Education, Peacebuilding and Conflict (X4600E)

15 credits, Level 5

Spring teaching

In recent years, the nature of the relationship between education, conflict and peacebuilding has risen up the international development agenda. On this module, you’ll:

• explore the relationship between education and conflict in low income countries
• problematise the complex and multidirectional ways that education and conflict affect each other
• consider the role that education can play in the production and prevention of violent armed conflict.

You’ll also:

• consider the delivery of education in conflict and post-conflict settings
• explore thematic issues related to education for refugees, child soldiers and other marginalised groups
• critically analyse the policies, politics and practices of international organisations operating in these contexts.

Topics include:

• education, conflict and peacebuilding
• the multiple faces of education and conflict
• the role of teachers in conflict and peacebuilding
• the global governance of education in conflict contexts
• the delivery of education in times of war
• refugee education
• youth, education and conflict
• education and post-conflict reconstruction
• education and reconciliation in post-conflict contexts
• gender, education and peacebuilding
• attacks on education – motivations and mechanisms of protection
• education as counterinsurgency – the use of education as a weapon of war.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 22 hours of contact time and about 128 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2026/27. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.