Examining socio-ecological factors contributing to the promotion and protection of education for unaccompanied and separated children in Jordan

Objectives: Limited research exists on the underlying processes through which socio-ecological factors contribute to the educational resilience of UASCs. This can be attributed to a lack of quantitative reporting on the educational outcomes of UASCs. The study examined the relationship between UASC status and educational achievement among Palestinian refugees in Jordan using the PISA 2009 dataset. It identified socio-ecological factors at the student-level, teacher-level, and school-level that are associated with the promotion and protection of education for this vulnerable group. Methods and Analysis: The sample comprised 410 Palestinian refugee students in Jordan, of which 91 were identified as UASCs. Correlational analysis examined the relationship between UASC status and educational achievement. Hierarchical regression analysis then identified socio-ecological factors impacting educational achievement after controlling for student, teacher, and school variables. Main effects and interaction effects in the regression models revealed key promotive and protective processes. Findings: Findings showed that UASC status negatively correlated with achievement across all subjects. However, female gender, higher educational, social, and cultural status, positive class disciplinary climate, positive teacher-student relations, and higher school use of ability grouping provided promotive effects on achievement for UASCs. Higher teacher use of structuring and scaffolding strategies provided a protective-enhancing effect on reading achievement for UASCs. Higher school use of ability grouping provided a protective-stabilizing effect on both reading achievement and scientific achievement for UASCs. In contrast, high school academic selectivity provided a vulnerable-reactive effect on scientific achievement for UASCs. Novelty and Improvement: The study highlights the importance of adopting a socio-ecological and sociointeractional framework with robust quantitative approaches to gain in-depth understanding of UASCs' educational resilience. The identification of microsystemic and mesosystemic factors (those at teacher-level and schoollevel) as critical promotive and protective assets provides vital insights to inform research, policy, and practice aimed at supporting UASCs' ability to thrive academically despite risks associated with being UASC.