© UNICEF/NYHQ2008-1016/Christine Nesbitt
Kinkole Primary school near Kinshasa, DRC.

By Taleen Vartan

NEW YORK, USA, 31 January 2012 – In 2011, UNICEF commissioned research to investigate the role of education in peacebuilding in post-conflict contexts. The resulting report, entitled The Role of Education in Peacebuilding: A synthesis report of findings from Lebanon, Nepal and Sierra Leone, is part of a knowledge generation study within the Back on Track programme on Education in Emergencies and Post-Crisis Transition. Back on Track is a five-year partnership between UNICEF, the Government of the Netherlands and the European Commission.

The study examines how integrated education interventions could have a stronger role in post-conflict peacebuilding within the United Nations system. It includes a programme literature and research review on the role of education in peacebuilding, as well as three country case studies on UNICEF’s education work in Lebanon, Nepal and Sierra Leone.

Literature Review

One of the main objectives of the study was to provide evidence on the role of education in peacebuilding based on academic, programming and evaluation literature. Through a comprehensive review of 520 documents related to education, conflict and peacebuilding, researchers found that education is a driver of social development in post-conflict settings. It promotes peace and serves as a powerful force for social transformation. The findings from the literature review also highlight the need for heightened attention to education sector reform from a peacebuilding perspective and greater engagement with the UN peacebuilding architecture.

Literature review

Case studies

Education is often a key casualty of armed conflict. Lebanon, Nepal and Sierra Leone were selected for this study to encompass a cross-section of different conflict environments.

Despite wide social, economic and political differences in these countries, the inextricable role of education within the peacebuilding agenda was clearly evident in all three cases. In these identified countries, but particularly in Sierra Leone, vast interest in and appreciation of the importance of education marked the immediate post-war period. In Lebanon, after 2006, schooling was highly valued; the government and international agencies prioritized coordinating psychosocial support for teachers and students, rebuilding and refurbishing schools – which were previously used as shelters – and bringing children back to school as soon as possible.

Case Study – Lebanon
Case Study – Nepal
Case Study – Sierra Leone

Building sustainable peace

Education is an essential building block for sustainable peace. “The role of education in peacebuilding is pivotal in post-conflict countries,” said Jordan Naidoo, UNICEF Senior Education Advisor. “Education is fundamental for economic growth, national advancement and can serve as a conduit for social cohesion and reconciliation in countries recovering from crises.”

This study suggests that the focus should remain on bolstering the role of education in post-conflict contexts to support social transformation, as well as paying close attention to the values and content communicated through education systems in these fragile countries and territories.

The Role of Education in Peacebuilding flyer

© UNICEF/NYHQ2011-0770/Olivier Asselin
Sierra Leone. 2011.

19 January 2012 – In 2011, UNICEF commissioned research to investigate the role of education in peacebuilding in conflict-affected states, as part of the Education and Emergencies and Post-Crisis Transition (EEPCT) programme – a partnership between UNICEF, the Government of the Netherlands and the European Commission.

The study consisted of two phases: Firstly, a literature review of education’s role in peacebuilding. Secondly, the completion of three country case studies (Lebanon, Nepal and Sierra Leone – selected to encompass a cross-section of very different conflict environments), based on extensive consultations with a wide range of national and international stakeholders, including UN representatives, government officials, civil society, and teachers. The following report is a synthesis of the two phases.

Download the report:

The Role of Education in Peacebuilding: A synthesis report of findings from Lebanon, Nepal and Sierra Leone

© Ronja Hoelzer
Sierra Leone.

Education for peace, citizenship, life skills, disaster management and other emerging issues

In 2008, UNICEF, together with the Sierra Leone Ministry of Education and the national Teacher Training institutions, developed the “Emerging Issues” Teacher Training Programme.

A working group of teacher trainers decided what issues should be included in the core teacher training curriculum in response to the situation of the country at that time. The topics chosen mainly required a behaviour change approach. Typical of post-conflict countries, teachers and students need to learn to change their behaviour to enable them to cope with the new situations in effort to create a better future.

Behaviour change topics require a teaching and learning methodology beyond the traditional lecture approach used in many developing countries. Part of the “Emerging Issues” course was focussed on helping teachers develop a more interactive approach. This was an effective way to introduce new teaching methods, alongside existing teacher training courses.

The content of the “Emerging Issues” course includes Human Rights, Citizenship, Peace, Environment, Reproductive Health, Drug Abuse, Gender Equity and Disaster Management. The working group felt that methodology topics (Education Theory, Classroom Management, Teachers as Agents of Change) were vital for the teacher trainees as well.

The materials developed comprise a required course unit for each year of the three year full time pre-service teacher training course. A second version comprises a three-year distance education course (essentially a correspondence course) for teachers who are currently teaching but who require an upgrade. Another version was used for a three week intensive in-service training.

This course material can be adapted to other settings through creation of similar working groups of teacher trainers and other educators, and holding an editing workshop to relate the material to the country concerned. It should be noted that the materials should be sequenced in a way that progressively builds understanding and skills.

• Pre-service Emerging Issues 1st Year
• Pre-service Emerging Issues 2nd Year
• Pre-service Emerging Issues 3rd Year
• Pre-service Teachers Guide 1st Year
• Pre-service Teachers Guide 2nd Year
• Pre-service Teachers Guide 3rd Year
• Distance Education Emerging Issues 1st Year
• Distance Education Emerging Issues 2nd Year
• Distance education Emerging Issues 3rd Year
• In-service Intensive Course on Emerging Issues
• In-service Trainers Guide on Emerging Issues

Download a zip file of all documents

Education: an enduring casualty of war from UNICEF: Back on Track on Vimeo.

In the Kailahun district of Sierra Leone, burned out buildings and bullet holes serve as a constant reminder of a turbulent and horrific past. This remote eastern border area was one of hardest hit by Sierra Leone’s brutal civil war. It was just south of Kailahun, in the village of Bomaru, where rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) first crossed into the country from neighbouring Liberia, marking the start of the conflict. Education was one of the early casualties of war- schools were destroyed and teachers were among those who fled the area.

“It was terrible. There was no school in this area for 12 years during the war. Some children went to Guinea and Liberia and attended school there,” said Mr. Abel Ngafua, the principal of a primary school in Dawa village that borders Liberia. “Some of the children, their parents died in the war, they have just come here and are being looked after by people.”

© UNICEF Video
Students at Dawa school in the Kailahun district of Sierra Leone.

Reaching the most vulnerable

Almost a decade later, the country is still struggling to rebuild schools, train teachers and reach children who have yet to see the inside of a classroom. Responding to this need, UNICEF and its partners are working together to improve the education system and bring educational opportunities to all children in the country. The Cross Border Schools Project, which trains teachers and school managers, was developed to target the high numbers of out-of -school children in the border regions of the country.

David is 18 years old and will be among the second post-war class to graduate primary school in Dawa. When David returned home in 2003 he expressed his wish to attend school to his father.

“I asked my father if I could go to school and he said no, we don’t have any money,” he said.

Despite education being free in the country, there are still fees being charged that go towards paying for schools supplies and other additional costs. Not to be deterred, David went into the forest outside the village and began clearing himself a small patch of ground for cultivation. He grows chilli peppers and cassava, which he sells in a nearby market.

“When the plants survive I sell them and pay for my school fees,” he said.

Making teachers a priority

Despite the challenges facing education in this region, progress is slowly being made with a focus on quality and on giving teachers the opportunity to increase their skills. With funding from the Government of the Netherlands, efforts to better train teachers nationwide have been stepped-up in recent years with over 3,000 teachers participating in first-time or continuing courses, helping them to teach more effectively.

Francis Josiah is the first and second grade teacher at Dawa School. When he was 15 years old the rebels came to his village and killed his family, but he managed to escape. Having been robbed a part of his childhood, Francis finds that working as a teacher also gives him hope for the future. After completing the teacher training programme, Francis now plans his lessons and believes he is a much more effective teacher.

© UNICEF video
Francis Josiah is the first and second grade teacher at Dawa School.

“The training was about managing children’s behavior, how to keep them safe in school, and then how to teach actively,” he said.

New beginnings for teachers and students

The healing of wounds from the war is far from over, but through a gradual improvement in education a new generation of children are growing up with hope for a better future. David’s dream would not take him far away from the classroom.

“When I grow up I want to be a teacher,” he says smiling.

“I want the children to become good people. Better people for tomorrow. That is why I am teaching them,” said Francis. “I teach them equally so when they become good people in the future and I am passing they can say ‘Oh that was my teacher.’ When I see children that I have taught and they are moving on to higher levels of education I really feel proud of that.”

In this challenging context, the development community and local partners are facing down the odds to bring education – and the chance for a better future – to some of the most marginalized and forgotten of Sierra Leone’s children.

© UNICEF/2008/Shankar
Co-author of ‘Girl Soldier: A Story of Hope for Northern Uganda’s Children’ Grace Akallo (left ); and spokesperson for War Child Holland Kon Kelei (front)recording the 'Recovery through education'; podcast at UN Radio studios.

NEW YORK, USA- Ishmael Beah, Grace Akallo and Kon Kelei know the consequences of war. All three have lived through and participated in conflict in their native countries of Sierra Leone, Uganda and Sudan.

They share not only common experiences as former child soldiers, but also agree that it was education that enabled them to become the writers and advocates they are today.

During a podcast recorded at the UN Radio studios in New York recently, the three survivors spoke about a recently-launched network for young people affected by conflict. The This is a core principle of the network is that all children, including those affected by armed conflict, have a right to be protected and educated.

The network, which includes other child survivors, aims to reach out to all children whose lives are fractured by war, not only former child soldiers like themselves.

Empowering former child soldiers

Mr. Beah spoke of a recent trip to Northern Uganda where he visited a school to speak about his experiences in Sierra Leone. He relayed the story of one boy who was astounded by his accomplishments as the author of the bestselling memoir, ‘A Long Way Gone: memoirs of a boy soldier’.

“’You were only in the war for over 2 years. I was in the war longer. I can write a book, I can do anything that you did.’ And that’s the kind of empowerment we want to see, that’s the kind of motivation we want to bring to young people,” said Mr. Beah.

Ms. Akallo remarked that their vision is to create “a world that is just inclusive and supports the participation of young people in bringing about change.”

By working together they hope to raise awareness of the plight of children in conflict zones and to serve as role models for children who are currently struggling to recover from war.

‘Double work’ for girls

In civil conflicts and protracted crises, young women are particularly vulnerable.

“Some of my friends had to give birth while fighting. Some of them were going with children on their backs, some of them pregnant – and they still fight,” said Ms. Akallo. “It’s like double work.”

In many countries, armies on both sides of a dispute refuse to give up girls until the last moments of fighting, because they are seen as being valuable.

“When they give up girls you loose the functioning capacity of your squad because the men would no longer have sexual partners- you don’t have people who can cook and carry those loads,” said Mr. Beah.

A key component of rehabilitation

Education factors largely into the plans for the future work of these young activists, as it has had a profound impact on each one of them.

“If I just come back from a war, or I have been affected by war, and you just rehabilitate me without giving me direction or something to look up to- more or less you’ve have done nothing. I am just going to be back in that society, which is violent, without a future without a hope of changing that society. And I become helpless,” said Ms. Akallo. “So If you give me education, give me a hope, give me something I can look up to; it can change everything.”

Mr. Beah said: “For me, education is absolutely important because without it we cannot be in a position to understand one another, to move forward, to build societies, to have future leaders."

Kon Kelei unequivocally agreed. “The only way we can integrate into the real world is through education.”

Listen to the podcast

UNICEF advocate for children affected by war and author of the best-seller ‘A Long Way Gone’ Ishmael Beah; co-author of ‘Girl Soldier: A Story of Hope for Northern Uganda’s Children’ and a masters student in International Development and Social Change at Clark University Grace Akallo; and spokesperson for War Child Holland and a masters student of International and European Law in the Netherlands Kon Kelei.

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© UNICEF/2007/Galanek
Podcast moderator Amy Costello hosts a UNICEF Radio discussion with 13-year-old Duhabo Goleecha of Kenya (left) and other guests.

NEW YORK, USA, 19 December 2007 – Providing education to children in regions and societies affected by conflict – or emerging from it – is a major challenge. Yet communities in conflict-affected areas consistently rank education as a high priority. And they demonstrate astounding resourcefulness and resilience in seeking out and providing schooling for their children.

Education to achieve goals

It has been five years since ‘A World Fit for Children’ was adopted as the plan of action emerging from the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children.

Last week, as in 2002, young delegates convened in New York – this time for ‘A World Fit for Children Plus 5’, a follow-up meeting with the General Assembly to discuss the issues that matter most to them: protection against violence, abuse and exploitation; prevention of HIV; and access to a quality education.

Dahabu Goleeca talked about how critical education was in achieving her goals. “First we want an education,” said Dahabu. “If you educate, in your future, your life will be normal.”

‘Better than diamonds’

While delivering education to countries in the midst of conflict can be complicated, aid agencies have demonstrated that it is not only feasible, but critical to achieving the internationally agreed Millennium Development Goals.

“You might have to do it slightly differently if everything was a stable, normal situation,” said Tove Romsaas Wang. “But it is possible. And we have to be willing to take that risk.”

“The children of any country – these are the assets of that country,” added H.E. Dr. Minkailu Bah. “We call them the gems of the country. They are better than diamonds.”

About this Podcast

A discussion about educating children in some of the world’s most challenging contexts, featuring these guests:
H.E. Dr. Minkailu Bah, Minister of Education, Sierra Leone; Tove Romsaas Wang, Chair of the Rewrite the Future Campaign and Chief Operating Officer, Save the Children Norway; Alan Court, Director of UNICEF’s Programme Division; and Duhabo Goleecha, 13, from the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya.

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‘A World Fit for Children’ – Podcast 4

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