Higher Education and Peacebuilding: A Comparative Case Study of Peace and Conflict Studies Programs in Kenyan Universities.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study aimed to understand the role of higher education and peacebuilding in Kenya. In particular, the study explored how university administrators, faculty, students and national officials understand peace, and how university-level peace and conflict studies programs were designed and implemented for peacebuilding in Kenya. The study entailed a year-long period of fieldwork that focused on two Kenyan universities, Amani University and Umoja University , and their PCS programs. It was structured as a comparative case study utilizing semi-structured interviewing, document review and participant observations. The primary findings of this study are as follows: First, participants viewed higher education institutions (universities) as critical actors in the consolidation of peace, and peace and conflict studies (PCS) programs as critical for peacebuilding. However, participants also viewed universities as enablers of ethnic divisions and a culture of violence, a problematic role which participants felt needed to be addressed in order to generate meaningful efforts of peacebuilding through higher education. Secondly, participants understood peace as an outcome of the practice of uwazi and undugu, sustainable development, freedom from corruption, ethnic inclusivity and cohesiveness, absence of physical violence, good leadership and dialogue and reconciliation. I argue that these participants' constructions of peace, reflected their tacit knowledge, aspirations and lived experiences of conflict and peace that were particular to Kenya and therefore constituted a peace knowledge. Thirdly, faculty utilized peace knowledge and critical pedagogy to design PCS curricula and drew on local knowledge and resources to develop students' knowledge, skills and agency for peace and justice. Additionally, students' perspectives revealed transformative experiences in PCS programs. These formations of new perspectives and awareness of peace illustrate the transformative element of a university learning experience and confirmed the critical role of university actors and programs in shaping actions and values for peace and sustainability. This study contributes to understandings of peace and the role of education in peacebuilding. It reveals the relational nature of peace, particularly the role of individual lived experiences as well as context-level factors in shaping perspectives on peace and conflict which differ from one region to another. Subsequently, findings of this research illustrate limitations and promises of higher education institutions (HEIs) as avenues for peacebuilding. In Kenya, HEIs were constrained by competing demands for institutional survival amidst diminishing state financing and the high demand for university level-education and certifications. Similarly, broader social and historical issues within universities and beyond inhibit institutional efforts for peacebuilding. For example, negative ethnicity, electoral malpractice, corruption and inequality in resource allocations are issues that are imbedded in the structural and social fabric of the society in Kenya and require system-wide approaches in addition to peace education. This study concludes that there is a need for governments and educators to advocate for and implement policies and practices that incorporate local knowledge in peace education curriculum. It also suggests the need for a system-wide policy that address social and structural practices that exacerbate tensions and violence within all institutions.