Convenors: Lizzi O. Milligan (University of Bath) and Julia Paulson (University of Bristol)
Discussant: Michele Schweisfurth (University of Glasgow)
Conversations around history, citizenship and peace education in conflict-affected contexts often centre around national level policy and curriculum. This leads to research focused on textbook analysis, curriculum development and the relationships of these processes to nation-building. These studies are important, but they do not answer questions about wider processes of curriculum design and implementation, or about how curriculum and materials are interpreted and used in classrooms, or about how teachers respond to policy imperatives to become peacebuilders.
This symposium is more holistic, exploring dynamics of pedagogic enactment, models of learning and appropriate assessment tools in order to unlock the transformative potential of history, peace and citizenship education.
A configurative review of textbook analysis research into history education about recent conflict
Julia Paulson and Lizzi O. Milligan, University of Bristol and University of Bath
We adopt a systematic approach to collect and analyse research about textbooks on conflict-affected cases in Eastern Africa and Latin America. In addition to trends in the findings of textbook analysis, we are interested in whether studies go beyond the content of textbooks to explore 1) how, by who and under what conditions textbooks are commissioned, written and distributed; 2) how (and if) textbooks are used in classrooms; and 3) relationships to a variety of learning outcomes.
Peacebuilding through academic partnerships in higher education: Curriculum design and pedagogical approaches
Tejendra Pherali, UCL Institute of Education
Drawing upon a research-based capacity development project in Somaliland, I will discuss challenges of academic partnership including, research, curriculum design and learning and teaching in higher education. I will argue that higher education in Somaliland has a prominent role not only in economic development but also in preparing Somaliland for transformative democracy and sustainable peace. In this process, learning and teaching about education, conflict and peacebuilding should involve critical appreciation of security, political, social and economic challenges and exploring innovative ways of responding to these.
The pivotal role of teachers: Enabling and hindering the transformative potential of citizenship education in times of transition
Elizabeth A. Worden, American University
In post-conflict contexts, teachers have the potential to play a great role in transforming society. Yet teachers are not a monolithic group and have multiple priorities and identities during times of transition. Teachers must grapple with their own experiences of violent conflict. They must also negotiate curriculum reform and policies for which they may or may not have adequate resources. Drawing from interviews and observation in Northern Ireland, this paper examines these multi-layered issues and seeks to understand the factors—both inside and outside of the classroom—that enable and/or hinder teachers in enacting the transformative potential of citizenship education.
Curriculum texts for social cohesion in post-conflict contexts: Insights from Rwanda and South Africa
Naureen Durrani, Yusuf Sayed and Mario Novelli, University of Sussex
This paper explores the ways in which the curriculum and textbooks in two post-conflict countries—Rwanda and South Africa—facilitate or hinder teachers as agents of social cohesion. Both countries engaged in a comprehensive process of transformation, including the revision of national curricula and textbooks to promote inclusion and social cohesion. Informed by the 4Rs—redistribution, recognition, reconciliation and representation - this paper draws on analysis of curriculum frameworks and textbooks, and interviews in both countries. It finds that although curriculum reforms and textbooks offer possibilities for inclusion, equity, and respect for diversity, key challenges remain in adopting a more explicit social justice agenda.
