The transformative power of education as a right for all, even, or perhaps especially at a time of conflict and displacement, is the focus of research conducted by Sally Beiruti (Education PhD 2025).

The war in Gaza is at the forefront of Sally’s mind. Sally collaborated on a report entitled Palestinian Education Under Attack in Gaza: Restoration, Recovery, Rights and Responsibilities in and through Education by the Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre at the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of Education and Centre for Lebanese Studies, in collaboration with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

“It’s been eye-opening to talk to people on the ground at a time like this, when you would think education is not a priority,” she says. “But after the first few months, we were told parents asked about their child’s education, for their future. 

“There’s been a move towards online learning in the absence of safe spaces to learn, but resources and access present challenges. In a time of famine and war with limited internet and devices, let alone the mental toll of displacement, you can only ask people to do so much - especially teachers, who have already stepped up to serve their community through teaching and helping at shelters while worrying about their own and their families’ safety.

“I at least feel grateful I’ve had the opportunity to work on this project. It has felt productive to be able to shed light on the education situation and how it’s been so catastrophic and how moving forward it’s going to have to be different, incorporating food and health services and so on. I hope it will be part of rebuilding when we have a proper and sustained ceasefire.”

Sally is from Jordan, a repeat host country for multiple displaced populations, and the idea for her PhD research came to her when reading bell hooks’ book Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope.

“I want to learn from refugee teachers how the different aspects of their identity inform their teaching of students, particularly in settings where there have been refugees for many years, maybe even generations, and especially when they’re teaching students who share that background,” she says. 

Sally is hoping to focus her research on Palestinian refugee teachers in Jordan. “Education is such an important part of the culture and identity,” she adds. “For example, before the war, in Gaza, where there was a high unemployment rate, there was still a very high literacy rate and a high university enrolment rate because education is seen as so inherently valuable.”

Sally plans to conduct her fieldwork in Jordan, with interviews and possibly focus groups informing her research. Education is a key indicator of health and wellness, and it opens opportunities, regardless of background. In some difficult settings, it can also allow children to be themselves.

“Kids that are carrying so much responsibility outside the classroom are sometimes able to be kids in the classroom,” she says, reflecting on a previous teaching experience.

Sally has had a varied academic journey. She initially pursued engineering, graduating with a Mechanical Engineering degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Soon, she decided she was more interested in working with people than technology. She did both, working on design and education projects which saw her shift towards education. 

She has a Master’s degree from Columbia University in New York in Public Health, specialising in Humanitarian Action, and has worked for the International Rescue Committee on monitoring and evaluation and in international development consulting in Jordan with Integrated International.

“Doing a PhD at Cambridge is a dream,” adds Sally, who is supervised by Professor Yusuf Sayed and is involved in the REAL Centre. 

“Being able to find a research centre and supervisor who were interested the topics I want to research was important to me, and I love the access to resources I have through the Faculty of Education and the University. I’m doing research methods classes. I’m sitting in on master’s students’ lectures because I don’t have previous degrees in education. It’s a great community of students.

“My long-term goal is to be able to work in both academia and the field on helping move toward equitable access to quality education for all. The PhD will give me that agency, and my hope is to do that back home in Jordan.”