Abstract
In South Sudan, the education landscape grapples with a wider ‘polycrisis’ of challenges facing the country.
Protracted subnational violence, mass internal and external displacement, economic depression, floods and other climatic shocks, poor infrastructure, and a crisis of sexual and gender-based violence collectively contribute to an arduous environment for education delivery. Additionally, policy-related factors, such as weak governance, fragmented data systems, political instability and severe resource constraints, further compound these challenges (UNESCO, 2017). Consequently, South Sudan contends with one of the most fragile education systems globally, characterised by low educational attainment rates, literacy levels and school enrolment (MoGEI, 2021a; UNESCO, 2023). As of 2023, South Sudan has an estimated 2.8 million out-of-school children, which may represent the highest proportion of the school-aged population globally (MoGEI, 2023).
Our prior research identified considerable gaps in the evidence base concerning education in South Sudan (Wagner-Tsoni et al., 2024). While certain aspects of education in South Sudan have received more attention in the literature and in policy and programming, such as girls’ education and the challenges facing teachers, there are many dimensions that remain understudied and hence poorly understood. There are noticeable gaps in the extent and scope of evidence related to determinants of students’ academic and social and emotional learning (SEL) outcomes, mental health conditions, the education system’s preparedness against shocks, and disparities in educational needs and outcomes for various marginalised groups, among others.
There is a pressing need for more comprehensive evidence to thoroughly assess the urgent needs, challenges and opportunities in South Sudan’s education sector. This study seeks to contribute to addressing this gap by formulating a Research Agenda for education research in South Sudan by identifying gaps in the evidence base, conducting primary research, and understanding the priorities of various national and local-level stakeholders.
Building upon previously identified evidence gaps as a point of departure, the objective is to develop a Research Agenda for South Sudan to help future research endeavours address the educational needs of the population.