Peace Education for Violence Prevention in Fragile African Societies: What’s Going to Make a Difference?

Though conflicts among (African) nations diminished at the end of the last millennium, the need for peace remains a perennial concern for African citizens within their communities and countries. Once again, Maphosa and Keasley have engaged a collection of scholar practitioners to address the query ‘What’s Going to Make a Difference in Contemporary Peace Education around Africa?’ The contributing authors draw from daily headlines as well as African literature to unearth twenty-first century quandaries with which educators in formal and informal contexts are called upon to grapple. The ‘What’s Going to Make a Difference’ authors offer insights to educators, peace education practitioners and parents for everyday living. The authors probe the wisdom of the recent and ancient past and bring forth pearls for contemporary moments. All in discerning effort to respond to the guiding question, the editors and their contributing colleagues deliver a compelling set of revelations for Making a Difference in Peace Education for African and world citizens.

I: Introduction: Peace Education

1. The Changing Context and Interaction
2. Towards a Universal Peace Education in Africa?
3. Teaching the Past as if People Mattered: History Education as Peace Education in Post-Apartheid South Africa
4. Contextual Specificity in Peace Education

II: Rejecting Chronic Violence
5. Chronic Violence and Implications for Pedagogy
6. Education: The Blame Shifting Must Stop!
7. Traditional Approaches to Peace in Africa: Examining the Efficacy of Strategies for Peace in a Refugee Context
8. Guns and Cows: Role Played by Government of Uganda and Civil Society Organizations to Disarm the Karimojong in Karamoja

III: Picking up the Pieces
9. Using Implementation Science to Bring Effective Social Emotional Learning to Scale in Fragile African
Contexts
10. Peace Education Pedagogy: Feminist and Intersectional Critical Thinking to Teaching and Learning
11. Trees, Poems and Drama to Create Reflexive Spaces for Peace Building in Schools
12. ‘We Can’t Walk Alone’: Giving Voice to Children’s Fears

IV: Designing for Peace Education
13. Mainstreaming Peace Education in University Curriculum: Assumptions, Approaches and Achievements of this Model in Zimbabwe
14. Education for Peace and Social Cohesion in a Multicultural Society: Observations from Kunene Region, Namibia
15. Transformation Education: Interrogating the Utility of Conflict Transformation Theory in Peace
Education in Plateau State Nigeria
16. Conclusion