ECD and Post Conflict
1. What are the biggest unanswered questions
about peace building with young children?
(What research questions should we prioritise?)
Professor Jacqueline Hayden
with Nanditha Hettitantri
Institute of Early Childhood
Macquarie University / ARNEC
Sydney, Australia
What are the biggest unanswered questions about
peace building with young children?
1.What do we know ?
2. How do we measure effective/successful
programs ?
3. What processes/factors are generalisable from
successful programs ?
4. How can we communicate relevant information
to appropriate parties?
RESEARCH QUESTION # 1
1. What do we know ?
How to find out what we know
• Scope the literature and relevant reports
• Recent scoping = 70 articles/ about 20 were
appropriate.
• GAP: Very few effectiveness studies– and not
always rigorous evaluations
Research constraints
• Immediate issues in conflict context do not lend themselves to robust
study designs (Ager et al 2010).
• Researching distraught populations is fraught with ethical issues. E.g..
arousal of stress and distress, informed consent (Pfefferbaum & North 2008),
• ….safety of the participants and data collectors is a constraint
(Knack, Chen, Williams & Jensen-Campbell 2006
• In light of the difficulties, we suggest that the knowledge base
for this field -needs to be founded on reviews of empirical
research from multiple fields, filtered through comments and
informed judgments from broad experiences of related experts
(Hobfoll et al 2007).
RESEARCH QUESTION #2
How do we measure effective/successful
programs ?
From the literature - Descriptive articles
 Uganda Montessori Peace Education Initiative- project designed to instil
a culture of peace in children as they grow up (Olanya,2006)
 A UNESCO report lists examples of non-formal education programmes
in refugee camps and post-conflict areas in Cambodia, Pakistan,
Tanzania, Sudan and Ethiopia. These include health, child care, income
generation, sports, language, agriculture, human rights and peace
education (UNESCO, 2000)
 A feeding initiative for babies in Palestine had two aims: to address
health improvement and to impact cross-border cooperation. The
authors conclude that this model provides direction for health
professionals (and others) to contribute to peace building (Skinner, et
al. 2005).
 Korean teachers’ programs aimed at incorporating a balanced
perspective of multiculturalism and relativism, toward a culture of
peace.( Soon-Won, K. , 2005).
Descriptive articles cont.
• What not to do: Four years and millions of dollars spent on
educational initiatives in Afghanistan have not worked: Analysts claim
that textbooks, promote social divisions and violence –
international interventions unwittingly y fuel rather than restrain the
problem. (Spink, 2005).
• Football for Peace –Using sport to address conflict in Palestine and
Israel( Sugden,2006).
• Drawing pictures of war and peace –entry points for discussion
(Walker, 2003).
• Program of peer support, peace education , engaging youth, fostering
positive perceptions of youth in Angola . The results suggest that a
dual focus on youth and community development contributes to
peace building and the disruption of cycles of violence (Wessels 2006)
Empirical studies
#1.
Kindergarten students participated in direct
program: seven one-hour training sessions targeting
social emotional problem solving and positive
communications strategies
Conclusion: The post-test results indicate statistically
significant decreases in verbal and physical
aggression. –Heydenberk, W., & Heydenberk, R. (2007).
NOTE: Programs may not work outside of that context, not known if has a long
term effect
What are the outcomes and impacts of programs?
• How do we define or measure outcomes?
• Outcomes for whom?
• Short term results vs long term outcomes?
Qualitative studies
• stories/experiences
• Gives answwersto questions you did not ask
• allows for inclusion of perspectives especially of children
• Doing research with …not on
•
Bickmore, K. (2004).
.
EXAMPLE
of QUALITATIVE STUDY
Young children’s experiences and perceptions
of child friendly environments in post conflict
Sri Lanka (Hettitantri, in preparation)
• What are the experiences and perceptions of
young children within specifically designed a
child friendly environments?
• How do these experiences and policies relate to universally sanctioned
rights of the child?
• What are the policy and practice implications ?
RESEARCH QUESTION #3
What processes are generalisable ?
How to find out..
In light of the difficulties, we suggest that the knowledge base for this field
-needs to be founded on reviews of empirical research from multiple fields,
filtered through comments and informed judgments from broad experiences
of related experts (Hobfoll et al 2007).
Example of using the broad experiences of related
experts to validate findings
Validation study - 58 international experts comment on findings
Deters, Early childhood programs in post emergency settings(Haiti)
RESEARCH QUESTION #4
How best to communicate relevant
information to appropriate parties?
Communicating findings
STORY BOOKS
What are the biggest unanswered questions about peace
building with young children?
1. What do we know?
STRATEGY: collate the existing literature including
noteworthy practices
2. How do we measure effective/successful programs ?
STRATEGY: Make use of diverse methodologies
3. What is generalisable ? STRATEGY: Use experts (keep in
mind importance of context relevance – find balance)
4. How to communicate relevant information to diverse
audiences? STRATEGY: be prepared to report through
story books and/or high level policy briefings.
• Agree?
• Other research questions??
•
References – ECD and post conflict
1.
Bickmore, K. (2004). Discipline for Democracy? School Districts' Management of Conflict and Social Exclusion. [Article]. Theory & Research in Social Education, 32(1), 75-97.
2.
3.
Carter, C. (2004). Education for Peace in Northern Ireland and the USA. [Article]. Theory & Research in Social Education, 32(1), 24-38.
*Connolly, P. & Hayden, J. with Levin, D. (2007). From Conflict to Peace Building The Power of Early Childhood Initiatives –Lessons From Around The
World. Seattle: Exchange Press
Crawford, P. A. (2005). Primarily Peaceful: Nurturing Peace in the Primary Grades. [Article]. Early Childhood Education Journal, 32(5), 321-328. doi:
10.1007/s10643-004-1083-7
*Fisher R.J. 2009. The potential for peace building: forging a bridge from Peace keeping to peace making. Peace and Change, 18(3), 247-266
Heydenberk, W., & Heydenberk, R. (2007). More than Manners: Conflict Resolution in Primary Level Classrooms. [Article]. Early Childhood Education
Journal, 35(2), 119-126. doi: 10.1007/s10643-007-0185-4
*Hobfell, et al (2007) Five Essential Elements of immediate and mid term mass trauma intervention: empirical evidence (2007) Psychiatry 70(4) 283
- 315..
Kirkwood-Tucker, T. F. (2004). Empowering Teachers to Create a More Peaceful World Through Global Education: Simulating the United Nations.
[Article]. Theory & Research in Social Education, 32(1), 56-74.
Kuper, J. (2010). A Minor Matter? The Place of Young People in an EU Human Security Doctrine. [Article]. International Journal of Children's Rights,
18(1), 127-147. doi: 10.1163/092755609x12532563661629
Massaquoi, J. G. (2009). Strengthening Peace Building through Science and Technology Education. Science Education International, 20(1), 9-9.
McCaffery, J. (2005). Using transformative models of adult literacy in conflict resolution and peacebuilding processes at community level: examples
from Guinea, Sierra Leone and Sudan. [Article]. Compare: A Journal of Comparative Education, 35(4), 443-462. doi: 10.1080/03057920500368548
McFarland, S. (2008). Establishing Social Justice Through Peace. [Article]. Montessori Life, 20(3), 12-13.
McGlynn, C. (2004). Education for peace in integrated schools: a priority for Northern Ireland? [Article]. Child Care in Practice, 10(2), 85-94.
*Moss, P. (2007a) Bringing politics into the nursery: Early childhood education as a democratic practice (Working Papers in Early Childhood
Development 43). The Hague: Bernard van Leer Foundation
Olanya, C. (2006). The Uganda Montessori Peace Education Initiative. [Article]. Montessori Life, 18(3), 12-12.
Skinner, H., Abdeen, Z., Abdeen, H., Aber, P., Al-Masri, M., Attias, J., . . . Noyek, A. (2005). Promoting Arab and Israeli cooperation: peacebuilding
through health initiatives. [Article]. Lancet, 365(9466), 1274-1277.
Soon-Won, K. (2005). Comparative Perspectives on Terrorists, Despots, and Democracy: What Our Children Need to Know. [Article]. Comparative
Education Review, 49(1), 92-94.
Spink, J. (2005). Education and politics in Afghanistan: the importance of an education system in peacebuilding and reconstruction. [Article]. Journal
of Peace Education, 2(2), 195-207. doi: 10.1080/17400200500185794
Walker, K., Myers-Bowman, K. S., & Myers-Walls, J. A. (2003). Understanding War, Visualizing Peace: Children Draw What They Know. Art Therapy:
Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 20(4), 191-200.
*UNESCO (2000) Education in Situations of Emergency and Crisis: Challenges for the New Century.
World Education Forum: co-ordinated by the Swedish International Development Agency/
UNESCO—Senegal
Wessells, M., & Monteiro, C. (2006). Psychosocial Assistance for Youth: Toward Reconstruction for Peace in Angola. [Article]. Journal of Social Issues,
62(1), 121-139. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.2006.00442.x
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• Jacqueline.Hayden@mq.edu.au