Education Assessment Consultancy: Relation Between Children’s Welllbeing and Learning Outcomes

This assessment, commissioned by NRC Ukraine and implemented by Scruples Research, explores the relationship between children’s psychosocial wellbeing and learning outcomes in the context of protracted conflict and displacement.

The assessment draws on a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative surveys, qualitative interviews, focus group discussions, and participatory tools, capturing the experiences of children aged 6–17 across conflict-affected oblasts in the North, East, and South of Ukraine.

Findings show that emotional wellbeing is a key determinant of learning engagement, often acting as a binding constraint even where access to education is maintained. Stress, insecurity, disrupted routines, and repeated interruptions significantly affect concentration, confidence, and continuity of learning. The study also identifies declining confidence in cumulative subjects such as mathematics, increased reliance on households for academic support, and lower engagement in remote learning compared to in-person modalities.

Importantly, the assessment shifts the focus from access to meaningful participation and learning readiness, highlighting the need for integrated approaches that combine education delivery with psychosocial support. It underscores gaps in inclusive education, particularly for children with disabilities, and emphasises the role of safe, relational, and interactive learning environments, including play-based approaches, in supporting recovery.

The report provides actionable recommendations to inform NRC programming and wider sector responses, including strengthening wellbeing-integrated teaching, supporting caregivers, improving learning conditions, and reinforcing teacher capacity. Overall, it contributes to evidence-based advocacy by demonstrating that effective education responses must address both learning outcomes and psychosocial wellbeing in a holistic manner.