Schooling without learning. The CARES framework in Palestine: field evidence and lessons for Education in Emergencies

In Palestine, education remains one of the most valued social institutions, even as conflict, displacement, insecurity and chronic underfunding continue to undermine children’s ability to learn. While school attendance and access to learning spaces remain critical priorities, this research argues that access alone is not enough. The central challenge is how to ensure that children can continue to learn meaningfully in contexts where the conditions required for learning are increasingly fragile. Based on field research conducted across Gaza and the West Bank, the research “Schooling Without Learning. The CARES Framework in Palestine: Field Evidence and Lessons for Education in Emergencies” examines the widening gap between schooling and learning, and explores what is needed to bridge it.

Drawing on evidence from children, parents, teachers, WeWorld education staff and institutional stakeholders, the publication analyses how protracted crisis affects educational continuity, wellbeing, learning outcomes and children’s aspirations for the future. It highlights how different manifestations of the crisis, from the collapse of formal education structures in Gaza to the progressive erosion of educational quality in the West Bank, create distinct but interconnected challenges for learners and education systems.

At the heart of the report is WeWorld’s CARES Framework, an integrated approach built around five interdependent dimensions: Community, Access, Rights, Expression and Safety. The research explores how these conditions work together to support learning, showing that meaningful education depends not only on physical access to school, but also on community engagement, protection, psychosocial wellbeing, children’s participation and the preservation of educational continuity.

The report also presents the RISE (Resilient, Inclusive and Safe Education for Children Affected by Conflict in Palestine) project as a practical case study of how the CARES Framework can be applied in highly challenging environments. Through evidence from implementation across Gaza and the West Bank, it reflects on lessons for Education in Emergencies, the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus, and the design of educational interventions capable of being both lifesaving and life-changing. Taken together, the publication makes the case that protecting education in protracted crises is not only about maintaining access to learning opportunities. It is about preserving children’s ability to develop, participate, aspire and build a future, even under the most difficult circumstances.