Curriculum, Life Skills and Peacebuilding Education – Promoting Equity and Peacebuilding in South Sudan
Results and Lessons Learned
In response to the outbreak of civil war, UNICEF has been employing a multi-pronged strategy to adapt PBEA—originally developed as a post-conflict programme for consolidating peace—to the new realities of South Sudan's intrastate conflict. Thus, UNICEF continues its long-term support for the curriculum development process and minimum standards for education quality, as well as training to implement the frameworks it helped develop for life skills education from pre-primary to secondary levels and out of school individuals. Reflecting the peacebuilding turn in UNICEF's programming, among the initiatives UNICEF is supporting and that are considered in this case study are primary/secondary/adult education, life skills and peace building education, sports and livelihood opportunities in cattle camps (temporary pastoral settlements), and the extent to which those interventions are improving issues of equity, inclusion, achieving programme outcomes, and supporting peacebuilding in South Sudan.
This report examines the PBEA's support to Life Skills and Peacebuilding Education, curriculum development, the extent to which the programme is promoting equity for traditionally marginalized pastoral communities and girls, as well as engaging youth in peacebuilding processes. This case study is based on direct interviews in July 2014 with representatives of international agencies in Juba, government officials and international consultants working on the curriculum developmentprocess, UNICEF implementing partners, school authorities, teachers and students. Information on conditions outside of Juba is second-hand, due to travel restrictions that prevented movement outside of the capital, but is presented for the bright light it sheds on UNICEF and government peacebuilding activities. In total some 88 people provided direct information for this specific case study. The report identifies strong results being achieved across several programme outcomes, and very encouraging signs of increasing levels of social cohesion and resilience among conflict affected and vulnerable communities.