Outline

This topic addresses the role of education during and after periods of violent conflict, focusing specifically on the relationship between education, post-conflict recovery and peacebuilding. It examines the opportunities for change within education systems in ‘post-conflict’ contexts, as well as the challenges that hinder progress towards ‘building back better’. It also addresses the relationship between education systems and education actors at global and local levels, reflecting on the theoretical perspectives that underpin different approaches to peace education by exploring its development, rationale, principles and practices.

This topic looks at the following questions:

What role can education play in ‘post-conflict’ reconstruction and development?
What are the opportunities, and key challenges, for reforming and transforming education systems after conflict?
What is understood by ‘peace’ and how can education contribute to it?
What are the difficulties of educating for/about peace?

Lectures

Open access publications

Rethinking peace education: a cultural political economy approach
Citation: Higgins, S., & Novelli, M. (2020). Rethinking peace education: a cultural political economy approach. Comparative Education Review, 64 (1). pp. 1-20.

Russian translation: Хиггинс, Шон и Новелли, Марио (2020) Переосмысление образования для мира: культурно-политэкономический подход. Сравнительный обзор образования, 64 (1).

The violence of peace and the role of education: insights from Sierra Leone
Citation: Novelli, M., & Higgins, S. (2016). The violence of peace and the role of education: insights from Sierra Leone. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 47 (1). pp. 32-45.

Education in the twenty-first century: Conflict, reconstruction and reconciliation
Citation: Smith, A. (2005). Education in the twenty-first century: Conflict, reconstruction and reconciliation. Compare, 35(4).

Reflection and discussion

Further suggested reading

Bajaj, M. (2008) ‘Critical peace education’, in Bajaj, M. (ed.) Encyclopaedia of Peace Education. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Pub, Chapter 16.

Bajaj, M. and Brantmeier, E. (2011) ‘The politics, praxis, and possibilities of critical peace education’, Journal of Peace Education, 8(3), pp. 221-224.

Barakat, S., Conolly, D., Hardman, F. and Sundaram, V. (2013), ‘The role of basic education in post-conflict recovery’, Comparative Education, 49(2), pp. 124-142.

Bar-Tal , D. (2002) ‘The elusive nature of peace education’, in Salomon, G., and Nevo, B. (eds.) Peace Education: The Concept, Principles, and Practices Around the World. Mahwah, N.J., Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 27-36.

Bekerman, Z. and McGlynn, C. (2007) Addressing Ethnic Conflict Through Peace Education: International Perspectives. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.

Burns, R. and Aspeslagh, R. (2014) Three Decades of Peace Education Around the World: An Anthology, New York/London: Routledge.

Davies, L. (2011) ‘Learning for state-building: Capacity development, education and fragility’, Comparative Education, 47(2): 157-180.

Delores, J. (1996) Learning: The treasure within. Report to UNESCO on the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-First Century. Paris: UNESCO. Available at http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001095/109590eo.pdf

Fountain, S. (1999) Peace education in UNICEF. New York: UNICEF. Available at https://www.unicef.org/education/files/PeaceEducation.pdf

Gill, S. and Niens, U. (2014) ‘Education as humanisation: A theoretical review on the role of dialogic pedagogy in peacebuilding education’, Journal of Comparative and International Education, 44(1), pp. 10-31.

Gur‐Ze'ev, I. (2001) ‘Philosophy of peace education in a postmodern era’, Educational Theory, 51(3), pp. 315-336.

Harris, I. (2004). ‘Peace education theory’, Journal of Peace Education, 1(1), pp. 5-20.

Harris, I. (2008) ‘History of peace education’, in Bajaj, M. (ed.) Encyclopaedia of Peace Education. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Pub, Chapter 2 Available at http://www.tc.columbia.edu/centers/epe/entries.htm

Hutchinson, F. P. (1996) Educating Beyond Violent Futures. London: Routledge.

Kagawa, F. (2005) ‘Emergency education: A critical review of the field’, Comparative Education, 41(4): 487-503.

McCandless, E., Peace Dividends and Beyond: Contributions of administrative and social services to peacebuilding, United Nations Thematic Review for the Peacebuilding Support Office, New York, 2011. https://toolkit.ineesite.org/resources/ineecms/uploads/1152/CS10_McCandless.pdf

McGlynn, C. (2009) Peace Education in Conflict and Post-Conflict Societies: Comparative perspectives. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Novelli, M & Higgins, S (2016) The Violence of Peace and the Role of Education, Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education (published online Jan 13^th, 2016) http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03057925.2015.1119650

Novelli, M & Smith, A (2011) The Role of Education In Peacebuilding: A synthesis report of findings from Lebanon, Nepal and Sierra Leone. UNICEF: New York. 40 pages. https://www.unicef.org/evaldatabase/files/EEPCT_PeacebuildingSynthesisReport.pdf

Novelli, M., Daoust, G., Selby, J., Valiente, O., Scandurra R., Deng Kuol, L., Salter, E. (2016) Education sector governance, inequality, conflict and peacebuilding in South Sudan, Research Report Unicef Eastern and Southern Regional Office (ESARO).

Page, J. S. (2004) ‘Peace education: Exploring some philosophical foundations’, International Review of Education, 50(1), pp. 3-15.

Ragland, D. (2015) ‘Betty Reardon's philosophy of peace education and the centrality of justice’, Journal of Peace Education, 12(1), pp. 37-55.

Richmond, O. P. (2014) “Introduction: The Limits of Peacebuilding and Statebuilding,” in Failed Statebuilding, Intervention and the Dymanics of Peace Formation. (New Haven and London: Yale University Press). https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/j.ctt13x1thc.6.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A8dce9f4e2524a1efbe6a81080de7439b

Shah, R. (2012) ‘Goodbye Conflict, Hello Development? Curriculum Reform in Timor-Leste’, International Journal of Educational Development. 32(1): 31-38.

Smith, A. (2005) ‘Education in the twenty-first century: Conflict, reconstruction and reconciliation’, Compare, 35(4), pp. 373-391.

Smith Ellison , C (2014) The role of education in peacebuilding: an analysis of five change theories in Sierra Leone, Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 44:2, 186-207, DOI: 10.1080/03057925.2012.734138

Sobe, N (2009) Educational Reconstruction “By the Dawn’s Early Light”: Violent Political Conflict and American Overseas Education Reform. Harvard Educational Review, 79 (1), Spring 2009

Tan, C. (2008) ‘Two views of education: Promoting civic and moral values in Cambodia schools’, International Journal of Educational Development, 28(5), pp. 560-570.

Tawil S. and Harley A. (2004) Education, conflict and social cohesion. Geneva: International Bureau of Education.

UNESCO (1998). Learning to live together: Values education for peace, human rights, democracy and sustainable development for the Asia-Pacific region. Bangkok: UNESCO. Available at http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0011/001143/114357eo.pdf

Uwazie, E. E. (2003) Conflict Resolution and Peace Education in Africa. Lanham, Oxford, Lexington.

Webel, C. and Galtung, J. (2007) ‘Introduction’ in Handbook of Peace and Conflict Studies. Abingdon: Routledge (pp. 3-32). Available at http://www.mkgandhi.org/ebks/handbook-of-peace-and-conflict-studies.pdf

Winthrop, R. & Kirk, J. 2011. Learning for a Bright Future: Schooling, Armed Conflict, and Children's Well-Being. In: MUNDY, K. & DRYDEN-PETERSON, S. (eds.) Educating Children in Conflict Zones: Research, Policy and Practice for Systemic Change. London: Teachers College Press. pp. 101 – 121.

Winthrop, R. 2011. Understanding the Diverse Forms of Learning Valued by Children in Conflict Contexts. In: Mundy, K. & Dryden-Peterson, S. (eds.) Educating Children in Conflict Zones: Research, Policy and Practice for Systemic Change. London: Teachers College Press. pp. 122 – 136.