Education and Conflict Mitigation

To examine the unique and critical role—both positive and negative—that education and educational aid can play in areas of conflict, this paper proceeds in the following sections. First, we discuss the historical roots of education in emergencies programs. The fact that these programs emerged as part of humanitarian aid and Education for All efforts has shaped the way they include or omit conflict mitigation analysis today. Second, we review dominant paradigms that explain causes of conflict. We combine academic and practitioner-oriented literature to show how education fits into existing conflict models and what these models leave out. We assess the degree to which these relationships are grounded in empirical research. Third and fourth, we show how conflict affects education, how education affects conflict, and how to address this dynamic. Fifth, we highlight key findings from our qualitative interview data showing "what works" and "what does not work" among education and conflict mitigation programs in conflict-affected states and volatile contexts. Finally, we conclude with preliminary recommendations for research and for improving work on education programs in fragile and conflict affected contexts.

To consolidate and build on existing knowledge, we collected two kinds of data. First, we conducted a survey of practitioner-oriented and relevant academic literature, compiling, sorting, and assessing key effects of conflict on education and education on conflict. To gather these data, we reviewed more than 200 program documents and academic publications. Our second set of data comes from semistructured interviews with 17 seasoned educator-aid workers who have deep field experience with multiple types of organizations and in many countries.