EDUCATION AS A TOOL FOR PEACEBUILDING IN CONFLICT-AFFECTED SOCIETIES
Abstract
Education can foster reconciliation, social cohesion, and sustainable development in conflict-affected cultures, according to this study. The qualitative research uses secondary data from scholarly publications, governmental papers, and institutional documents. The study uses Social Learning Theory and Conflict Transformation Theory to examine how education might promote peace through value reorientation, skill acquisition, and civic involvement. In post-conflict settings, education prevents and transforms. It fosters tolerance, reconnects separated communities, and teaches nonviolent conflict resolution. Peace principles must be integrated into formal and informal learning systems through peace-oriented curricula, inclusive education policies, and teacher training. However, limited finance, political interference, bad infrastructure, and a lack of competent instructors sometimes hinder education's peace-promoting effects. When inclusive, context-sensitive, and aligned with national peacebuilding objectives, education drives sustainable peace, according to the study. It advises governments, legislators, and international organizations to improve peace education curricula, teacher training, equal access to quality education, and school psychosocial support. The data shows that investing in education is essential to conflict avoidance, country stability, and global peacebuilding.
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