The role of education in peace‐building in the African Great Lakes region: educators’ perspectives

Abstract

This article discusses the findings from a qualitative study which examined educators’ perceptions of their contributions to the quest for sustainable peace in Burundi and the African Great Lakes region. The study looked at how educators representing different ethnic backgrounds, academic preparation, and currently employed at different levels within the Burundi educational system characterize their experiences with ethnic conflicts and violence, the role that education must play in the peace‐building and societal reconstruction processes, and their roles in the quest for sustainable peaceful interethnic coexistence. The findings from semi‐structured interviews and researchers’ field notes showed that most participants were deeply marked by their experiences with ethnic conflicts, and that they recognized the critical roles that they and the educational system must play to achieve lasting peace. The participants stressed that numerous logistical and economic challenges hinder their work. The author concludes with recommendations for educational policy makers and practitioners to build on the findings to help educators become active agents of peaceful coexistence in their communities.

Keywords:

• Burundi
• African Great Lakes region
• interethnic coexistence
• peace
• education

Notes

1. An earlier version of this article was presented at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in April 2007 in Chicago, USA.

2. Participants’ names have been replaced with pseudonyms to protect their identities.