Around the world, millions of children and young people are experiencing disrupted education due to conflict, crisis, displacement, pandemics, and climate emergencies. In fragile and conflict-affected contexts, traditional education systems often falter, leaving learners with limited or no access to quality education. The COVID-19 pandemic further exposed deep inequities in access to education, especially in low- and middle-income countries, where distance learning was either unavailable or inaccessible to marginalised populations.

However, crisis also breeds innovation. New models of distance, hybrid, and technology-enabled learning have emerged—often led by local actors, educators, and communities striving to create inclusive education solutions. This Research Topic seeks to explore these evolving dynamics and capture the complex relationship between education, conflict, crisis, and technological adaptation. It will provide a platform for academics, practitioners, and policymakers to reflect on what has been learned, what challenges persist, and what innovative approaches are shaping the future of education for development.

The Research Topic aims to critically examine the intersections of education, conflict, crisis, and adaptation, with a particular focus on distance learning and effective solutions. Our primary goals are to:

• Deepen understanding of how education systems respond to conflict, crisis, and disruption, and how these responses impact learners, especially those most marginalised and at-risk.

• Showcase promising practices, scalable solutions, and innovative approaches in distance, digital, and hybrid learning modalities that have emerged from or are being adapted during crises. These may include low-tech and no-tech solutions to problems in VUCA contexts.

• Explore the role of technology, local innovation, community-driven approaches, and global partnerships in building resilient education solutions and systems.

• Provide a multidisciplinary platform for voices from the Global South, humanitarian and development sectors, and contexts affected by conflict or crises (economic, climate, technological) to shape the global conversation on education resilience and equity.

• We invite contributions that advance knowledge, theory, and practice and that bridge research, policy, and implementation.

We welcome submissions from researchers, education practitioners, humanitarian and development agencies, policymakers, and technologists working at the intersection of education and crisis. The Research Topic encourages a diversity of methodologies, case studies, reviews, and theoretical contributions.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Distance learning innovations in conflict-affected and fragile contexts

• Community-led and local innovations in education during crises

• Policy responses to education disruptions and lessons learned from COVID-19

• Digital equity, gender, disability, and inclusion in emergency education settings

• The role of edtech, AI, radio, mobile, and low-tech solutions in crisis response

• Education for displaced populations, refugees, and internally displaced persons (IDPs)

• Psychosocial support, wellbeing, and social-emotional learning in disrupted settings

• Strategies for resilience-building and future-proofing education systems

We strongly encourage submissions from authors based in or working closely with communities affected by conflict and crisis. Join us in shaping critical knowledge and dialogue on creating more resilient, inclusive, and equitable education systems in times of disruption.

Are you interested in contributing a manuscript to this Research Topic?

Learning on the Edge: EdTech in Conflict-Affected and Fragile Regions