Peacebuilding from multiple voices: understanding the potential of education in the transformation of Colombian society

Paez, Y (2022) Peacebuilding from multiple voices: understanding the potential of education in the transformation of Colombian society. PhD thesis, Bath Spa University.

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Abstract

Peace has been envisaged as a possibility in Colombia since the signing of the peace accord in 2016 between the Government and the armed group FARC (Revolutionary Armed Force of Colombia), which sought to put an end to a SO-year intractable conflict rooted in social and political issues. Much has since been said about the role of education in peacebuilding. Initiatives such as the teaching of peace-related content at schools is seen as a contribution to the project of a peaceful society. However, diverse practices in education settings can provide insights on how to consolidate solid plans leaning towards sustainable peace. This research explores conceptualisations and practices of peace by education agents in formal and informal settings in La Hormiga, Putumayo, Colombia, a former conflict zone. First, I used a multi-sited ethnographic approach (Marcus, 1995) that allowed me to examine three locales: Schools, local library, and women's associations, and collect data from thirty participants across the sites. Second, this research was framed under a critical approach (Soyini, 2002); I view the issue of emancipatory knowledges and discourses on social justice and their material impact as vital to widen our understanding of peacebuilding from local contexts (Canian, 1993; Freire, 2011; Soyini, 2002). The findings show how conceptualizations of peace constructed and enacted in education settings and often mobilised outside the institutions and groups' boundaries. Relational spaces provide the opportunities to enact ideas of peace and invite members of the community to use their voice, recognise their dignity and co-create non-violent modalities of change. Finally, this poses challenges on education policy in terms of support for varied forms of education in rural areas and continuity beyond political discontinuities and temporary leadership and political participation of the communities historically marginalised and affected by the armed conflict and state neglect.

Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
Note:

The researcher also writes as Raúl Yesid Páez Cubides.

Keywords: Colombia, education policy, rural education, Colombian school system, public libraries, women's associations, peacebuilding, social justice, post-conflict education, qualitative research, ethnographic research
Divisions: School of Education
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.17870/bathspa.00014762
Date Deposited: 28 Apr 2022 17:09
Last Modified: 28 Sep 2023 11:32
URI / Page ID: https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/14762
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