Browsing by Subject "Peacebuilding"
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Item Decentralized school governance and social cohesion in a post-conflict society: school leaders’ participatory democratic accountability in Bosnia and Herzegovina.(2012-04) Komatsu, TaroBosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is a post-conflict and divided nation in need of social cohesion. In order to increase trust among different ethnic groups and between civilians and public institutions, a decentralized school governance system has been introduced. This study sought to understand whether and how the internationally driven school-based management (SBM) reform in BiH functions in enhancing schools' roles of promoting social cohesion. In light of the research purpose, the study focused on school professionals' participatory democratic accountability (Kogan, 1986), and examined secondary school directors' perceptions regarding school board influence in social cohesion areas, their interactions with school boards, and their accountability to the school-based governing body. At a broader level, the study sought to contribute to the debate concerning international reform isomorphism. The study employed a mixed methods approach. A census survey with 294 secondary school directors was conducted to find general patterns in school directors' perceptions. Concurrently, interviews were conducted with 16 school directors to complement the survey findings as well as answer additional research questions. The study results show that the SBM reform was not functioning as intended. School boards, supposedly representing the interests of local stakeholders including parents, and school directors did not appear to be actively engaged in the deliberative process to promote social cohesion policies and practices. School boards influence school directors to promote social cohesion, but only in subtle and limited ways. Furthermore, school directors tended to view themselves as independent from the school boards, though, instead, their keen sense of professionalism can be utilized to facilitate local stakeholder participation. These findings indicate that a gap exists between a global reform policy and its implementation even in a post-conflict nation where the international donor community is closely involved. The study calls for donor agencies to attend to the historical, political and economic factors that might affect school-level policy implementers when they recommend educational reforms.Item Higher education and peacebuilding: A comparative case study of peace and conflict studies programs in Kenyan universities(2019-08) Sikenyi, MauriceThis study aimed to understand the role of higher education and peacebuilding in Kenya. In particular, the study explored how university administrators, faculty, students and national officials understand peace, and how university-level peace and conflict studies programs were designed and implemented for peacebuilding in Kenya. The study entailed a year-long period of fieldwork that focused on two Kenyan universities, Amani University and Umoja University , and their PCS programs. It was structured as a comparative case study utilizing semi-structured interviewing, document review and participant observations. The primary findings of this study are as follows: First, participants viewed higher education institutions (universities) as critical actors in the consolidation of peace, and peace and conflict studies (PCS) programs as critical for peacebuilding. However, participants also viewed universities as enablers of ethnic divisions and a culture of violence, a problematic role which participants felt needed to be addressed in order to generate meaningful efforts of peacebuilding through higher education. Secondly, participants understood peace as an outcome of the practice of uwazi and undugu, sustainable development, freedom from corruption, ethnic inclusivity and cohesiveness, absence of physical violence, good leadership and dialogue and reconciliation. I argue that these participants’ constructions of peace, reflected their tacit knowledge, aspirations and lived experiences of conflict and peace that were particular to Kenya and therefore constituted a peace knowledge. Thirdly, faculty utilized peace knowledge and critical pedagogy to design PCS curricula and drew on local knowledge and resources to develop students’ knowledge, skills and agency for peace and justice. Additionally, students’ perspectives revealed transformative experiences in PCS programs. These formations of new perspectives and awareness of peace illustrate the transformative element of a university learning experience and confirmed the critical role of university actors and programs in shaping actions and values for peace and sustainability. This study contributes to understandings of peace and the role of education in peacebuilding. It reveals the relational nature of peace, particularly the role of individual lived experiences as well as context-level factors in shaping perspectives on peace and conflict which differ from one region to another. Subsequently, findings of this research illustrate limitations and promises of higher education institutions (HEIs) as avenues for peacebuilding. In Kenya, HEIs were constrained by competing demands for institutional survival amidst diminishing state financing and the high demand for university level-education and certifications. Similarly, broader social and historical issues within universities and beyond inhibit institutional efforts for peacebuilding. For example, negative ethnicity, electoral malpractice, corruption and inequality in resource allocations are issues that are imbedded in the structural and social fabric of the society in Kenya and require system-wide approaches in addition to peace education. This study concludes that there is a need for governments and educators to advocate for and implement policies and practices that incorporate local knowledge in peace education curriculum. It also suggests the need for a system-wide policy that address social and structural practices that exacerbate tensions and violence within all institutions.