Growing Up in Adversity: Understanding Childhood in Difficult Contexts

Childhood is often imagined as a time of play, discovery, and learning under the protective watch of loving families. But for millions of children around the world, growing up looks vastly different. These are children navigating streets instead of playgrounds, fleeing conflict zones instead of attending school, and facing survival challenges that most adults never encounter. Understanding how children develop in these difficult contexts isn’t just an academic exercise-it’s essential for educators who want to create classrooms where every child, regardless of their background, has a genuine chance to thrive.

What do we mean by difficult contexts? 🔗

When we talk about children growing up in difficult contexts, we’re referring to environments that fundamentally disrupt the normal course of childhood development. These aren’t just challenging circumstances-they’re situations that threaten children’s safety, education, and future opportunities in profound ways.

Street children and runaways 🔗

Perhaps no group better illustrates childhood in adversity than street children. UNICEF estimates there are approximately 150 million street children globally, with the highest concentrations in developing countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. These aren’t simply children who work on streets-many have made the streets their home.

The reasons children end up on streets are complex and heartbreaking. Unemployment, poverty, violence at home, family disintegration, and displacement due to floods, drought or other calamities push children away from families and communities. Some are orphans with nowhere else to go. Others run from abusive situations. Many come from families struggling with overcrowded housing, limited access to basic services, and unstable circumstances that weaken family connections.

Consider the story of a young girl from a rural village who travels to the city hoping to find work to support her family. When opportunities don’t materialize as expected, she finds herself sleeping in railway stations, begging for food, and vulnerable to exploitation. This isn’t fiction-it’s the reality for countless children worldwide.

Children in conflict zones 🔗

Armed conflict creates another devastating context for childhood. Over 470 million children-more than one in six globally-live in areas affected by conflict, and by the end of 2024, more than 52 million children in conflict-affected countries are estimated to be out of school. In war zones, schools become targets or military bases, families are displaced, and the very infrastructure of childhood collapses.

The impact goes beyond missing school years. Children in conflict zones witness violence, lose family members, and live with constant fear. A Syrian child who has known only war faces entirely different developmental challenges than a child growing up in peace. When children are out of school during emergencies, they face increased risks of violence, child labour, early marriage, and recruitment into armed groups.

Disaster-affected communities 🔗

Natural disasters-earthquakes, floods, cyclones-create sudden ruptures in children’s lives. Around the world, 234 million school-aged children are affected by conflict, disaster and displacement, and of these, 85 million are out of school. Unlike conflict, disasters may not be intentional, but their impact on childhood development is equally severe. Schools are destroyed, families are separated, and entire communities must rebuild from scratch.

How difficult contexts shape learning and development 🔗

Children don’t just survive these circumstances-they’re fundamentally shaped by them. The impacts ripple through every aspect of development, creating unique educational needs that traditional schooling often fails to address.

Disrupted education and learning gaps 🔗

The most obvious impact is interrupted education. Street children face poor or non-existent hygiene facilities, unsafe sleeping arrangements, violence from adults and other children, and no opportunity to go to school. But it’s not just about missing school days. Children in difficult contexts often miss critical developmental windows when foundational skills are typically acquired.

Imagine a ten-year-old who has never learned to read because she spent her early childhood fleeing conflict. She can’t simply join a grade four classroom and catch up. She needs specialized support that recognizes both her chronological age and her educational starting point. These children require what educators call accelerated education programs-condensed curricula allowing over-aged learners to complete their education in shorter timeframes.

Trauma and emotional wellbeing 🔗

Beyond academics, children in adversity carry heavy emotional burdens. They’ve often witnessed or experienced violence, lost loved ones, and lived in constant uncertainty. Many street children use drugs, including alcohol, cigarettes, heroin, cannabis and glue, to help them deal with the hardships they experience.

This trauma doesn’t disappear when children enter classrooms. A loud noise might trigger panic in a child who has lived through bombing. A child who has fended for herself on streets might struggle with classroom discipline and cooperation. Teachers need to understand that behavioral challenges often stem from survival strategies children developed in extreme circumstances.

Social and emotional skill development 🔗

Growing up in difficult contexts also affects how children develop social and emotional regulation skills. Children typically learn these skills through stable relationships with caregivers and peers. But children on streets or in conflict zones often lack positive adult role models and stable peer relationships. They may develop a wariness of authority figures, difficulty trusting others, or challenges with emotional expression-all of which affect their ability to engage in traditional educational settings.

Why special educational interventions matter 🔗

Recognizing that children from difficult contexts have unique needs is only the first step. The crucial next step is developing educational interventions specifically designed to address these needs. Standard educational approaches simply don’t work for children whose experiences have been anything but standard.

Tailored educational plans 🔗

Individualized education plans have become an integral part of special education strategies in many countries worldwide, providing frameworks for identifying individual needs, learning goals, placement, and appropriate teaching strategies. For children from difficult contexts, this individualized approach is essential.

These plans must account for more than just academic gaps. They need to consider a child’s emotional state, potential trauma responses, physical health needs, and social skills development. A comprehensive approach recognizes that before a child can focus on multiplication tables, they may need to feel safe, have adequate nutrition, and develop basic trust in educational settings.

Creating protective learning environments 🔗

Education provides a protective environment where children are supervised, supported and safe. For children from difficult contexts, schools offer more than academics-they provide structure, routine, nutritious meals, health services, and caring adults. These elements create stability that many children have never experienced.

Safe learning spaces in emergencies might look different from traditional classrooms. They could be temporary structures in refugee camps, mobile schools that reach displaced populations, or community centers offering non-formal education. What matters most is that they provide consistent, safe environments where learning can occur.

Holistic support services 🔗

Effective educational interventions for marginalized children integrate multiple services. Schools should serve as hubs for clean water, nutrition, vaccinations and referrals to health and child protection services. A child struggling with hunger or untreated health issues cannot fully engage in learning, no matter how well-designed the curriculum.

This holistic approach requires coordination between education, health, social welfare, and child protection sectors. Teachers need training not just in pedagogy but in recognizing signs of abuse, malnutrition, or trauma. Schools need referral networks to connect children with specialized services they need.

Real stories, real children 🔗

Let’s consider some examples that bring these concepts to life. In Uganda, through partnerships between UNICEF and local authorities, street children from Kampala are being reintegrated into their home communities and schools. These children receive not just academic support but also psychosocial counseling, school supplies, and uniforms. Teachers receive training on trauma-informed approaches to help these children adjust to classroom environments after years on streets.

In conflict-affected Syria, education programs provide temporary learning spaces where children can continue their education despite ongoing violence. These spaces offer not just classes but also recreational activities that help children process trauma through play. Teachers are trained to provide mental health support alongside academic instruction.

In disaster-affected communities, accelerated education programs help over-aged learners catch up on missed schooling. A fifteen-year-old with only primary education can complete secondary schooling in condensed timeframes, giving them a chance to rejoin their educational trajectory despite years of disruption.

The teacher’s role in supporting marginalized children 🔗

Elementary education teachers are often the first stable, caring adults that children from difficult contexts encounter. This places enormous responsibility on teachers, but also provides incredible opportunity to make lasting impact.

Effective teachers of marginalized children need specialized training. Teacher training should embed explicit instruction on teaching students with diverse needs as an integral part of core teacher competencies, not as a separate, optional module. Teachers need to understand child development in adversity, recognize trauma responses, adapt curricula to diverse learning needs, and create inclusive classroom environments.

But perhaps most importantly, teachers need to maintain appropriate expectations. Too often, children from difficult backgrounds face lowered expectations that become self-fulfilling prophecies. Yes, these children face enormous challenges. But they also demonstrate remarkable resilience. With proper support, they can achieve academic success and break cycles of poverty and marginalization.

Looking forward with hope 🔗

Understanding childhood in difficult contexts can feel overwhelming. The scale of need is enormous, and resources are often inadequate. Yet there are reasons for hope. International commitments to inclusive education are strengthening. Evidence-based interventions are being documented and shared. Communities worldwide are recognizing that investing in marginalized children’s education isn’t charity-it’s essential for social and economic development.

Every child who receives appropriate educational support represents not just an individual success story but a step toward breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty and marginalization. When we equip children from difficult contexts with education, we give them tools to reshape their futures and contribute to their communities.

As future elementary education teachers, you’ll likely encounter children whose backgrounds you cannot fully imagine. Some will have stories they’re not ready to share. Others will display behaviors that initially confuse or frustrate you. In those moments, remember that behind every challenging behavior is a child who has faced challenges you may never fully understand. Your classroom might be the first place where that child experiences safety, stability, and genuine care. That’s a profound responsibility-and an extraordinary privilege.

What do you think? How can teacher preparation programs better equip educators to support children from difficult contexts? What specific strategies might help create truly inclusive classrooms where every child, regardless of their background, feels valued and capable of learning?

References

1. https://www.unicef.org/iran/en/children-street-situations
2. https://theirworld.org/resources/street-children/
3. https://www.unicef.org/education/emergencies
4. https://plan-international.org/emergencies/education-in-emergencies/
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK554622/