۱- Introduction

۲- Research context: four peace education programs with Pakistani youth

۳- Methodology

۴- Findings

۵- Significance of findings and policy implications

۶- Conclusion

References

Abstract

This article examines the impact of four peace education programs involving Pakistani youth to illuminate peace education’s role in peacebuilding efforts in conflict contexts. It argues that alumni tried to replicate their individual transformations as stimulated by these peace education programs. They did so through communitylevel projects modelled after the same program processes that had transformed them. Impact on peacebuilding was supported by peace education programs combining different theories of change, focusing on follow-on projects, and providing support structures for alumni. Because alumni modelled their projects after their program experiences, programs should be more transparent in order to maximize impact.

Introduction

Despite the growing number of studies assessing the impact of peace education programs in conflict settings, these assessments usually focus on individual transformations in attitudes and/or beliefs resulting from encounters across conflict divides (e.g. Rosen and Salomon, 2011; Schubotz and Robinson, 2006). This emphasis on individual-level transformations ignores the connection between outcomes for individuals at the micro-level and outcomes that influence the development of peace at the macro-level. By focusing on the micro-level, researchers have not been explicit enough as to how peace education contributes to peacebuilding. This tendency to observe only micro-level effects is a common problem in both peace education assessment (Ross, 2010) and in peacebuilding evaluation more broadly (Gürkaynak et al., 2008). By contrast, Ned Lazarus (2011) and Karen Ross (2017) both highlight the community-level impact of peace education programs with Israeli and Palestinian youth by illuminating program components that led to the engagement of alumni in peacebuilding or social change activities (see also Ross and Lazarus, 2015). This article expands on the work of these scholars to further illustrate how peace education can both inspire and support youth to engage in peacebuilding activities in conflict environments. With this goal in mind, I examine four peace education programs involving Pakistani youth to explain how transformations experienced by participants, as a result of the programs, led to their efforts to better their communities. Accordingly, the article moves past studies that only look at individual attitude transformations resulting from peace education.