The impact of the Syrian conflict on pre-university education: a political economy analysis through a systematic review of literature

On 8 December 2024, the end of Syria’s 54-year-long dictatorship marked a historic political shift, placing education at the centre of reform debates. This paper provides a systematic review of empirical academic and grey literature published between 2011 and 2024 on the impact of the Syrian conflict on pre-university education. Drawing on 51 studies and reports in English and Arabic, the review synthesises findings across six interconnected themes: governance; curricula; attacks on education; teachers; educational quality; and dropout. The analysis demonstrates that conflict not only disrupted schooling but fundamentally reconfigured education governance, policy and implementation across fragmented territories. Interpreted through a cultural political economy framework, the findings reveal education as an arena of power in which competing authorities mobilised curricula and service delivery to assert legitimacy and shape social identities. The paper argues that sustainable reform requires addressing the structural political and economic dynamics embedded within the education system.