Effectiveness of Peace Education in Peacebuilding among Post-Conflict Communities in South-West Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of peace education in peacebuilding among post-conflict communities in South-West Nigeria. The study was prompted by persistent mistrust, weakened social relationships, intolerance, and fragile peaceful coexistence in communities where active violence has declined, raising concerns about how much existing peace education efforts contribute to sustainable peacebuilding. Conceptually, the study examined peace education as a holistic process for developing knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and behaviours that promote tolerance, dialogue, empathy, non-violent conflict resolution and peaceful relationships; peacebuilding as a multidimensional process of rebuilding trust, relationships, social cohesion and conditions for sustainable peace; and post-conflict communities as communities recovering from conflict where the effects of violence may persist. The study further examined how peace education can contribute to peacebuilding through changes in attitudes, behaviours, relationships, tolerance and social cohesion. Guided by Galtung’s theory of positive and negative peace, the study adopted a descriptive survey design. The population comprised 16,000 teachers and school administrators in public secondary schools within selected post-conflict communities across the six states of South-West Nigeria. The Krejcie and Morgan sample-size table determined a sample of 375 respondents, and the study analysed 348 valid questionnaires using frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Findings revealed a high perceived effectiveness of peace education, with an overall mean of 3.44. The study concludes that peace education is perceived as an important school-based contribution to peacebuilding, although the findings do not establish causal effects or statistical significance.