Citizenship Education In Conflict Affected Areas

Citizenship Education in Conflict-Affected Areas examines the practices of learning and teaching citizenship in Lebanon, and explores the implications of the research findings for those working in other sites affected by conflict. Bassel Akar analyses rich empirical data, such as semi-structured interviews with teachers and open-ended survey packs with children in classrooms, which reveal conflicts in notions of citizenship and pedagogical approaches. These in-depth explorations of classroom learning and teaching show the hidden and subtle factors that often subvert intentions to promote social cohesion and active citizenship through education. Examining how individual conceptualizations of citizenship influence approaches to learning and teaching and vice versa, the author argues that learning citizenship in schools can undermine aims of democratic participation, dialogue and critical thinking. He concludes and considers why classroom learning of civic education in Lebanon can actually be more harmful than beneficial. Offering new insights for educators and policy-makers working beyond the Lebanese context, Citizenship Education in Conflict-Affected Areas is a valuable addition to the research in this growing field.

This volume provides new perspectives into the challenges of citizenship education in the age of globalization and in the context of multicultural and conflict-ridden societies. It calls on us to rethink the accepted liberal and national discourses that have long dominated the conceptualization and practice of citizenship and citizenship education in light of social conflict, globalization, terrorism, and the spread of an extreme form of capitalism. The contributors of the volume identify the main challenges to the role of citizenship education in the context of globalization, conflicts and the changes to the institution of citizenship they entail and critically examine the ways in which schools and education systems currently address – and may be able to improve – the role of citizenship education in conflict-ridden and multicultural contexts.

Global migration, the rise of popular nationalism, and the quest by diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious groups for recognition, civic equality, and structural inclusion within their nation-states have complicated the attainment of citizenship in countries around the world. Virulent and pernicious nationalism in some nations, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Switzerland, and Italy, has made it difficult for migrant, refugee, and other marginalized groups to attain citizenship rights and to fully participate in their nation-states. The enormous increase in the number of migrant and refugees in many nations has also complicated citizenship acquisition for marginalized populations. In this book, scholars working in civic education from selected nations share perspectives, policies, research, and strategies for constructing and implementing civic education programmes that will help students from diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious groups attain political efficacy and become structurally integrated and fully participating citizens of their nation-states. This book was originally published as a special issue of the journal Intercultural Education.

First-place winner of the Society for Education Studies' 2005 book prize, Education and Conflict is a critical review of education in an international context. Based on the author's extensive research and experience of education in several areas afflicted by conflict, the book explores the relationship between schooling and social conflict and looks at conflict internal to schools. It posits a direct link between the ethos of a school and the attitudes of future citizens towards 'others'. It also looks at the nature and purpose of peace education and war education, and addresses the role of gender and masculinity. In five lucid, vigorously argued sections, the author brings this thought-provoking and original piece of work to life by: * Setting out the terms of the debate, defining conflict and peace and outlining the relevant aspects of complexity theory for education * Exploring the sources of conflict and their relations to schooling in terms of gender/masculinity, pluralism, nationalism and identity * Focusing on the direct education/war interface * Examining educational responses to conflict * Highlighting conflict resolution within the school itself. This is the first time that so many aspects of conflict and education have been brought together in one sustained argument. With its crucial exposure of the currently culpable role of formal schooling in maintaining conflict, this book will be a powerful and essential read for educational policy makers, managers, teachers and researchers dealing with conflict in their own contexts.

This collection brings together academic contributions from specialists working in a newly emergent area of study, that of education in situations of conflict. It seeks to promote understanding of the complex ways in which education can play both a reproductive and a transformative role in such circumstances.

This book examines the issues of theorizing citizenship education research in non-Western societies that have embarked on democratic development after the fall of authoritarianism and colonialism. Despite a proliferation of studies on citizenship and citizenship education in non-Western contexts, there has been limited theorization of this research and little discussion of the applicability to such contexts of Western theoretical frameworks. This volume addresses these issues through empirical case studies of citizenship conceptions, practices, and education in South and West Africa, Latin America, Central Europe, and the Middle East. The contributors to the volume call into question the uncritical application of Western theoretical frameworks to non-Western societies and advocate for the development and wider application of new paradigms rooted in local processes and indigenous knowledge to better understand and theorize citizenship and citizenship education in such societies. This volume will be of interest to scholars, researchers, and practitioners working in the field of comparative and international citizenship education. It was originally published as a special issue of Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education.

Citizenship under Fire examines the relationship among civic education, the culture of war, and the quest for peace. Drawing on examples from Israel and the United States, Sigal Ben-Porath seeks to understand how ideas about citizenship change when a country is at war, and what educators can do to prevent some of the most harmful of these changes. Perhaps the most worrisome one, Ben-Porath contends, is a growing emphasis in schools and elsewhere on social conformity, on tendentious teaching of history, and on drawing stark distinctions between them and us. As she writes, "The varying characteristics of citizenship in times of war and peace add up to a distinction between belligerent citizenship, which is typical of democracies in wartime, and the liberal democratic citizenship that is characteristic of more peaceful democracies." Ben-Porath examines how various theories of education--principally peace education, feminist education, and multicultural education--speak to the distinctive challenges of wartime. She argues that none of these theories are satisfactory on their own theoretical terms or would translate easily into practice. In the final chapter, she lays out her own alternative theory--"expansive education"--which she believes holds out more promise of widening the circles of participation in schools, extending the scope of permissible debate, and diversifying the questions asked about the opinions voiced.

Civic and citizenship education have emerged as major areas of discussion, debate and action regarding their place in the school curriculum in many nations. This text sets out to show the importance of citizenship education with examples and contributions from around the world.

This project aimed to undertake a scoping study of existent and potential research into the relationship between education and conflict, peace building and post-conflict situations, both nationally and internationally. Within this aim, the project investigates the main research dimensions of this area, identifies gaps in the research literature, summarises key findings that emerge from the literature and suggests future areas of research. Keyword searches of educational databases were conducted in order to identify relevant materials, published between 1997 and 2004. Those items that were considered key texts or those that were easily accessible were read in depth. The project did not aim to review the literature but to identify the key themes and gaps. One author also attended two conferences and used the Internet to search for additional materials and keep in touch with relevant online discussion groups. It is estimated that half of the 104 million children not attending primary school live in countries in, or recovering from, conflict. Countries that have lost educational infrastructure as a result of war are less likely to reach the Dakar goal of primary Education for All by the year 2015. Reported findings include: (1) The field of education and conflict is in its infancy: (2) There is much material that addresses the challenges involved in providing education in conflict-affected and post-conflict areas; (3) Little research or evaluative evidence exists from education programmes that operate in conflict and post-conflict areas; (4) Research, evaluation and monitoring are often low on the list of priorities for practitioners working in conflict circumstances; (5) Despite the lack of material in the pubic domain, there is a significant amount of unpublished evidence, such as internal reports and evaluations conducted by agencies and consultants working in the field: research and development of practice is hindered by the fact that much of this reflective material is not available more widely; (6) A research-practice gap limits the amount of evidence from which further interventions can be planned by practitioners and policy makers; (7) Those working in the field of education and conflict have made a significant contribution to challenging the assumption that education is always a positive force in areas of conflict, but, due to the research-practice gap, these developments may not feed into theory; (8) Peace education is well documented in the literature on education and conflict, although much of the material is opinion based/descriptive rather than evidence based; (9) At a national level, peace education is closely allied to civic education and citizenship education, but the links between these topics are not well researched in conflict-affected areas; and (10) Although difficulties facing agencies seeking to implement education in conflict-situations are thought to be well known, at least one study revealed that, in practice, the challenges may be different. The report recommends: (1) Expansion of centralised data collection regarding the provision of education in conflict situations; (2) Greater use of the Internet and e-discussions for dissemination of research and network building; (3) Use of "user-friendly" tools in research reports; (4) Greater use of professional researchers to provide consultancy on monitoring and evaluation to practitioners working in the field; and (5) Greater collaboration between practitioner agencies and academics. Three areas are identified for further research to: (1) Look at the role of education as a tool for protection; (2) Investigate the links between citizenship education and peace education; and (3) Examine ways in which governments and NGOs can support schooling initiated by parents. Three appendixes are included: (1) Websites of Interest; (2) Literature Search Strategy; and (3) The Inter-Agency Network on Education in Emergencies (INEE). (Contain 9 footnotes.).

With PISA tables, accountability, and performance management pulling educators in one direction, and the understanding that education is a social process embedded in cultural contexts, tailored to meet the needs and challenges of individuals and communities in another, it is easy to end up in seeing teachers as positioned as opponents to the 'system'. Jerome and Starkey argue that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, 1989) can provide a pragmatic starting point for educators to challenge some of these unsettling trends in a way which does not set up unnecessary opposition with policy-makers. They review the evidence from international evaluations, surveys and case studies about practice in human rights and child right education before exploring the key principles of transformative and experiential education to offer a robust theoretical framework that can guide the development of child rights education. They also draw out practical implications and outline a series of teaching and learning approaches that are values informed, aligned with children's rights and focused on quality learning.