Reconciliation after a conflict : exploring the link between education and reconciliation in a conflict-affected society

Abstract

Throughout human history conflicts have always been present in societies, some of which are on-going and some are transformed. Conflict has a major effect on all aspects of society and its people. The aim of this thesis is to seek answers on how people confront the dark past peacefully in terms of reconciliation after a conflict. The prevalence of conflict sparked the interest in understanding how a society manages to constantly rebuild its future despite its political hardships in its past. To answer this question, I decided to investigate the role of education.

This thesis investigates the phenomenon of reconciliation and education in a conflict-affected society. The research questions concentrate on the definition and characteristics of reconciliation and explore validations of its importance. The link between reconciliation and education is investigated and later discussed whilst demonstrating an example of a reconciliation process and its educational characteristics in Northern Uganda. The research is conducted by using the method of descriptive literary overview, gathering information from various sources of books, declarations and publications. In addition to the literary data, critical discussion by the researcher is posited.

The overall finding of the thesis was the emphasis on uniqueness of every conflict and the following reconciliation process. The research finds recurring themes in methods of reconciliation processes, e.g. ensuring the locality of the process and the presence of a third party. The research findings are somewhat adaptable to different settings, from large-scale to small-scale settings, such as schools. The thesis invites the reader to inspect these characteristics critically and consider their usefulness to one’s own work as an educator when facing a conflict situation.