Skip to main content

Evidence on Curriculum—History and Religious Education

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Schooling for Peaceful Development in Post-Conflict Societies
  • 373 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter deals with teaching history in schools and especially teaching the history of the violent conflict itself. History education is important because it can and has contributed to violent conflict by reinforcing negative images of the ‘other’ and emphasising the superiority of particular groups. Second, religious education is discussed as religion and the way it is transmitted from one generation to the next has often played a part in the causes of violent conflict through its portrayal of the superiority of one religion over another. The chapter reviews evidence on history education from a range of countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia before providing a section specifically on Lebanon and Guatemala. Evidence on religious education is reviewed in relation to Lebanon and the Middle East, more generally South Sudan and Sri Lanka. The evidence reviewed in this chapter does not support the idea that either history or religious education has been transformed and is currently being used as an effective tool of peacebuilding in post-conflict, developing societies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Bellino, M. J. (2016). Learning Through Silence in “Postwar” Guatemala. In D. Bentrovato, K. V. Korostelina, & M. Schulze (Eds.), History Can Bite: History Education in Divided and Postwar Societies. Gottingen: V and R Unipress.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bentrovato, D. (2016). Whose Past, What Future? Teaching Contested Histories in Contemporary Rwanda and Burundi. In D. Bentrovato, K. V. Korostelina, & M. Schulze (Eds.), History Can Bite: History Education in Divided and Postwar Societies. Gottingen: V and R Unipress.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bentrovato, D., & Schulze, M. (2016). Teaching About a Violent Past: Revisiting the Role of History Education in Conflict and Peace. In D. Bentrovato, K. V. Korostelina, & M. Schulze (Eds.), History Can Bite: History Education in Divided and Postwar Societies. Gottingen: V and R Unipress.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bijlsma, S. (2009). Teaching History: Looking for Unity in Rwanda’s Classrooms. In S. Nicolai (Ed.), Opportunities for Change: Education Innovation and Reform After Conflict. Paris: IIEP and UNESCO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham, J. (2015). Conflict Transformation Through School: A Curriculum for Sustainable Peace. London: IOE Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Datzberg, S., & Le Mat, M. (2018). Just add Women and Stir? Education, Gender and Peacebuilding in Uganda. International Journal of Educational Development, 59, 61–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dougherty, D., & Rubin, B. (2016). Learning the Colonial Past in a Colonial Present: Students and Teachers Confront the Spanish Conquest in Post-Conflict Guatemala. Educational Studies, 52(3), 216–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, R., & Lopes Cardozo, M. (2017). Reclaiming Reconciliation Through Community Education for the Muslims and Tamils of Post-War Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Research in Comparative and International Education, 12(1), 76–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faour, M. (2012). Arab World’s Education Report Card: School Climate and Citizenship Skills. Washington, DC: Carnegie Middle East Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fontana, G. (2016). Religious Education After Conflicts: Promoting Social Cohesion or Entrenching Cleavages? Compare, 46(5), 811–831.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fontana, G. (2017). Education and Power Sharing in Post-Conflict Societies. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Foulds, K. (2016). The Somali Question: Protracted Conflict, National Narratives and Curricular Politics in Kenya. In D. Bentrovato, K. V. Korostelina, & M. Schulze (Eds.), History Can Bite: History Education in Divided and Postwar Societies. Gottingen: V and R Unipress.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freedman, S. W., Weinstein, H. M., Murphy, K., & Longman, T. (2008). Teaching History After Identity-Based Conflicts: The Rwanda Experience. Comparative Education Review, 52(4), 673–690.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gellman, M. (2016). Only Looking Forward: The Absence of War History in Sierra Leone. In D. Bentrovato, K. V. Korostelina, & M. Schulze (Eds.), History Can Bite: History Education in Divided and Postwar Societies. Gottingen: V and R Unipress.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hilker, L. M. (2011). The Role of Education in Driving Conflict and Building Peace: The Case of Rwanda. Prospects, 41, 267–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karareba, G., Clarke, S., & O’Donoghue, T. (2017). Primary School Leadership in Post-Conflict Rwanda: Arc. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kheang, T., O’Donoghue, T., & Clarke, S. (2018). Primary School Leadership in Cambodia. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lopes Cardozo, M., & Hoeks, C. (2015). Losing Ground: A Critical Analysis of Teachers Agency for Peacebuilding in Sri Lanka. Journal of Peace Education, 12(1), 56–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nasser, I., Abu-Nimer, M., & Mahmoud, O. (2014). Contextual and Pedagogical Considerations in Teaching for Forgiveness in the Arab World. Compare, 44(1), 32–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oglesby, E. (2007). Historical Memory and the Limits of Peace Education: Examining Guatemala’s Memory of Silence and the Politics of Curriculum Design. In E. Cole (Ed.), Teaching the Violent Past: History Education and Reconciliation. Rowman and Littlefield: Plymouth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paulson, J. (2015). Whether and How? History Education About Recent and Ongoing Conflict: A Review of Research. Journal on Education in Emergencies, 1(1), 115–141.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perera, S. (2009, February 11–13). Creating ‘Selves’ and Expelling ‘Others’: Politics of Citizenship in the Context of Sri Lankan School Textbooks. Paper presented at the International Conference on Citizenship and Civic Education: Perspectives, Policy and Practice, University of Delhi, India.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pingel, F. (2008). Can Truth Be Negotiated? History Textbook Revision as a Means to Reconciliation. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 617, 181–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez-Gomez, D., Foulds, K., & Sayed, Y. (2016). Representations of Violence in Social Science Textbooks: Rethinking Opportunities for Peacebuilding in the Colombian and South African Post-Conflict Scenarios. Education as Change, 20(3), 76–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Savard, M. (2016). Using Education as a Political Tool to Advance Marginalisation in Northern Uganda. In D. Bentrovato, K. V. Korostelina, & M. Schulze (Eds.), History Can Bite: History Education in Divided and Postwar Societies. Gottingen: V and R Unipress.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shah, R., & Lopes Cardozo, M. (2014). Education and Social Change in Post-Conflict and Post-Disaster Aceh, Indonesia. International Journal of Educational Development, 38, 2–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shepler, S., & Williams, J. H. (2017). Understanding Sierra Leonean and Liberian Teachers Views on Discussing Past Wars in Their Classrooms. Compare, 53(3), 418–441.

    Google Scholar 

  • Staeheli, L. A., & Hammett, D. (2013). “For the Future of the Nation”: Citizenship, Nation and Education in South Africa. Political Geography, 32, 32–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tan, C. (2008). Two Views of Education: Promoting Civic and Moral Values in Cambodia Schools. International Journal of Educational Development, 28(5), 560–570.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teeger, C. (2015). “Both Sides of the Story”: History Education in Post-Apartheid South Africa. American Sociological Review, 80(6), 1175–1200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tibbitts, F., & Weldon, G. (2017). History Curriculum and Teacher Training: Shaping a Democratic Future in Post-Apartheid South Africa. Comparative Education, 53(3), 442–461.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNESCO. (2011). The Hidden Crisis: Armed Conflict and Education. Paris: UNESCO EFA Global Monitoring Report.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Ommering, E. (2015). Formal History Education in Lebanon: Crossroads of Past Conflicts and Prospects for Peace. International Journal of Educational Development, 41, 200–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vanner, C., Akseer, S., & Kovinthan, T. (2017). Learning Peace (and Conflict): The Role of Primary Learning Materials in Peacebuilding in Post-War Afghanistan, South Sudan and Sri Lanka. Journal of Peace Education, 14(1), 32–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Clive Harber .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Harber, C. (2019). Evidence on Curriculum—History and Religious Education. In: Schooling for Peaceful Development in Post-Conflict Societies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17689-1_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17689-1_8

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-17688-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-17689-1

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics