A collaborative investigation into wellbeing outcomes for displaced adolescents in Jordan.

1. Youth economic security, skills and empowerment:
Learning from positive outliers among youth affected by
forced displacement in Jordan
July 2022
Zaatari 2018 Innovation Lab © Herwig/ UNICEF/ 2018
Nicola Jones and Jude Sajdi

2. Outline of presentation
1
• Introduction: The Jordan context, GAGE and the positive deviance approach
2
•Research conceptual framing, sample and methods
3
•Findings: Broader economic (in)security—and how some youth beat the odds
4
• Implications for policy and programming

3. Please note that the photographs of adolescents DO NOT capture
GAGE research participants and consent was gained from their
guardians for the photographs to be used for GAGE
communications purposes.
Introduction
UNICEF and NRC VOCATIONAL training in Zaatari Camp
© Herwig/ UNICEF/ 2018

4. Jordanian refugee and labour market context
One-third of those living in Jordan are refugees. On a per capita basis, Jordan has the second
highest number of refugees globally.
There are over 2 million registered Palestinian refugees—most, not all, have citizenship.
Those that lack citizenship attend UNRWA schools, are not allowed professional work, and
are very likely (<30%) to be poor.
Of the 1.3 million Syrians, half are registered refugees. Most have been there a decade.
They attend government schools, are limited by law to only a few sectors of work and
are primarily (~80%) poor.
Jordan has the world’s 3rd lowest rate of female labour force participation: 16%.
Nationally, 67% of males are in the labour force.
Young people access to work is extremely limited. The youth unemployment rate is 37% (51%
for females)—and 49% of those aged 20-24 are neither working nor in education.

5. Jordanian educational context
Access to basic education varies by nationality: more than one-tenth of non-
Jordanians (primarily Syrians) are not enrolled, while nearly all Jordanians are.
Gaps at the secondary level are even larger: 75% of Jordanians but only 30% of
non-Jordanians are enrolled.
By age 15, approximately one-fifth of Palestinian students have already left
school.
Uptake of TVET is low—university education is prized despite graduates’ high
unemployment rates.
Gender gaps favour girls across nationalities and levels.

6. Research conceptual
framing, sample and
methods
Syrian girls in Azraq camp © Herwig/ UNICEF/ 2018

7. Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE)
By finding out ‘what works,’ for whom, where
and why, we can better support adolescent girls
and boys to maximise their capabilities now and
in the future.
We are following the largest cohort of adolescents in low and middle
income contexts

8. GAGE’s conceptual framework—Economic Empowerment

9. The positive deviance approach
 Approach is used
alongside ‘big data’—
which provides the
context
 Approach uses detailed
case study ‘thick data’ to
identify the strategies
that enable positive
deviants to ‘beat the
odds’

10. GAGE longitudinal research sample

11. Jordan sample breakdown
Nationality:
Syrian: 3,090
Jordanian: 642
Palestinian (Gaza Camp): 304
Other: 65
Vulnerable Groups:
Adolescents w/ disabilities: 417 (10%)
Married adolescents: 190 (5%)
Gender:
10-12 Girls: 1,108 Boys: 1,065
15-17 Girls: 1,006 Boys: 922
Location type:
Camps: 1,348
ITS: 308
Host communities: 2,445

12. Positive deviance research
66 IDIs
with
positive
outliers
aged
15-24
4 types of positive deviants:
• University students on scholarship
• TVET students
• Small business owners
• Participants in economic
empowerment programming
14
FDGs
with
outliers
aged
15-24
15 IDIs
with
parents
of
outliers
14 KIs in
relevant
sectors
Phase 1: August
2019-February 2020
•IDIs and FGDs
with
adolescents
and parents
•KIIs with key
stakeholders
Phase 2: November
and December 2020
•Follow-up
interview with 16
adolescents to
explore the
impacts of COVID-
19 on their lives
Phase 3: January-
May 2021
•Follow-up interview with
16 adolescents to explore
the impact of COVID-19 on
their lives, and KIIs with
key stakeholders and
employers

13. Findings:
Broader economic
(in)security—and how
some youth beat the odds
Vocational training at Azraq Camp© Herwig/UNICEF/2017

14. Adolescents' aspirations are high
73
10
8
4
Professional work
Skilled labour
Homemaker
Retail
 Boys’ aspirations are more realistic than girls’
‘I have an ambition to have my own workshop
and business – for car mechanics.’
(15-year-old Syrian boy)
‘Dreams are not even present. You can think about,
but they are hard to come true…you don’t have
money to achieve your dreams.’ (19-year-old Syrian
boy)
‘In the future I would like to become a chef ...
If I told anyone at home about my dream,
they would laugh at me and think I’m not
serious.’
(15-year-old out-of-school Palestinian girl)
 Some girls are afraid to even voice their aspirations
 Refugees acknowledge their dreams are dreams

15. But their access to education and learning is limited
At baseline, enrolment varied:
 95% of 10–12-year-old girls
 92% of 10–12-year-old boys
 65% of 15–17-year-old unmarried girls
 54% of 15–17-year-old boys
Jordanians> Palestinians>Syrians
Only 9% of ever married girls were
enrolled in school.
At baseline, learning was low and variable:
 52% of girls could read a short story—vs 39% of boys
 44% of girls could subtract—vs 35% of boys
Jordanians performed the best
 Of girls, Syrians lagged
50% could read and 40% could subtract
 Of boys, Palestinians lagged
22% could read and 28% could subtract
At baseline, truancy rates were high—with adolescents missing school approximately
1 out of every 9 days.

16. What limits education and learning?
Our research highlights several main reasons that adolescents are denied an education:
 Conflict and displacement—esp. for older adolescents, who do not see a route back into education.
 Poverty--amplified by adolescent concerns about fitting in with peers (in terms of attire, pocket
money to socialize).
‘My 13-year-old doesn’t go to school. I can’t
afford it.’ (Syrian mother)
Poverty
Amplified by adolescence
Labour market realities
Conflict and displacement
‘Teachers punish those who do not wear
school uniforms, but how can a girl explain
the reason for that in front of the other
girls? She would be embarrassed.’
(younger Syrian girl)
‘My brother graduated college and he’s been
unemployed for a year and a half now…. It is not only
my brother, most of his friends graduated and are
unemployed.’ (Jordanian 17-year-old boy)
‘I tried when I first arrived in Jordan… They refused
and said I couldn’t go to school… I felt hurt and I
never went again.’ (older Syrian boy)

17. What limits education and learning?
Social norms—that prioritise girls’ reproductive roles and boys’ productive roles.
 Some girls leave school to marry—most leave school because they will
marry & family honour is paramount.
 Lack of/unaffordable transport forces families to prioritise protection over education for girls.
 Boys are expected to contribute to household economic needs—but have limited employment
options.
‘Parents let their boys drop out of school starting
from sixth grade so they can help them with work.’
(12-year-old Syrian girl)
‘In my family girls don't complete their education.
They only study until grade seven or eight. The girl
in the end [is intended] for her husband's house.
These are our customs and traditions.’
(17-year-old Syrian girl)
Norms for boys Norms for girls

18. Adolescents’ access to work skills and work is also poor
 64% of older boys had had paid
work in the last year
 Due to higher poverty rates, Syrian boys
are the most likely to work
 Boys’ work is intermittent and poorly
paid—an average of 10.6 days in the last
month at $2.39/hour
 Refugees reported significant
unmet need—given restrictions
on their work
 Of those that had, most had had
short courses offered by NGOs
(most often cosmetology aimed at
refugee girls and women)
‘If you tell the young people in general
that there will be training in carpentry or
a craft, you will find more than half of
people in the camp come to you
because of that.’ (KI, empowerment
programme)
 Very few adolescents had taken
part in skills training courses
 11% of older girls had had paid work in
the last year
 Most girls’ work is unpaid –due to gender
norms that restrict them to home to
protect family honour

19. Adolescents’ access to cash and social protection lags
 Due to cultural age hierarchies
 Due to household poverty (36% of Jordanians vs 22% of Syrians)
 Girls were disadvantaged compared to boys (22% of older girls vs 28% of older boys)
 Syrians are eligible for WFP vouchers and UNHCR cash—but values are low and cash wait
lists are long
 UNICEF’s cash helps support education—but targets only those in basic education and has
been severely impacted by funding cuts
 UNWRA’s budget has been slashed—leaving Palestinians without a safety net
‘They sent a message that there
was a shortage in aid … Now there
is nothing.’ (Syrian father)
‘Everything is directed to
Syrians, and we have been
marginalised.’ (Palestinian
mother)
At baseline, few GAGE adolescents (24%) had controlled any cash in the last year.
Social protection helps but is too limited given need.

20. Individual
interest,
commitment
and flexibility
Family support
(especially for
girls)
Inspiring and
supportive
teachers
Finance
What shapes outliers’ choices?
‘He wanted to study medicine and
honestly, we did not want to deprive
him from his ambition. He wanted
to do that since he was young and
worked a lot by himself. The
difference between him and his
siblings as well as the children of
this community is that he worked
really hard on his own.’
(Palestinian mother of her 21-year-
old son, studying medicine)
‘My parents encouraged me to go out and
learn so I can build self-confidence, because
they will not live forever to protect me… They
kept us in school as the education is the future
of the woman.’
(19-year-old Syrian girl in EE programme)
‘Our teacher…was also sending us videos and
educational material… After the course, he kept
following up with us.’
(20-year-old Palestinian female in mobile
phone repair class)

21. Similarities and differences among the types of youth outliers
University
scholarships
•Exceptional individual
work ethic
•Commitment to
contribute to better
future for their family
and community
•Strong commitment by
parents to value of
education including
financial sacrifice
•Teachers as role models
who had overcome odds
to get higher education
TVET training
• Individual resilience -
initial disappointment
(due to death, exam
failure, poverty)
channeled into
acquiring new skills
and adapting future
goals
• Support by parents for
girls to pursue non-
stereotypical career
paths
• Supportive tutors and
mentors – during TVET
course and beyond
Economic
empowerment classes
• Individual interest in
self-improvement
and empowerment,
esp. adolescent girls
• Parental support for
adolescent learning
• Mentoring by
teachers to continue
to develop potential
Micro-
entrepreneurs
• Individual financial
ambition esp. to
support family
• Individual
entrepreneurial
interest in a
particular field – e.g.
robotics or catering
• Lower levels of family
support

22. What impacts do programmes have?
‘You are
encouraged to
aspire towards
excellence
before of the
environment
around you –
the students
and the
professors.’
(19-year-old
Syrian boy at
university)
‘I repair my
relatives’
mobiles and
ask them for a
small fee… this
is a skill that will
enable me to
become
economically
independent in
future.’ (20-
year-old
Palestinian
female in
TVET)
‘The
relationships
with my
friends
became
stronger than
before.’
(16-year-old
Jordanian
boy in EE
course)
‘When I came
here [the TVET
college], I
encountered
multiple
challenges but
these situations
provide me with a
lot of strength…
So, this helped to
strengthen my
personality.’
(17-year-old
Syrian girl in
TVET)
‘Studying is what
made me go out of
the box and
complete my
education, learn
new things and see
a new society. I see
success stories at
the university and
learn from them.’
(18-year-old
Palestinian girl at
university)
New
learning and
skills
Exposure to
positive role
models
New
mindset
Better
economic
conditions
Enhanced
social
networks

23. Impacts on girls are transformational
‘My ambition now is not
[to find] a man. I am not
waiting for anyone to
fulfil my dreams, I will
fulfil them myself.’ (19-
year-old Jordanian girl at
university)
‘Previously, I didn’t like to
go out so much, but the
programme encouraged
me to go out and to do
many things. It
encourages people to get
out of home and to think
about new things. I
benefited from life skills
so much… I go wherever
there is an opportunity.’
(17-year-old Syrian girl,
in tailoring class)
‘My cousins used to make fun of me by saying: “You
can’t work! You need to drop out!”… But when I
finished the [plumbing] course and got the toolbox
and so on... they liked it. They no longer told me to
stay home…’
(23-year-old Palestinian woman in TVET)

24. What stands in the way of outliers’ aspirations?
Funding
‘My son studies in Jerash
University … They try to pressure
us to pay the fees. They prevented
the students from entering the
exams rooms. They are about to
graduate, and they did not allow
them to take their tests.’
(Palestinian mother)
‘I don’t have enough money to buy
my own equipment, so I have to
rent the equipment.’
(19-year-old Jordanian boy,
plumber)
Discrimination
‘You feel that sometimes they hate
the Syrians…Our education is not
like their education … The
Jordanian students are excellent.’
(20-year-old Syrian woman at
university)
‘We cannot work in medicine and
engineering. The companies are
not allowed to hire Syrians…We
worked hard to get the
scholarship, but we cannot know
the result.’
(21-year-old Syrian man, at
university)
Gender norms
‘No one would accept that a little
girl works in a shop, to place trust
and give me their items to work
on.’
(19-year-old Jordanian girl, tailor)
‘We cannot open a shop where we
women are working alone. If I
open a shop, I need a man to talk
to the customers.’
(24-year-old Syrian woman with a
home catering business)

25. Implications for policy
and programming
Syrian boy at vocational training in Zaatari Camp © Herwig / UNICEF 2018

26. Support basic education
1
Provide cash or vouchers to support education for low-income students through secondary
school: ensure amounts are sufficient to cover costs of school supplies, uniforms, and
transportation.
2
Provide tutorial support after school and in community venues: make programming open to
all.
3
Support out-of-school young people to keep learning: scale up informal education and build
bridging programmes that support young people to go back to school if they wish.
4
4. Provide school- and community- based programmes that teach life-skills and support
young people’s psychosocial wellbeing: ensure programmes address discriminatory gender
norms and ideally mix nationalities to foster social cohesion.
5
5. Provide parent education courses: ensure courses include awareness raising about the
importance of education, address gender norms, strengthen parent-child communication and
provide information on both university and TVET pathways.

27. Support higher education
1
Develop awareness raising programming aimed at raising aspirations for education: include local
role models, especially targeting girls and refugees.
2
Provide Syrian adolescents and parents with guidance about the Jordanian educational system:
beginning no later than lower secondary school, offer sessions at school and in the community
about gateway exams and academic versus vocational pathways.
3
Scale up tertiary-level scholarships and interest-free education loans: pair support with
awareness raising sessions that support young people through the application process.
4
Provide transport vouchers to help low-income tertiary level students—especially girls-- access
education.
5
Work with the MoE to reduce tertiary level educational fees requires of Syrians, stateless
Palestinians and other refugees.

28. Support work skills and self-employment
1
Promote TVET starting in intermediate school—to ensure that families are aware and to shift
attitudes that undervalue this pathway.
2
Support young people’s access to work—strengthen links between secondary schools, TVET,
universities and the Ministry of Labour.
3
Think big by thinking small—use economic empowerment courses to help young people find and
enter niche markets that en masse could provide work for many.
4
Grow skillsets—teach soft skills, starting in basic education, and ensure that post-secondary
students and those in EE programmes are provided the financial and business skills that help
them find or create gainful employment.
5
Offer logistical support--help young people apply for work permits, conduct market assessments
and access credit on favourable terms.
6
Work with the GoJ to remove barriers to refugees’ formal employment.

29. Support girls and stateless Palestinians
1
Programme for girls—by providing transport vouchers and empowerment
programming that raises aspirations and strengthens their communication and
negotiation skills.
2
Invest in shifting gender norms—work with girls’ natal and marital families to raise
awareness about the importance of girls’ access to education and work (and mobility
and decision-making).
3
Expand girls’ options--scale up employment-related courses that are considered
culturally acceptable for females (e.g. graphic design, computer technician,
management).
1
Address fatalism—pair awareness raising with hands on programming, targeting boys
and their parents and using local role models, to show what is possible.
2
Work with the GoJ—to remove the barriers that are responsible for stateless
Palestinians’ social and economic exclusion.

30. Publications
‘Some got married, others
don’t want to attend
school as they are
involved in income-
generation
Social protection in humanitarian contexts: how
can programming respond to adolescent- and
gender-specific vulnerabilities and promote young
people’s resilience? (unicef-irc.org)
Youth economic security,
skills and empowerment:
Learning from positive
outliers among youth
affected by forced
displacement in Jordan
‘Each one of us had
a dream’: An
exploration of
factors supporting
gender-responsive
education and
economic
empowerment
pathways for
refugee youth in
Lebanon
For more resources see:
https://www.gage.odi.org/publications/
Adolescents in
Humanitarian Crisis
(forthcoming June 2021)

31. What do adolescents need to achieve and educational and
economic success?

32. Contact Us
WEBSITE
www.gage.odi.org
TWITTER
@GAGE_programme
FACEBOOK
GenderandAdolescence
About GAGE:
 Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence
(GAGE) is a nine-year (2015-2024) mixed-
methods longitudinal research programme
focused on what works to support
adolescent girls’ and boys’ capabilities in
the second decade of life and beyond.
 We are following the lives of 18,000
adolescents in six focal countries in Africa,
Asia and the Middle East.