TY - CHAP
T1 - Citizenship Education in the Conflict-Affected Societies of Northern Ireland and Syria
T2 - Learning Lessons from the Past to Inform the Future
AU - Gordon, Faith
AU - Mouhiddin, Adnan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020.
PY - 2020/1/1
Y1 - 2020/1/1
N2 - The role of education in peacekeeping has been well documented in the academic literature. While it has been argued that education provided through formalized structures of school-settings has the potential to create stable environments for children and young people to learn and to heal, this can be difficult to achieve when children are displaced during conflict and little formalized structures exist, as communities navigate loss, trauma, and uncertainty and as they rebuild their lives. Further, existing literature demonstrates that in light of the existence of contested or conflicting identities in relation to citizenship, the content and approaches taken in relation to citizenship education may represent part of the problem and also part of the solution, for conflict-affected societies. It is against this backdrop that this chapter explores the nexus between the challenges and problems that exist for conflict-affected societies, alongside the potential for solutions and the potential for a long-lasting positive impact of citizenship education on the children of the post-conflict, transitioning generation. To explore these larger questions, the chapter utilizes the two case studies of the protracted conflict in Northern Ireland and the ongoing conflict in Syria. In doing so, it will consider issues such as contested identities and notions of citizenship, dominant ideologies, division, and school structures, as well as exploring whether there are lessons that can be learned from the past to inform the future.
AB - The role of education in peacekeeping has been well documented in the academic literature. While it has been argued that education provided through formalized structures of school-settings has the potential to create stable environments for children and young people to learn and to heal, this can be difficult to achieve when children are displaced during conflict and little formalized structures exist, as communities navigate loss, trauma, and uncertainty and as they rebuild their lives. Further, existing literature demonstrates that in light of the existence of contested or conflicting identities in relation to citizenship, the content and approaches taken in relation to citizenship education may represent part of the problem and also part of the solution, for conflict-affected societies. It is against this backdrop that this chapter explores the nexus between the challenges and problems that exist for conflict-affected societies, alongside the potential for solutions and the potential for a long-lasting positive impact of citizenship education on the children of the post-conflict, transitioning generation. To explore these larger questions, the chapter utilizes the two case studies of the protracted conflict in Northern Ireland and the ongoing conflict in Syria. In doing so, it will consider issues such as contested identities and notions of citizenship, dominant ideologies, division, and school structures, as well as exploring whether there are lessons that can be learned from the past to inform the future.
KW - Approaches
KW - Challenges
KW - Citizenship
KW - Conflict
KW - Education
KW - Post-conflict
KW - Transition
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85161907349&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/978-3-319-67828-3_60
DO - 10.1007/978-3-319-67828-3_60
M3 - Chapter
SN - 9783319678276
SP - 449
EP - 464
BT - The Palgrave Handbook of Citizenship and Education
PB - Springer International Publishing Switzerland
ER -