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 Haydenwith Nanditha HettitantriInstitute of Early ChildhoodMacquarie University / ARNECSydney, 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 strategiesConclusion: 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 findingsDeters, 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??

•

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2. Carter, C. (2004). Education for Peace in Northern Ireland and the USA. [Article]. Theory & Research in Social Education, 32(1), 24-38. 3. *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 Press4. Crawford, P. A. (2005). Primarily Peaceful: Nurturing Peace in the Primary Grades. [Article]. Early Childhood Education Journal, 32(5), 321-328. doi:

10.1007/s10643-004-1083-75. *Fisher R.J. 2009. The potential for peace building: forging a bridge from Peace keeping to peace making. Peace and Change, 18(3), 247-2666. Heydenberk, W., & Heydenberk, R. (2007). More than Manners: Conflict Resolution in Primary Level Classrooms. [Article]. Early Childhood Education Journal,

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& Research in Social Education, 32(1), 56-74. 9. 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: 10.1163/092755609x1253256366162910. Massaquoi, J. G. (2009). Strengthening Peace Building through Science and Technology Education. Science Education International, 20(1), 9-9. 11. 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: 10.1080/0305792050036854812. McFarland, S. (2008). Establishing Social Justice Through Peace. [Article]. Montessori Life, 20(3), 12-13. 13. McGlynn, C. (2004). Education for peace in integrated schools: a priority for Northern Ireland? [Article]. Child Care in Practice, 10(2), 85-94.14. *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 Foundation15. Olanya, C. (2006). The Uganda Montessori Peace Education Initiative. [Article]. Montessori Life, 18(3), 12-12. 16. 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. 17. 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. 18. 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: 10.1080/1740020050018579419. 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. 20. *UNESCO (2000) Education in Situations of Emergency and Crisis: Challenges for the New Century.21. World Education Forum: co-ordinated by the Swedish International Development Agency/22. UNESCO—Senegal23. 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

References – ECD and post conflict

• Jacqueline.Hayden@mq.edu.au