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Civil wars impede progress towards the Mi llennium Development Goals. As many conflicts erupt within a short time, it is important to know what may increase the chances of sustainable peace. Access to education is a factor but relatively little is known about the contribution of what students learn in school. This thesis aims to respond to a research gap by addressing the foll owing question: 'How can schooling contribute to conflict transformation?' Significant curricular approaches that may be used after civil war - peace education, human rights education and citizenship education - are assessed for their strengths and weaknesses. As no single approach is found to be sufficient for conflict transformation, a framework is proposed based on three fundamental concepts: (i) truth seeking; (i i) reconciliation; and (iii) inclusive citizenship. This framework is examined through a qualitative case study of curriculum in seven schools in a district in northern Uganda that is emerging from a twenty-year civil war. The curriculum of four primary schools, two secondary schools, one special school and one teacher training college was studied over a three-month period. A structure of knowledge, skills and values was used to research the framework at a detailed level. It is found that schools exhibit good socialization of reconciliation values and some development of problem-solving and communication skills. There is some understanding of human rights, but little knowledge of history, or of local, national and international political/legal systems. There is minimal development of discussion and critical th inking skills. It is argued that the framework can be used to investigate other schools and to inform the design of a curriculum that can contribute to conflict transformation, with the ultimate aim of reducing the risk of civil war re-eruption.

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The thesis considers how the delivery of primary education might be maintained in developing countries during armed conflict. The study is located in western Uganda, a region with a history of iterative conflict. The most recent armed conflict, and the focus of the research, was that perpetrated by the ADF, a mixture of guerrilla warfare and terrorism. The research is conceptualised as an interpretive case study of the delivery of primary education in formal settings affected by iterative armed conflict. Data were collected by observation, documentation and through semi-structured interviews held with primary teachers who had experience of working in schools during recent armed conflict as well as with respondents in other key positions within the national education system of Uganda. The analysis indicates that the work and lives of teachers (seen as essential in affecting the delivery of primary education) in this area of Uganda are located within a complex network of influences which include the demands of the national education system as well as the social contexts within which teachers both live and work. The intrusion of armed conflict interacts with these influences to make the professional lives of teachers even more problematic. Given such competing influences, how should teachers respond? The study considers how a revised model of professionalism, based on autonomy, responsibility and reflection might be of relevance. Such a revised model could help teachers to make decisions in conditions when direct managerial control is not available, thereby contributing to the maintenance of primary education.