Session Information
99 ERC SES 08 M, Research on Citizenship Education
Paper Session
Contribution
The Human Development Index shows that almost 60% of countries ranked 'low' on the HDI have experienced conflict since the 1990s (The World Bank, 2005). It is argued that education and conflict influence each other and that this relationship is considered to be complex and multifaceted (The World Bank, 2005). It is also explained that education plays an essential role in post-conflict reconstruction, as conflicts often flare up again (The World Bank. 2005). This is why Fiedler et al. (2016) refer to the importance of a multidimensional peacebuilding approach. Approaches to education in emergency and conflict settings and post-conflict reconstruction are widely discussed in the literature. Particular attention is paid to specific challenges (UNESCO, 2011), such as humanitarian risks, infrastructural conditions (Jones & Naylor, 2014), self-sufficiency issues (Sommers, 2002) and forced migration (UNHCR, 2014). Pedagogical challenges, such as building student-teacher relationships, classroom management, creating safe spaces, large and consistent groups, and dealing with heterogeneity in terms of achievement, are often mentioned but not explored further (Symeonidis et al., 2023). Our paper aims to further unfold the multiple complexities of post-war educational challenges in the first five years after severe violent conflict. Our study is set in Mosul, Iraq, a city that has been affected by conflict for many years and is just recovering from the occupation of the city by the terrorist militia ISIS from 2014 to 2017. In this paper, therefore, we analyse the different pedagogical challenges that teachers face in the context of conflict in Iraq and the pedagogical approaches that teachers use in schools. Therefore, we asked the following research question: "What pedagogical challenges do teachers describe in conflict contexts?" and "What pedagogical concepts do teachers describe as essential in conflict contexts?".
Method
To do this, we conducted qualitative interviews with 10 primary and secondary teachers working in inner-city schools in Mosul. Our aim is to illustrate how the complex interplay of infrastructure and reconstruction of school organisation affects teachers' ideas and learning environments. Interviews were conducted in Arabic, translated into English and analysed by a working group. The interviews will be analysed using qualitative content analysis according to Kuckartz (2010).
Expected Outcomes
Iraq has been in conflict for many years. Due to the occupation by IS, Mosul is a conflict context that has been and continues to be affected by various challenges. In education, the main challenges of conflict in general are related to language and teaching materials, curricula, but also the perception or exclusion of conflict in the curriculum. The physical and psychological trauma of people living in conflict is also affected and therefore has an impact on the education system (Thabet & Vostanis, 2015). However, the impact is not only relevant during the conflict, as there are also challenges after the conflict has ended (The World Bank, 2005). It is important to understand the complex relationship between education and conflict, and to address the educational challenges that arise during such times. Education is a fundamental right for every child and should not be compromised during conflict. Our findings provide valuable insights into the lived experiences of teachers in Mosul. Our study shows how the complex interplay of infrastructure and rebuilding of school organisation affects teachers' perceptions and learning environments. This contributes to a more nuanced, differentiated and context-sensitive understanding of pedagogical work in war and conflict contexts, providing valuable insights for peacebuilding.
References
Bush, K., & Saltarelli, D. (2000). The two faces of education in ehtnic conflict: Towards a Peacebuilding Education for Children. Fiedler, C., Mroß, K., & Grävingholt, J. (11/2016). Building Peace after war: the knows and unknows of external support to post-conflict-societies. German Institute of Development and Sustainability. Jones, A., & Naylor, R. (2014). The quantitative impact of armed conflict on education: counting the human and financial costs. https://inee.org/sites/default/files/resources/CfBT_023_Armed_Conflict_Online.pdf Kuckartz, U. (2010). Einführung in die computergestützte Analyse qualitativer Daten. (3. akutalisierte Auflage). VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften: Wiesbaden Smith, A., & Vaux, T. (2003). Education, Conflict and International Development. Sommers, M. (2002). Children, education and war: reaching education for all (EFA) objectives in countries affected by conflict. Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction Unit Working Papers, 1, o. S. Symeonidis, V., Senger, F., Wendt, H., Zedan, A, Salim Dawood, S., & Jabrail, F. (2023). Teacher education in conflict-affected societies The case of Mosul University after the demise of the Islamic State. In: Madalińska-Michalak, J. (Eds.) Quality in Teaching and Teacher Education. International Perspectives from a Changing World (pp. 203-228). Brill. doi.org/10.1163/9789004536609_011 Thabet, A. A. M., & Vostanis, P. (2015). Impact of Trauma on Palestinian Children´s and the Role of Coping Strategies. British Journal of Medicine & Medical Research, 5(3), 330–340. UNESCO. (2011). Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2011: The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and education. GEM Report UNESCO. https://doi.org/10.54676/CIHD8631 UNESCO (Ed.). (2014). UNESCO roadmap for implementing the Global Action Programme on Education for Sustainable Development. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000230514 UNHCR. (2014). UNHCR Global Trends. https://www.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/legacy-pdf/5399a14f9.pdf The World Bank. (2005). Reshaping the future: education and post conflict reconstruction
Search the ECER Programme
- Search for keywords and phrases in "Text Search"
- Restrict in which part of the abstracts to search in "Where to search"
- Search for authors and in the respective field.
- For planning your conference attendance you may want to use the conference app, which will be issued some weeks before the conference
- If you are a session chair, best look up your chairing duties in the conference system (Conftool) or the app.