Conference Program

In the Palestinian context, a territory marked by physical and symbolic barriers, restrictions on freedom, and continuous disruptions to daily life, education represents both a right under threat and a vital resource for emancipation and social transformation. Within this challenging scenario, international cooperation can offer meaningful spaces for intercultural dialogue, mutual learning, and the co-construction of context-sensitive pedagogical frameworks, therefore sustaining educational continuity and local capacities to foster democratic processes. In line with these considerations, this contribution presents a participatory research model grounded in international cooperation between the University of Macerata (Italy) and Al-Quds University (Palestine), developed within the Palestinian context through a structured workshop experience which involved a team of researchers in the fields of education and special education from both universities. The participatory workshop was conceived as a dialogical and intercultural space aimed at creating shared meanings, jointly identifying challenges and opportunities, and co-constructing research strategies capable of investigating how inclusion, resilience, and community wellbeing are sustained in the Palestinian context. Methodologically, the workshop was conducted with a participatory and reflexive approach, valuing local knowledge and lived experiences of Al-Quds University researchers as an essential epistemic resource. In this sense, the participatory workshop not only offered a structured setting to design and develop a research on inclusive education in emergency: it also represented a dimension for mutual understanding and empowerment, where the very concepts of inclusion and wellbeing were critically examined and jointly re-signified. Framed within the paradigms of Education in Emergency and inclusive education, the study explores how participatory methodologies for international cooperation can foster democratic and inclusive processes in contexts affected by protracted conflict, leveraging research practices to foster empowerment, reciprocal learning, and social impact. Specifically, the contribution illustrates the structure, development and main outcomes of the workshop, highlighting the dynamic process that led to the definition of a field research on inclusive education in emergency within the Palestinian context. In this direction, the co-construction of shared interpretative frameworks and research tools will be presented, highlighting the generative power of intercultural scientific dialogue and putting forth the voices and visions of Palestinian researchers. By presenting this participatory research framework and its practical application, the paper argues that international cooperation based on participatory approaches and intercultural dialogue can foster transformative processes capable of crossing physical and symbolic borders, sustaining the Quality of Life of school communities and promoting democratic participation in contexts affected by protracted conflict.

There has been an international response from civil society to the genocide in Gaza through a growth in activism in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Horrified by what was happening in Gaza, many people have joined the existing Palestine solidarity movements, in some cases being newly politicised and learning about the Zionist settler colonisation of Palestine for the first time. The existing solidarity movements, following September 2023, needed to respond, often with informal and non-formal education along with practical campaigning (praxis), to provide some history and context to the Palestinian anti-colonial struggle. At the same time, significant barriers to this political education and action exists, not least the efforts of international Zionist and pro-Israel propaganda, and the actions of the state in seeking to shut down protests – especially in countries such as the UK, where the state is allied with Israel and complicit in its ethnic cleansing operations. In this context, the Jewish National Fund (JNF), as a Zionist institution established for the replacement of indigenous Palestinians with Jewish settlers (Lehn and Davis, 1988; Leon, 2021; Pappe, 2006), provides a useful pedagogical case study as well as effective target for political action. Drawing on activities, especially in Scotland as a devolved administration within the UK, this paper describes several instances of formal, non-formal, informal and popular education in which the JNF is used to provide a deeper political analysis of the current situation in colonised Palestine and stimulate action in solidarity with the Palestinian anti-colonial struggle. The case study is situated theoretically in the academic literature on social movement learning (Foley, 1999; Hall et al, 2012), Popular Education (Freire, 1972; Moyo, 2020) lifelong education (Gelpi, 1985; Scandrett et al, 2010) and public sociology (Burawoy, 2005; Scandrett, 2020).

This study investigates the extent to which meaningful learning principles, grounded in David Ausubel’s theory, are implemented in English language classrooms at the basic education stage in the Jerusalem suburbs, and examines their potential contribution to fostering democratic educational practices. While meaningful learning emphasizes the integration of new knowledge with learners’ prior cognitive structures, democratic education highlights participation, dialogue, critical thinking, and student agency. Despite growing theoretical interest in both frameworks, limited empirical research has examined their intersection within conflict-affected educational contexts.

A mixed-methods descriptive design was employed. A randomly selected sample of 71 English language teachers (from a population of 190) completed a structured questionnaire measuring the implementation of meaningful learning practices, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 teachers to explore their perceptions and classroom experiences.

Quantitative findings revealed a high overall level of implementation (M = 4.21, SD = 0.67), particularly in activating prior knowledge, promoting conceptual connections, and emphasizing understanding over memorization. No statistically significant differences were found across gender, academic qualification, or years of experience; however, participation in professional training demonstrated a significant positive effect. Thematic analysis further indicated that meaningful learning practices contribute to enhancing student voice, collaborative engagement, and critical thinking.

The findings suggest that meaningful learning functions not only as a cognitive framework but also as a pedagogical pathway toward democratic classroom culture. In the Palestinian context, classrooms may operate as micro-democratic spaces that nurture participation and resilience despite structural constraints. Integrating meaningful learning with democratic pedagogies may therefore support both academic depth and civic empowerment.

Keywords: Meaningful Learning; Democratic Education; English Language Teaching; Palestine; Student Agency.

EducAid’s experience in the Gaza Strip is grounded in a human rights–based approach that recognizes persons with disabilities as rights-holders rather than passive recipients of assistance. Empowerment, self-determination, and emancipation are central to this work.

In 2019, EducAid has established the Gaza Independent Living Center, promoting autonomy through customized assistive devices, peer psychosocial support, and vocational training. Over three years, the Center supported more than 600 persons with disabilities and distributed over 1,000 assistive devices, many produced locally.

Its multidisciplinary team was largely composed of professionals with disabilities. This affirmed a key principle: persons with disabilities are not passive beneficiaries but active agents shaping solutions that affect their lives and communities. In 2022, this approach was strengthened through FabLabs with 3D printers for production of customized assistive devices.

After October 7, 2023 the subsequent military offensive destroyed the Center and forced the team into repeated displacement. Yet the human capital built over previous years was not lost. Many team members, including professionals with disabilities, continued working on the ground, adapting their skills to the humanitarian context. This continuity shows how investments in empowerment, local expertise, and disability leadership can generate resilience even when physical infrastructure is destroyed.

The war has produced an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Over 90% of Gaza’s population has been displaced, and the formal education system has collapsed, with more than 95% of schools damaged or destroyed. In response, Temporary Learning Spaces emerged as community initiatives organized by families, teachers, and volunteers to maintain children’s learning. In 2024, OCHA supported these community-led initiatives, integrating them into the humanitarian response.

Despite these efforts, children with disabilities remain among the most excluded because of physical barriers, lack of adapted materials, and absence of assistive devices. At the same time, the number of people living with disabilities has increased dramatically: WHO estimates around 42,000 new cases of permanent injuries, while 92% of roads are damaged or destroyed, making the environment inaccessible. In such conditions, standardized humanitarian responses often fail to include persons with disabilities and risk reinforcing exclusion.

EducAid has mobilized its team through a twin-track approach, acting both on the environment and at the individual level. It promotes disability mainstreaming within Temporary Learning Spaces, including 23 spaces directly supported by EducAid, reaching over 3,000 children with and without disabilities, while improving accessibility and training teachers on inclusive education in emergencies.

Furthermore EducAid implements targeted interventions for children with disabilities through an outreach approach, reaching them in displacement settings. The team develops context-appropriate, personalized solutions in reactivated FabLabs using 3D printing, recycled materials, and local resources.

In a territory where many assistive devices cannot enter, local digital fabrication reduces dependence on external supplies and ensures continuity of interventions. The most transformative element lies in the leadership of professionals with disabilities, who redefine their role in humanitarian action, not as passive beneficiaries but as protagonists and creators of solutions.

This experience shows that inclusive humanitarian action requires rethinking dominant humanitarian models, placing rights, dignity, participation, and disability leadership at the center.

Israeli military checkpoints and gates in the occupied Palestinian territories constitute a geographical and political reality that imposes its control over the details of daily life, particularly the educational journey. These checkpoints go beyond being mere physical traffic barriers; they have become tools aimed at fragmenting and isolating the educational environment (Nicolai, 2007). While many previous studies have focused on the quantitative impact of these checkpoints on the educational process, this qualitative study fills a crucial research gap by exploring the "lived experience" of Palestinian students. The study views their daily school commute not merely as a state of suffering, but as a democratic act and a daily practice of resistance against enforced ignorance, where the mere insistence on crossing these military points and being present in the classroom transforms into a living form of steadfastness and an assertion of existence (Rijke & van Teeffelen, 2014).

This study adopts a qualitative research design and a phenomenological approach to gain insight into the meanings high school students construct around their daily journey across checkpoints and to understand its pedagogical implications. The study seeks to answer the core question: What is the essence of the students' lived experience of crossing military checkpoints daily, and how do they construct meaning around this journey as a democratic act and a living practice of resistance to enforced ignorance?

Methodologically, the study relies on a multi-tool qualitative design to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the lived experience, targeting a purposive sample of students who are forced to cross military checkpoints and gates daily (such as friction zones in the South Hebron Directorate). Instead of relying on a single tool, the research integrates in-depth individual interviews, focus groups that highlight the students' collective voice, and the collection and analysis of reflective writings in which students narrate the details of their daily journey. This intersected data will be analyzed to extract the main themes that deconstruct the essence of this experience and reveal its everyday resistance mechanisms.

Preliminary insights are expected to reveal that the round trip across the checkpoint transforms from a mere obstacle into a space for informal learning, where students develop coping strategies and high psychological resilience. The experience also shows how the feeling of oppression intersects with the insistence on being present in the classroom as a form of empowerment and democracy.

The significance of this study lies in reframing the narrative around education in conflict zones; it shifts the student from the position of a submissive victim to that of a democratic and resisting agent. The study offers recommendations for curriculum developers and educational decision-makers on the importance of integrating these lived experiences into school curricula and providing the necessary social-emotional learning (SEL) support, thereby enhancing students' steadfastness and affirming that education under occupation is the highest degree of democratic practice and resistance.