Presented at the British Association for International and Comparative Education (BAICE) Student Conference, 6-8 March 2014. Queen's University, Belfast.
Research on the contribution of education to conflict and social division is well-established. Less understood is the role of education in post-conflict peacebuilding and reconciliation. Especially lacking are insights into the role of teachers as intermediaries between peace education theory and practice, and their experiences as participants in, not merely conduits of, peace learning and reconciliation. This paper presents the findings of an empirical study conducted in 2012 in Bosnia and Herzegovina: a country that suffered devastating interethnic war between 1992-1995 and that has been struggling with peacebuilding ever since. The study asks, ‘What does it mean to educate for peace in post-war Bosnia-Herzegovina?’ Employing semi-structured interviews within a critical phenomenological methodology, the study explores the lived experiences of eight ethnically Bosniak, Croat, and Serb teachers who lived through the brutal Bosnian war and subsequently became involved in an “Education for Peace” programme aimed at post-war intergroup healing and reconciliation. The study examines the psychosocial, political and educational factors that shape, facilitate and delimit their engagement with peace education and intergroup reconciliation. The findings reveal four key challenges faced by post-conflict peace educators and four areas of positive impact resulting from the educators’ engagement in Education for Peace. The paper sheds light on the complex ways in which peace educators’ personal and social identities intertwine with the wider socio-political environment as they pursue peace, intergroup reconciliation, and healing.
Research on the contribution of education to conflict and social division is well-established. Less understood is the role of education in post-conflict peacebuilding and reconciliation. Especially lacking are insights into the role of teachers as intermediaries between peace education theory and practice, and their experiences as participants in, not merely conduits of, peace learning and reconciliation. This paper presents the findings of an empirical study conducted in 2012 in Bosnia and Herzegovina: a country that suffered devastating interethnic war between 1992-1995 and that has been struggling with peacebuilding ever since. The study asks, ‘What does it mean to educate for peace in post-war Bosnia-Herzegovina?’ Employing semi-structured interviews within a critical phenomenological methodology, the study explores the lived experiences of eight ethnically Bosniak, Croat, and Serb teachers who lived through the brutal Bosnian war and subsequently became involved in an “Education for Peace” programme aimed at post-war intergroup healing and reconciliation. The study examines the psychosocial, political and educational factors that shape, facilitate and delimit their engagement with peace education and intergroup reconciliation. The findings reveal four key challenges faced by post-conflict peace educators and four areas of positive impact resulting from the educators’ engagement in Education for Peace. The paper sheds light on the complex ways in which peace educators’ personal and social identities intertwine with the wider socio-political environment as they pursue peace, intergroup reconciliation, and healing.