, secondary, post-secondary, apprenticeship, paid work as learning environments. The analysis within and between the cases brings forth crucial similarities and differences in five analytical categories which arose through the transcripts, but which also match discussion in the existing literature: maintenance, adaptation, resilience, politicization/resistance, and identity. The tensions that arise between the five themes offer an unresolved sense of normalcy and chaos as central to the image of learning in emergencies. The small size of the participant base, while offering a rich opportunity for the gathering of detailed histories, did not lend itself to applying the outcomes rigorously to existing policy and program reports or theoretical treatises. The dissertation therefore concludes with recommendations for expanding the scope of research through the use of oral history in further comparative studies on education in complex emergencies. Recommendations include expanding research on these two case studies, the permanent archiving of recorded oral histories for use by others, more research on learner experience in different cases to build knowledge and further develop the five characteristics, using the outcomes of the research to influence the development of emergency education curriculum theory, education in emergencies policy and program development.