Aim of the project
The aim is to develop a higher education course on Education, Conflict and Peacebuilding through broad consultations with stakeholders, literature reviews and empirical research in the Somali region.
The course will have a specific focus on understanding the role of education in production and prevention of socio-political tensions and developing skills for conflict resolution and peacebuilding. It aims to provide a critical understanding of the interactions between education and conflict in Somali society and promote conflict sensitive approaches to learning.
Team
- Dr Tejendra Pherali – Project Director
- Mr Nasir M. Ali – Project Coordinator (IPCS)
- Dr Alexandra Lewis – Researcher
Activities
- Workshop: Curriculum Development
- Workshop: Education, Peace and Development in Somali Society
- Education, Conflict and Peacebuilding – Somaliland
Workshop: Curriculum Development
IOE and University of Hargeisa
Ambassador Hotel, Hargeisa, Somaliland
June 2016
Purpose
Identify key aims, curricular contents and pedagogy for an academic course on education, conflict and peacebuilding.
Introductions
The workshop was inaugurated by Deputy Minister of Education Mr. Yusuf Osman Abdi who, together with Dr. Mohamoud Muse, the President of the University of Hargeisa delivered an opening speech. They both emphasised the importance of education in the process of peace making and peace building.
Dr Tejendra Pherali introduced the project and presented a brief IOE background.
Participants
This two day event brought together educationists, political leaders, youth, university academics, community leaders, NGO, practitioners, teachers and education officers who contributed to discussions about the role of higher education in Somali society and shared their views about how the University of Hargeisa could support peace and development through its academic programmes and civic engagement.
Sessions
The workshop had the following consecutive sessions:
- Peace and development in Somaliland: the role of higher education (Nasir M. Ali).
- Presentation of findings from field study on education, conflict and peace building (Nasir M. Ali and Mohamed Isak).
- Group discussion (facilitated by Dr Tejendra Pherali).
Outcomes
The workshop broadly informed the technical process of identifying specific learning outcomes and skills, course syllabus and methods of assessment.
Read more
- Literature Review on Education and Peacebuilding
- Peace and development in Somaliland: the role of higher education
- Research findings from empirical study on education and peace
Workshop: Education, Peace and Development in Somali Society
IOE
20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL
May 2016
Purpose
Create a space for an interdisciplinary dialogue on education, peace and development in Somali region. It was particularly aimed at supporting higher education in Somaliland with a specific focus on postgraduate studies in the field of education, conflict and peacebuilding. Main points:
- Establishing links between Somali-focused researchers for education and peacebuilding.
- Identifying a key research agenda to inform policies and development discourse.
- Proposing a multi-sectoral literature review on democracy, development and peace.
- Developing a research programme: priorities for research capacity development in Somali contexts.
The afternoon discussion primarily concentrated on the following questions:
- What research gaps exist in your field of research in Somali studies?
- How might we best bring together our research interests in a multi-sectoral, multi-disciplinary research agenda?
- What avenues are there for joint research and development for us?
- How can we help to develop research capacities in Somali universities and institutions?
Presentations
The workshop included a presentation of initial findings obtained through a review of literature on education and peacebuilding and field based research carried out by the University of Hargeisa.
It also included short papers by keynote speakers, including Dr Michael Walls who highlighted challenges and opportunities for democracy and development in Somaliland, and Dr Laura Hammond presented her reflections on gender dynamics in Somali society.
These papers including the ones from other speakers have been published on a Education and Conflict Review special issue.
Education, Peace and Development in Somali Society: One day workshop – Part 1
Presentations by Tejendra Pherali, (Senior Lecturer in Education and International Development, IOE); Dr Alexandra Lewis (IOE); Nimo-Ilhan Ahmed Ali (SOAS); Sahra Mohamed (Academy for Peace and Development, Somaliland); Dr Laura Hammond (SOAS).
Education, Peace and Development in Somali Society: One Day Workshop – Part 2
Presentations given by Dr Michael Walls (UCL Development Planning Unit) and Dr Idil Osman (University of Leicester) at UCL IOE, 20 May, 20.
Education, Conflict and Peacebuilding – Somaliland
North-South higher education partnership for academic development and peace building
Presentations
Literature Review on Education and Peacebuilding
Dr Tejendra Pherali and Dr Alexandra Lewis presented findings of global literature review on education, conflict and peacebuilding.
Purpose
The primary purpose of this review was to inform research and teaching on education, conflict and peace building at the IPCS of the University of Hargeisa, Somaliland, and more broadly in the Horn of Africa.
Themes
The presentation focused on the following key themes:
- theoretical and conceptual analyses of peacebuilding education
- evidence on the role of education in promoting peace and social transformation in conflict-affected contexts
- key existing academic courses on education, conflict and peace building, and
- research on the role of education in peace building and social transformation in the Somali contexts.
Findings
The review identified relevant literature that focused on the historical context of Somali conflict and the impact of civil unrest on Somali education, as well as current interactions between education and peace in Somaliland. This work was situated in a broader context of theories and philosophies of education and peacebuilding practice.
The review found that while the notion of ‘peace building’ was introduced in 1975 by John Galtung in his pivotal text on Three Approaches to Peace: Peacekeeping, Peacemaking, and Peacebuilding: it really came into the mainstream peace and development discourse in the 1990s. Education and conflict as a field of practice emerged after the Graca Machel’s report (1996) on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children, which significantly influenced humanitarian and development programming in subsequent years.
Emerging from this period, the UNICEF report by Bush and Saltarelli (2000) on The Two Faces of Education in Conflict raised critical questions about the contentious role of education in ethnic conflict and subsequent works (Smith and Vaux, 2003; Seitz, 2004; Buckland, 2004; Davies, 2004; Harber, 2004; Dupuy, 2008; Save the Children, 2009; UNESCO, 2011) played an important role in establishing the subfield of education and conflict.
More recently, education is perceived as an important tool for building peace in conflict-affected societies through expanding human capital as well as promoting stability, social development and nation building. However, there is a lack of evidence that can empirically demonstrate the measurable impact of education on peacebuilding.
Education and conflict: research themes
It was also highlighted that the existing research in the field of education and conflict can be categorised in three main themes:
- The impact of physical violence on education (for instance, in countries such as, Columbia, Syria, Afghanistan, Nepal and Nigeria, education is attacked by armed groups and armed forces where school buildings, staff and students are caught in conflict).
- The impact of education as a tool for radicalization or reproduction of elitism and inequalities that - biased planning of education can serve as an active driver of conflict (i.e. through the marginalisation of communities, the teaching of contentious readings of history, or the othering of social groups).
- Drawing upon Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970), education is also researched as a tool for liberation and social transformation. Popular education and social justice movements underpin the philosophy of liberation through critical consciousness. Some scholars argue that peacebuilding education should therefore aim to address inequalities, recognize diverse identities and facilitate inclusive participation in decision-making (Novelli et al, 2015; Fraser, 2005).
Education in emergencies: training programmes
The presenters also noted that there are a range of training programmes focusing on education in emergencies.
Humanitarian agencies such as Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, War Child, UNICEF, UNHCR have a broad range of professional development training in the area of education in emergencies. UN agencies such as IIEP also work closely with Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies to offer professional development programmes for practitioners and educational officers in countries affected by conflict and other emergencies.
In recent years, the number of universities that offer academic courses in conflict and education is also increasing. These courses concentrate on various themes such as:
- educational governance and political economy
- education in emergencies
- education and refugee issues
- education, conflict and fragility and politics
- education and conflict.
Most of these courses are provided mainly at the postgraduate level and generally deal with the following themes:
- interactions between education and armed conflict
- the impact of conflict on children
- the positioning of education within socio-political, cultural and historical context
- the delivery of education in humanitarian emergencies, and
- the role of education in state building, peacebuilding and social transformation.
Dr Pherali and Dr Lewis pointed out that a peacebuilding education programme at IPCS should focus on teaching, research and critical scholarly dialogues that explore the role of higher education in maintaining long term stability and peace not only within Somaliland but also in the South Central Zone and Puntland, as well as in Ethiopia and Kenya.
Peace and development in Somaliland
A presentation by Nasir M. Ali, Director of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS), University of Hargeisa, about the Institute’s background and its vision for peace and stability in Somaliland.
Background
The Director of IPCS, Nasir M. Ali started by highlighting that the Institute was established in 2008 to understand the causes of and address conflict and violence affects Somaliland and Somali-speaking regions in the Horn of Africa (HoA).
Mandate
The mandate of IPCS is to engage in teaching and research in the areas of peace and conflict. The presentation highlighted that IPCS is the only and the first institute of its kind within the entire Somali-speaking region in the HoA.
Goals
Mr Ali stressed that IPCS strives to become a leading institution for teaching and research in the areas of peace and conflict studies and has the following strategic goals:
- Build IPCS towards becoming a recognized regional centre of excellence in teaching, peace and conflict research, and advocate for sustainable peace.
- Diffuse knowledge and enhance graduate education in peace, peace research and conflict transformation.
- Conduct continued peace and conflict researches that would serve as knowledge input to the process of education, political debates and analysis, and in the policymaking.
Core principles
Principles of IPCS include:
- Respect academic freedom guided by discipline and determination.
- Believe in justice and fairness for all to avoid conflict and violence.
- Adhere to institutional ethics and integrity.
- Believe in growth and optimism guided by innovation and excellence.
Peace and Conflict Studies: programmes
Since its inception in 2008, the institute has offered a one-year Postgraduate Diploma Programme in Peace and Conflict Studies. The program attracted key government figures at different levels including, but not limited to, Ministers, Army officers, Judiciary, Parliamentarians, traditional figures, and civil society organisations.
Since 2009, six batches of students have graduated from the Institute and in the academic year of 2015/16, the programme has been upgraded to MA level. Mr Ali reported that the Institute was now offering the first MA in Peace and Conflict Studies focusing on theories of peace and conflict, research methods, peace and development in the Horn of Africa, conflict analysis, gender issues and human rights.
Research findings from empirical study on education and peace
Nasir M. Ali and Mohamed Isak presented findings from the field study that was based on qualitative interviews with political leaders, academics, respected elders of clans and Somali scholars who were working in the field of education.
Questions
The following questions were explored through this study:
- What does peace mean in Somali Community?
- How is education linked with peace building?
- What contextual knowledge is required to understand peace building in Somaliland, Puntland and South Central Somalia?
- What approach/ pedagogy is contextually relevant?
- What knowledge and skills do educators and professionals need to know to contribute to peace building in Somalia?
Findings
The findings were thematically presented and discussed among the workshop participants. The study found that:
- Somalilanders value peace and articulate its significance in their cultural representations. For example: “Nabad baa Naas la luugo leh” “Ninraga Gogoshii Waa Nabad”, literally meaning, peace has breast to be milked; Xayd, Abwan Guure, Suldaan Dhawal (peace is the mat for men) respectively.
- Somali traditional values and principles with Islamic religious beliefs were integral part of peace, democracy and stability in Somaliland. The oral culture of Somali and political aspirations of the ‘Republic of Somaliland’ played a key role in unity and stability, while economic development through widening educational opportunities to Somali youth and skill transfer to Somaliland gave the hope for a better future.
- The study found that learning and teaching about peace, national pride and importance of Somaliland’s role in the global space was something that higher education could promote, in addition to training people to provide with employable skills.
Contact us
Centre for Education and International Development (CEID)
Department of Education, Practice and Society
UCL Institute of Education
University College London
20 Bedford Way
London WC1H 0AL
Header image credit: Tejendra Pherali.