Education for Peace Building

The report argues that formal education systems can either fuel or mitigate armed conflict depending on their inclusivity, quality, and relationship with the community. Through case studies in Guatemala, Nepal, and Liberia, the author identifies four conflict-transforming concepts: equitable inclusion, positive socialization, the creation of social capital, and the provision of socio-economic benefits. The study finds that educational exclusion and authoritarian teaching methods often mirror and reinforce the structural inequalities that drive conflict, while participatory, child-centered education and equitable resource distribution can raise the opportunity costs of joining rebellions and foster a culture of non-violence. The report recommends that national governments and international donors integrate education into peacebuilding processes, prioritize social justice in curricula, and better link schooling to the labor market to ensure that education provides tangible hope and economic mobility.

• Equitable educational inclusion is essential for peacebuilding as it can redress grievances that motivate individuals to take up arms and eliminate opportunities for participation in armed conflict.
• Lack of educational access, particularly at the secondary level, can lower the opportunity costs of joining a rebellion and provide a pool of recruitable youth.
• Government investment in education serves as a signal of the state's commitment to its citizens, which can strengthen the state and act as a defense against rebellion.
• Authoritarian teaching methods and corporal punishment in schools can legitimize and reinforce wider patterns of violence in society, potentially motivating students to seek revenge.
• Child-centered, participatory teaching methods encourage critical thinking, which helps students question ideologies and understand the consequences of conflict.
• The use of dominant languages as the sole medium of instruction can be a form of cultural repression and social exclusion that perpetuates power imbalances.
• School-based participation, such as through Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) and School Management Committees (SMCs), can build social capital and trust between citizens and the state.
• Education can raise the opportunity costs of engaging in armed conflict by providing better income-earning prospects, making rebellion less economically attractive.
• When formal education fails to lead to employment, it can create a 'perception of discrepancy' that mobilizes educated but unemployed youth toward conflict.
• Education is viewed as 'portable wealth' because it cannot be destroyed or looted during war and is essential for rebuilding a nation in the aftermath of conflict.

APA

Dupuy, K. (n.d.). Education for Peace Building. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/f0530806-56fc-4b45-a973-703a84aa6eb1/Education for Peace Building Peace and Transforming Armed Conflict Through Education Systems.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Dupuy, Kendra. Education for Peace Building. Peace Research Institute Oslo, n.d. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/f0530806-56fc-4b45-a973-703a84aa6eb1/Education for Peace Building Peace and Transforming Armed Conflict Through Education Systems.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Dupuy |first1=Kendra |title=Education for Peace Building |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/f0530806-56fc-4b45-a973-703a84aa6eb1/Education for Peace Building Peace and Transforming Armed Conflict Through Education Systems.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dupuyndeducation, author = {Dupuy, Kendra}, title = {{Education for Peace Building}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/f0530806-56fc-4b45-a973-703a84aa6eb1/Education for Peace Building Peace and Transforming Armed Conflict Through Education Systems.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }