Presentation given at the Magee campus of the University of Ulster by Professor Alan Smith, UNESCO Chair in Education for Pluralism, Human Rights and Democracy, at a seminar entitled 'Education and Peacebuilding in Conflict Affected Situations' run by the UNESCO Centre for the INCORE Summer School 2012.

2. UNESCO Centre

3. Education and Peacebuilding
Professor Alan Smith
UNESCO Chair in Education for Pluralism,
Human Rights and Democracy
University of Ulster
a.smith@ulster.ac.uk

4. Implications
1. Conceptual challenges
2. Integration within UN Peacebuilding
3. Implications for education programming

5. A ‘Conflict Sensitive’ Checklist?
1. Governance, administration of education (centralised, decentralised;
political economy within the sector; political interference in administration,
appointments, procurement; control of schools; accountability to children,
parents)
2. Access to education (distribution and type of schools - shared, separate;
public, private)
3. Identity factors (gender, language, religion, ethnicity)

6. 1.
2. ‘Conflict Sensitive’
A Checklist?
3.
4. Teaching and learning
• school environment (ethos, discipline policies, participation, community
involvement)
• curriculum (knowledge, skills, values and attitudes)
• textbooks (content, concepts, vocabulary; single texts, multiple resources)
• pedagogy (didactic, enquiry-based)
5. Teachers (recruitment, education and training, deployment, professional
development, ethics and standards)
6. Youth (risk or resource; pacification or engagement?)

7. Why is political economy analysis important?
“ There is increasing recognition that blockages for effective reform
at the sectoral level (including for delivery, planning and procurement) can
be political and that technical solutions alone may not be enough.
Governance of a sector, and the way in which politics and institutions
interact within that sector, will in practice have a critical impact on sector
policies and services.
”
Foresti, M. and Wild, L. (2009) Analysing governance and political economy in
sectors – Joint donor workshop report, London: Overseas Development Institute.

8. Theoretical Frameworks: Negative Peace Positive Peace
Peace & conflict theory (absence of violence) (address structural inequalities)
Greed v grievance ↓ ↓
Liberal peacebuilding ‘conflict management’ ‘conflict transformation’
Security  DDR disarmament  Involving youth in security decisions
 Stronger policing  Improving relations with police
 Monitoring for radicalism  Earning respect for the justice
 Diversion into other activities system
Political  Emphasis on political elites  Political literacy
 Early move to multiparty elections  Youth civic engagement
 Limits of consociational governance
Economic  Financial settlements and incentives  Sustainable livelihoods for youth
 TVET schemes, apprenticeships  TVET linked to economic
opportunities
Social  Interpersonal relations and  Focus on roots of conflict
encounters  Power relations between groups in
 Inter faith and intercultural society
understanding  Understanding how identity is
 Sport, drama, arts, music as bridge mobilised
builders

9. Implications
1. Conceptual challenges
2. Integration within UN Peacebuilding
3. Implications for education programming
4. Capacity development
5. Monitoring and evaluation
6. Knowledge generation
7. Limitations

10. UNESCO Centre