Assessing Students' Reintegration Experience in Schools in Jordan

This study, commissioned by Save the Children Jordan (SCJ) in support of the "20 Dunum for Change" (20D4C) program, and carried out by a SIPA capstone workshop team, generated qualitative evidence on the push-and-pull factors shaping school retention and reintegration in Shaykh Husayn, a rural agricultural community where dropout rates exceed national averages. Through caregiver focus group discussions, an implementer roundtable, and a cross-sectoral expert consultation, the SIPA team identified three interconnected drivers: economic pressure and child labor as survival responses to poverty; structural access barriers, particularly the absence of school transportation; and psychosocial factors that function simultaneously as barriers to attendance and enablers of reintegration. In their final report, the team organized their recommendations across family, school, and community levels, distinguishing between low-cost programmatic adjustments SCJ can implement immediately, including gradual cash transfer exits, and longer-term systemic advocacy priorities targeting transportation subsidies, child labor enforcement, and a national policy dialogue on agricultural community dropout.

Keywords: school dropout, reintegration, retention, child labor, Jordan, education reintegration, school retention, rural education, humanitarian programming, access to education, continuity in education