Conclusion: Separate to Unite

Abstract

Fontana provides the first analysis of the nexus between education reform and the politics of power-sharing in societies emerging from civil war. This chapter draws four broad conclusions from the original interviews and documentary evidence presented in previous chapters. First, it proposes that the political function of education in societies adopting power-sharing is remarkably similar to that of education during conflicts: it socialises children into different group identities and political allegiances. Second, it suggests that ‘consociational education systems’ reflect the tension between ambitions to foster group equality and the drive to encourage overarching plural identities. Third, this book confirms that education reform cannot change society but it can make schools flexible enough to accommodate and even encourage social change when it occurs. Finally, it concludes that power-sharing per se is not incompatible with initiatives for conflict transformation and that education policy can help the long-term resolution of violent inter-group conflicts.