Peace Education for Reconstruction and Peacebuilding in Postwar African Societies

The complexity of education issues in most African societies prior to and after conflicts raise significant concerns, necessitating an analysis of postconflict education prospects, and the challenge of understanding the past and rebuilding a secure society. Typical of any community, the school is an abode of steaming conflicts and a breeding ground for reoccurring conflicts, if not diagnosed and well structured, because youths and adults from diverse backgrounds converge there. This implies giving education a central role in helping people to forge more just, peaceful, tolerant, and inclusive societies; and providing people with the understanding, skills, and values they need to cooperate in resolving the interconnected challenges of the twenty-first century. As a result, this paper examines the importance of peace education as a tool for transforming postwar communities. The prospects of such an education and how it should be conducted are critical issues. The situation of Sierra Leone is used as a main case study to illustrate the role of the pedagogy of teaching and curricular renewal in a post-conflict African setting. The central argument is that if people can learn various tactics of warfare, it is imperative that they be exposed to alternative ways of dealing with conflict when it arises.