Post-Conflict Education for Democracy:
The Case of Sarajevo
Brian Kirby Lanahan, Ed.D., College of Charleston
Peter McDermott, Ph.D., The Sage Colleges
Theoretical Framework
• Social justice is one of the central concepts of all
democracies because with it children learn to value
the rights of others and to think and act critically
about solutions to challenges facing their
communities (Westheimer & Kane, 2004).
Social Justice and
Democratic Pedagogy
• Issues pertaining to race, class, gender and
language are used as the context for classroom
teaching and learning (Ayers et al.,2009; cochranSmith, 2004; Darling-Hammond et al., 2002)
Social Justice and
Democracy
• The world offers all too many social justice issues that are pertinent to
children’s lives and could be meaningfully studied in school. Racism,
language diversity and immigration issues remain on-going points of
conflict in the United States and require continuing inquiry. The rights of
the Roma people (gypsies) in Eastern Europe could certainly serve as
the context for teaching children about social justice.
• The findings of this paper about teaching in Sarajevo may inform those
interested about the challenges people in post-conflict countries
encounter when attempting to transform their societies into ones that
are socially just and democratic
Questions
1.
2.
3.
What are the characteristics of
public education in Sarajevo,
and in what respects does it
support social justice
democracy education?
What kinds of educational
reforms pertaining to social
justice and democracy
education have occurred since
the 92-95 war?
What contextual variables are
influencing social justice and
democracy education in BiH?
Method
• Descriptive study
• Interviews (12)
• Observations of elementary and secondary
teaching (13)
• Living and working in Sarajevo (4 & 8 months)
Results
(1)Omission of the 92-95 conflict from textbooks and
curricula and absence of a multicultural curricula
(2) Pervasive presence of emotional scars from the
war
(3) An overall dissatisfaction with the public schools
and university systems in Sarajevo
(4) Lack of political leaders and ineffective
governmental structure impeding educational
reform and the teaching of social justice and
democracy.
Textbooks
• Civitas (civic education, rights and responsibilities
of citizenship)
• Omission of the war
• Educators unsure as to how to present
controversial issues.
• Other textbooks are divisive - blame other ethnic
groups for the war
• Lack of multicultural education
Pervasive Emotional Scars
from the War
• The government has not addressed the social and
emotional damage that the war caused families.
• “The country is still struggling with the past and
we’re losing a generation. People are afraid to
open-up because of the past—reconciliation and
justice should have come before education”
• “The International Tribunal for Justice has provided
some satisfaction in bringing war criminals to
justice; it has helped move the country forward, but
much more needs to be done.”
Dissatisfaction with the Public
Schools and University Systems in
Sarajevo
• Student pessimism for
change
• University stale and
corrupt
• Principals’
dissatisfaction with
university programs
• Bologna process
Lack of Political Leadership and
Ineffective Governmental
Structure
• Politicians not enacting
reform
• Partisanship and populist
• Local control/feds are
debating group
• Lack of political leadership
• Fragmented educational
system
Discussion
• Teaching for social justice
and democracy education
is not occurring on a large
scale
• No national curriculum
• Few participatory lessons
• Some univ. faculty trying to
make a difference
• NGO’s
• Unless reform occurs, old
rivalries and hostilities will
continue