Reclaiming Childhood: A School for Growth After Displacement

Abstract

This study explores the capacity of space to facilitate resilience for post-displaced children in Bangladesh. This resilience is designed to result from two main strategies: Recovery and Long term Growth. With the rapid increase in internal migration, the current education system and spaces must adapt to accommodate internally displaced (IDP) children. Through literature review, field surveys, workshops, migration pattern mapping, curriculum analysis, context analysis, pedagogical spatial characteristic analysis, and learning behavior analysis, eight design principles have been derived to make space act as “The Third Teacher” in the context of Bangladesh. Despite rural-to-urban migration being the majority among IDP children, there is a gap in understanding their needs in educational and public spaces. This study gathers demographic data, needs, and aspirations, translating them into guidelines for Recovery and Long-term growth in educational spaces for IDP and host community children who have their whole lives ahead of them after displacement.