Humanitarian Education for Engagement and Inclusion through Social, Emotional and Sustainable Learning

Humanitarian education provides a vital framework for supporting learning in contexts of crisis, conflict, and migration by promoting wellbeing, social justice, and educational continuity. While traditional humanitarian efforts have focused primarily on emergency relief, there is growing recognition of education as a fundamental human right in crisis settings. This qualitative study explores how social-emotional learning (SEL) and sustainable educational strategies are integrated into humanitarian responses to engage and include vulnerable children and adolescents. Drawing on the Catch-Up Programme (CUP) implemented by World Vision International in Chile, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe, the study focuses on children aged 6 to 14 who have experienced educational disruption. The findings highlight how CUP supports the development of foundational skills, strengthened by SEL, through child-centred, inclusive, and playful learning experiences in safe community spaces. The study concludes by discussing key challenges and future research directions to enhance the effectiveness and scalability of humanitarian education models that embed social-emotional and sustainable learning.