This collection originates in papers presented at an international conference held at the University of Sussex in September 2004. It brings together academic contributions from specialists working in a newly emergent area of study, that of education in situations of conflict. It seeks to promote understanding of the complex ways in which education can play both a reproductive and a transformative role in such circumstances. To this end, it offers two broad perspectives, one around education in conflict and post-conflict settings, and the other around education for reconciliation and social inclusion.
The book is organised into thematic sections, with material drawn from countries undergoing, or emerging from, conflict as well as from more stable societies. The first set of chapters examines different facets of the impact of armed conflict on education, while the second set explores the ways in which education can contribute to reconstruction and reconciliation and the particular challenges of rebuilding educational systems after protracted conflict. The following set of chapters examines issues of conflict associated with everyday school contexts, in which violence may be perpetrated by students, teachers or outsiders to the school. The last two sections turn to the role of education in promoting reconciliation and social inclusion.