Education Programs in Post-Conflict Environments: a Review from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and South Africa

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15359/ree.21-1.11

Keywords:

Education, post-conflict, narrative, programs, Liberia, Sierra Leone, South Africa

Abstract

Education should be considered as one of the mechanisms for governments and nations to succeed in a post-conflict process. The purpose of this Review Article is twofold: to explain the importance of education in a post-conflict setting, and to describe a few strategies that post-conflict societies have implemented. In terms of research design, a multiple case study approach has been implemented. The paper reviews a unique topic with specific reference to education plans implemented in post-conflict societies such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, and South Africa. Each of them has experienced violent conflicts and has used education as a tool to succeed in their post-conflict process. In sum, there are several educational programs that involve children, young people, survivors, parents, teachers, and local communities as well as curriculums focused on teaching of cultural values and technical skills to improve the quality of life in a post-conflict setting. 

 

Author Biographies

Hernando Barrios-Tao, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada

Ph. D. Humanities Sciences. Professor at Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, Bogotá (Colombia). He was Dean of Faculty Education and Humanities at Universidad Militar Nueva Granada. Author of articles and books related to his research interest: education, narrative, bioethics, humanities.

José María Siciliani-Barraza, Universidad de La Salle

Ph. D. Social Sciences. Professor at Universidad de la Salle, Bogotá (Colombia); Research Assistant, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, Bogotá (Colombia). Director of the ”PhD in Humanities. Humanism and Person” at Universidad de San Buenaventura, Bogotá (Colombia). Author of articles and books related to his research interest: narrative.

Bibiana Bonilla-Barrios, Universidad del Rosario

LLM International and European Public Law. Research Assistant, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, Bogotá (Colombia). Assistant Professor, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá (Colombia).

References

Baxter, P., & Bethke, L. (2009). Alternative education: Filling the gap in emergency and post-conflict situations. Paris: International Institute for Educational Planning. Recuperdo de http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001849/184938e.pdf

Benson, P. (2008). The Liberia project: Students take history and human rights into their own hands. The OAH Magazine of History, 22(2), 46-48. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/maghis/22.2.46

Blattman, C., Hartman, A., & Blair, R. (2011). Can we teach peace and conflict resolution?: Results from a randomized evaluation of the Community Empowerment Program (CEP) in Liberia: A program to build peace, human rights, and civic participation (Evidence from Randomized Evaluations of peacebuilding in Liberia. Policy Report 2011). Liberia: IPA & Yale Recuperado de https://www.poverty-action.org/sites/default/files/publications/blattman_hartman_blair_can_we_teach_peace_ipa_liberia_0.pdf

Bray, E., & Joubert, R. (2007). Reconciliation and peace in education in South Africa: The constitutional framework and practical manifestation in school education. In Z. Bekerman, & McGlynn, C. (Eds.), Addressing ethnic conflict through peace education: International Perspectives (pp. 49-60). USA: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230603585_5

Bretherton, D., Weston, J., & Zbar, V. (2003). Peace education in a post-conflict environment: The case of Sierra Leone. Prospects, 33(2), 219-230. doi: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023651031633

Buchert, L. (2013). Introduction–Understanding education, fragility and conflict. Prospects, 43(1), 5-15. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-012-9251-9

Buckland, P. (2004). Reshaping the future: Education and post-conflict reconstruction. Washington: The World Bank Publications. doi: https://doi.org/10.1596/0-8213-5959-2

Castle, C., Elder, K., Baxter, P., & Cornu, C. (2005). Education in post-conflict settings: Lessons from a pilot course in Liberia. Humanitarian Practice Network. Humanitarian Policy Group. Humanitarian Exchange, 31, 32-34. Recuperado de http://odihpn.org/wp-content/uploads/2005/10/humanitarianexchange031.pdf

De Yeaza, C., & Fox, N. (2013). Narratives of mass violence: The role of memory and memorialization in addressing human rights violations in Post-conflict Rwanda and Uganda. Societies Without Borders, 8(3), 343-372. Recuperado de http://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1036&context=swb

Dubois, J-L., & Trabelsi, M. (2007). Education in pre- and post- conflict contexts: Relating capability and life skills-approaches. International Journal of Social Economics, 34(1-2), 53-65. doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/03068290710723363

Dupuy, K. (2008). Education for peace: Building peace and transforming armed conflict Through Education Systems. Osolo: Save the Children and PRIO.

Fiske, E., & Ladd, H. F. (2004). Racial equality in education: How far has South Africa come? Durham, NC: Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy, Duke University.

GIZ. (2013). Technical vocational education and training - Sierra Leone. Berlin: Autor Recuperado de https://www.giz.de/fachexpertise/downloads/giz2013-en-psp-sierra-leone-london-mining.pdf

Hayes, B. C., & McAllister, I. (2009). Education as a mechanism for conflict resolution in Northern Ireland. Oxford Review of Education, 35(4), 437-450. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/03054980902957796

Huyse, L. (2003). The process of reconciliation. En D. Bloomfield, T. Barnes, & L. Huyse (Eds.), Reconciliation after violent conflict: A handbook. Handbook (pp. 19-33). Estocolmo: Suecia: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Recuperado de http://www.un.org/en/peacebuilding/pbso/pdf/Reconciliation-After-Violent-Conflict-A-Handbook-Full-English-PDF.pdf

IBIS Education for Development. (2012). Why some perform better than others. A best practice study report. IBIS Education for Development in Liberia. Recuperado de http://ibismozambique.org/sites/default/files/media/pdf_global/liberia_pdf/pta_best_practice_study_-final_2012.pdf

IBIS Education for Development. (2013). Education for change in Liberia thematic programme document. IBIS Education for Development in Liberia.

IBIS Education for Development. (19 July, 2015). Teacher Training.

IBIS Education for Development in Liberia.

IIEP. (2011). Education and fragility in Liberia (IIEP research papers). Paris: International Institute for Educational Planning. Recuperado de http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002121/212197e.pdf

Islam, F. (2012). Understanding pre-service teacher education discourses in “Communities of Practice”: A reflection from an intervention in rural South Africa. Perspectives in Education, 30(1), 19-29. Recuperado de http://search.proquest.com/openview/5db50c981067dd0e06286219522a9659/1.pdf?pq-origsite=gscholar

Johnson, W. R. (1982, Autumn). Education: Keystone of apartheid. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 13(3), 214-237. Recuperado de http://www.dimas.my.id/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/education-a-keystone-of-apartheid.pdf

Kaifala, J. B. (2014). Transitional justice in Sierra Leone: Oral history, human rigths, and post-conflict reconciliation. Oral History Forum, 34, 1-16. Recuperado de http://www.oralhistoryforum.ca/index.php/ohf/article/view/548/626

Kargbo, J. A. (2008). Oral traditions and libraries. Library Review, 57(6), 442-448. doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/00242530810886715

King, E. (2005). Educating for conflict or peace: Challenges and dilemmas in post-conflict Rwanda. International Journal, 60(4), 904-918. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/40204090

Kupermintz, H., & Salomon, G. (2005, Autumn). Lessons to be learned from research on peace education in the context of intractable conflict. Theory Into Practice, 44(4), 293-302. doi: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4404_3

Montjourides, P. (2013). Education data in conflict-affected countries: The fifth failure? Prospects, 43(1), 85-105. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-012-9260-8

Novelli, M. y Smith, A. (2011). The role of education in Peacebuilding: A synthesis report of findings from Lebanon, Nepal and Sierra Leone. New York: Unicef, United Nations Children’s Fund.

Save the Children. (2008). Where peace begins: Education’s role in conflict prevention and peacebuilding. Cambridge: International Save the Children Alliance. Recuperado de http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/A2A4C1378EF2807E4925757E001E42DE-200803_Where_Peace_Begins.pdf

Sayed, Y. (1997, Autumn). Understanding educational decentralization in post-apartheid South Africa. The Journal of Negro Education, 66(4), 354-365. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/2668163

Schäfer, M., & Wilmot, D. (2012).Teacher education in post-apartheid South Africa: Navigation a way through competing state and global imperatives for change. Prospects, 42(1), 41-54. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-012-9220-3

Skuce, N. (2002, Fall). Rebuilding after war: Environmental education in Sierra Leone. Green Teacher, 69, 41-43.

Smith. A. (2005). Education in the twenty-first century: Conflict, reconstruction and reconciliation. Compare, 35(4), 373-391. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/03057920500331397

Smith, A. (2010). The influence of education on conflict and peacebuilding. (Background paper prepared for the Education for all global monitoring report 2011. The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and education). UNESCO. Recuperado de http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0019/001913/191341e.pdf

Talbot, C. (2013). Education in conflict. emergencies in light of the post-2015 MDGs and EFA Agendas (Working Paper 3). NORRAG’s Working Paper Series, pp. 1-20.

Terzi, L. (2007). The capability to be educated. In M. Walker, & E. Unterhalter (Eds.), Amartya Sen’s capability approach and social justice in education (pp. 25-44). USA: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230604810_2

The World Bank. (2007). Education in Sierra Leone: Present challenges, future opportunities. Washington: Autor. Recuperado de http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/618111468166474170/pdf/391660SL0Educa101OFFICIAL0USE0ONLY1.pdf

Unesco. (2011). The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and education. Fontenoy, France: Author.

Vargas-Barón, E., & Bernal, H. (2005). Educating children and youth in countries with conflicts. In E. Vargas, & H. Bernal (Eds.), From bullets to blackboards: Education for peace in Latin America and Asia (pp. 1-39). Washington: Inter-American Development Bank. Recuperado de https://publications.iadb.org/bitstream/handle/11319/220/From%20Bullets%20to%20Blackboards.pdf?sequence=1

Walker, M., & Unterhalter, E. (2007). The capability approach: Its potential for work in education. In M. Walker, & E. Unterhalter (Eds.), Amartya Sen’s capability approach and social justice in education (pp. 1-18). USA: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230604810_1

Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children. (2006). Help us help ourselves: Education in the conflict to post-conflict transition in Liberia. New York: Autor. Recuperado de https://www.womensrefugeecommission.org/component/zdocs/document/285-help-us-help-ourselves-education-in-the-conflict-to-post-conflict-transition-in-liberia

Published

2017-01-01

How to Cite

Education Programs in Post-Conflict Environments: a Review from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and South Africa (H. Barrios-Tao, J. M. Siciliani-Barraza, & B. Bonilla-Barrios , Trans.). (2017). Revista Electrónica Educare, 21(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.15359/ree.21-1.11

Issue

Section

Journal Articles (Peer Reviewed Section)

How to Cite

Education Programs in Post-Conflict Environments: a Review from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and South Africa (H. Barrios-Tao, J. M. Siciliani-Barraza, & B. Bonilla-Barrios , Trans.). (2017). Revista Electrónica Educare, 21(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.15359/ree.21-1.11

Comentarios (ver términos de uso)