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The EFA conference in Dakar 2000 ushered in new momentum for ensuring universal access to education and advocacy for improved educational quality in all aspects (UNESCO, 2000). While significant progress has been made in expanding access in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly for girls, efforts to ensure improved educational quality in terms of learning, have not matched the drive for universal educational access. Rather, educational quality in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa has been seriously compromised by rapid expansion given the limited resources. In many attempts to ensure the delivery of quality education in developing countries, the thrust of delivery strategies has focused on increased allocation of inputs/resources to infrastructure development and supply of textbooks. However, the literature on the effect of such resources on student achievement is rather mixed and inconclusive with many studies noting that resources make little or no difference. While such approaches may be theoretically sound, most fail to focus on microelements at the school or classroom level such as capturing the teaching and learning experiences of both students and teachers and students. In an attempt to fill this gap, a new line of research has emerged which looks more closely at how resources are used by schools to support and improve instruction. This study follows this trend and examines the extent to which the Rehabilitation of the Basic Education Project (REBEP) in Sierra Leone contributed to improved learning and academic performance of students in five target schools after a series of interventions. Using a case study approach, the study revealed that while REBEP contributed to a significant increase in educational access, particularly for girls, performance in the terminal National Primary School Examination (NPSE) did not improve despite huge investments in the target schools. The study concludes that, in the context of Sierra Leone, and perhaps in many more countries in sub-Saharan Africa, unless and until critical school-level factors are appropriately and comprehensively addressed by policy makers, educational standards and quality will continue to be eroded particularly in terms of learning and that achievement of critical EFA goals and MDG by 2015 would remain an unfulfilled dream.

Current approaches to post-war state reconstruction are primarily dominated by the liberal peace thesis. These approaches tend to ignore the indigenous institutions, societal resources and cultural agencies of post-conflict societies, although such entities are rooted in the sociological, historical, political and environmental realities of these societies. Such universalised and `best practice¿ approaches, more often than not, tend to reproduce artificial states. The Poro and Sande are the largest indigenous sodality institutions in the `hinterlands¿¿a pejorative term attributed to rural Liberia and Sierra Leone. Both the Poro and Sande exercise spiritual, political, economic and social authority. In this thesis, I use critical realism and the case study approach to investigate: a) the extent to which the liberal peace practitioners who are leading state reconstruction in Liberia and Sierra Leone recognised the role and potential utility of the Poro and Sande institutions; b) the extent to which the Poro and Sande were engaged; and c) the implications for the quality and viability of the reconstructed states. This evidence-based research suggests that the liberal peace project sidelined indigenous institutions, including the Poro and Sande, in the post-war recovery and rebuilding exercises. The disregard for indigenous and emerging resources in the context of state reconstruction in Liberia and Sierra Leone has contributed to the resurgence of 19th century counter-hegemonic resistance from the sodality-governed interior of both countries. At the same time, the reconstructed states are drifting back towards their pre-war status quo. Authority structures remain fragmented, kleptocracy is being restored, webs of militarised patronage networks are being emboldened, and spaces for constructive dialogues are shrinking. This thesis underscores the need for indigenisation as a complementary strategy to help reverse the deterioration, and to maximise gains from massive investments in peacebuilding.

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Sierra Leone is a low-income country where 7.3% of its expenditure comes from the state and the rest is from charity and private expenditure, and therefore there is no official budget for mental health. Although many postcolonial countries have ratified international laws, many still have colonial discriminatory laws like ‘Lunacy Acts’ as national law, one of these countries are Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone has ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights but hasn’t abolished ‘The Lunacy Act’ from 1902. ‘The Lunacy Act’ is a law against individuals with suspected mental health illnesses, therefore the focus of this thesis is mental health in Sierra Leone.  Scholars believe that part of Sierra Leone's issues are due to Sierra Leone's colonial history. For that reason, this thesis has a postcolonial outlook for a deeper understanding of why 'The Lunacy Act' remains in a postcolonial Sierra Leone. To achieve that goal, a meticulous qualitative text analysis is needed. A comparison with ‘A postcolonial critique of Mental health’ will be made to help dissect the true postcolonial meaning of ‘The Lunacy Act’. Although the formal colonization is over, the ideological ones remain. This is noticeable through, for example, science. Western imperialism is not felt through physical colonialism such as borders and people, but also within cultural and political hegemony. An example of this is 'The Lunacy Act'.   The negative view of mental illness in postcolonial Sierra Leone persists due to the cultural hegemony. It is stronger than the political hegemony partly because the Sierra Leonean cultural hegemony cooperates with the thought system of Western psychiatry, meaning that the global south is more prone to mental illness, according to the colonial racialized system. In other words, "The Lunacy Act" is partly a tool of Western psychiatry and capitalism and that is why it has not been abolished in postcolonial Sierra Leone.

No / Three interrelated factors make Sierra Leone in general and its extractive sector in particular worthy of examination. First, since the formal declaration of peace in 2002 the country has emerged as a model of liberal peacebuilding.1 The UN deployed one of its largest ever peacekeeping operations at a total cost of $2.8 billion.2 Official development assistance to Sierra Leone (multilateral, bilateral and UN agencies) amounted to US$1.2 billion between 2003 and 2006 (DACO, 2006: 7) and in 2006 the country’s $1.6 billion debt was forgiven (ICG, 2007: 8). In 2007 the country experienced its second successful post-conflict national election resulting in a transition of power to the opposition All People’s Congress.

yes / The last few years have seen the emergence of a series of regulatory initiatives that have been developed, partly in response to the twin agendas of human security and strong states, but which represent a specific reaction to the political economies deemed to underpin contemporary civil conflicts ¿ most notably the way in which local and global markets in everything from diamonds to drugs have been exploited to fund often vicious civil conflicts, particularly in environments characterised by endemic corruption. This new body of local and global regulation, what might loosely be characterised as new laws and new codes to address the political economies of the new wars, include: UN embargoes on diamonds and timber being used to fund conflicts, the development of regimes such as the Kimberley certification system, and initiatives to ensure the transparent and effective use of natural resource revenues. Generally represented as a progressive response to the political economies that drive contemporary civil conflicts, these new initiatives have produced a set of formal and informal regulatory frameworks that are, in fact, profoundly asymmetric in their scope and application. Indeed, one of the defining features of these initiatives is not so much the impartial application of regulations to firms and corrupt elites but either their selective application or, alternatively, their selective relegation in favour of an emphasis on far weaker norms and voluntary codes. The aim of this paper then, is first, to examine the operation of the new codes and regulations in general and to demonstrate the problems in their implementation. Second, the paper will then go onto examine one specific innovation ¿ the Kimberley Certification Scheme designed to prevent the trade in conflict diamonds in order to demonstrate the asymmetries that exist in current regulatory mechanisms designed to introduce ethical markets. It will do this in particular by focussing on the impact of certification for the diamond sector in Sierra Leone. A key argument in this section will be that whilst this new regime for conflict diamonds aims to transform behaviour through transparency and policing, and whilst it appears to have had some success, it has not in fact transformed the conditions that gave rise to the illicit diamond trade in Sierra Leone prior to conflict. Along with the problems inherent in broader development policy on Sierra Leone this raises serious questions. In particular, whilst there may be little short-term risk of conflict, the planned departure of UNAMSIL, continued regional instability, persistent corruption and the failure to fundamentally transform the nature of the diamond market in Sierra Leone, all raise question marks regarding the nature (and indeed sustainability) of the peace that is being created.

Sierra Leone is in transition to peace and development, from a previous decade long civil war. Educated Muslim women appear to have a great deal of expression, interest and passion to offer the process. The study investigates the new emerging social sub group of professional Muslim women in Sierra Leone society and explores their views and experiences of identifying and attempting to overcome the burdens of patriarchy, oppression and exploitation perpetrated by religious, social and cultural beliefs. The research and thesis consider in what ways these women and their views ‘fit’ in or challenge society and their perceptions of the potential they have as models to impact on the lives of Sierra Leonean Muslim women nationwide. Using feminist influenced research practices in order to focus on the stories and voices of these women, the study contributes to the growth of knowledge related to the emergent changing roles and perceptions of Muslim women in present day Sierra Leone. This qualitative and interdisciplinary research develops a critical focus and deliberately combines literary sources in an informative context, with feminist research methods of interviews and focus groups on issues of gender equality and empowerment. Through the interviews and focus group discussions conducted, the research portrays the perceptions of the emerging social sub group of professional Muslim women, a cross section of grass-root Muslim women and a selection of male Muslims regarding empowerment, knowledge, culture, independence and oppression. These are also illustrated as the ways the participants embrace the concept of feminism and adapt it by drawing on their Sierra Leonean, Islamic, cultural and social traditions. The research examines the various ideologies that stifle the growth of Sierra Leonean Muslim women from their perspective and it analyses the strategies used by the professional women to tackle the oppressive and repressive customs and stand up against patriarchy. It was discovered through the findings that the research gives an insight into the determination and the conviction of professional Muslim women in advocating for social change and in making their voices heard. As an outcome, it is evidenced that this emerging social sub group of Muslim women appear to be inspiring self-development moves and changes not only among the uneducated grass-root majority, but in the fold of their Muslim men-folk, resulting in a visible impact of self development and self empowerment among Sierra Leonean Muslim women.

This study which is the product of library research and fieldwork seeks, on account of the persistent marginalisation of African Traditional Religion (ATR) in Sierra Leone by Islam and Christianity, to investigate the place of ATR in inter-religious encounters in the country since the advent of Islam and Christianity. As in most of sub-Saharan Africa, ATR is the indigenous religion of Sierra Leone. When the early forebears and later progenitors of Islam and Christianity arrived, they met Sierra Leone indigenes with a remarkable knowledge of God and a structured religious system. Successive Muslim clerics, traders, and missionaries were respectful of and sensitive to the culture and religion of the indigenes who accommodated them and offered them hospitality. This approach resulted in a syncretistic brand of Islam. In contrast, most Christian missionaries adopted an exclusive and insensitive approach to African culture and religiosity. Christianity, especially Protestantism, demanded a complete abandonment of African culture and religion, and a total dedication to Christianity. This attitude has continued by some indigenous clerics and religious leaders to the extent that Sierra Leone Indigenous Religion (SLIR) and it practitioners continue to be marginalised in Sierra Leone's inter-religious dialogue and cooperation. Although the indigenes of Sierra Leone were and continue to be hospitable to Islam and Christianity, and in spite of the fact that SLIR shares affinity with Islam and Christianity in many theological and practical issues, and even though there are many Muslims and Christians who still hold on to traditional spirituality and culture, Muslim and Christian leaders of these immigrant religions are reluctant to include Traditionalists in interfaith issues in the country. The formation and constitution of the Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone (IRCSL) which has local and international recognition did not include ATR. These considerations, then beg the questions: * Why have Muslim and Christian leaders long marginalised ATR, its practices and practitioners from interfaith dialogue and cooperation in Sierra Leone? * What is lacking in ATR that continues to prevent practitioners of Christianity and Islam from officially involving Traditionalists in the socio-religious development of the country? Muslim and Christians have given several factors that are responsible for this exclusion: * The prejudices that they inherited from their forebears * ATR lacks the hallmarks of a true religion * ATR is primitive and economically weak * The fear that the accommodation of ATR will result in syncretism and nominalism * Muslims see no need to dialogue with ATR practitioners, most of whom they considered to be already Muslims Considering the commonalities ATR shares with Islam and Christianity, and the number of Muslims and Christians who still hold on to traditional spirituality, these factors are not justifiable. Although Islam and Christianity are finding it hard to recognise and include ATR in interfaith dialogue and cooperation in Sierra Leone, ATR continues to play a vital role in Sierra Leone's national politics, in the search and maintenance of employment, and in the judicial sector. ATR played a crucial part during and after the civil war. The national government in its Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report acknowledged the importance and contribution of traditional culture and spirituality during and after the war. Outside of Sierra Leone, the progress in the place and level of the recognition of ATR continues. At varying degrees, the Sociétié Africaine de Culture (SAC) in France, the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), the Vatican, and the World Council of Churches, have taken positive steps to recognise and find a place for ATR in their structures. Much about the necessity for dialogue and cooperation with ATR can be learnt in the works and efforts of these secular and religious bodies. If nothing else, there are two main reasons why Islam and Christianity in Sierra Leone must be in dialogue with ATR: * Dialogue of life or in community. People living side-by-side meet and interact personally and communally on a regular basis. They share common resources and communal benefits. These factors compel people to be in dialogue * Dual religiosity. As many Muslims and Christians in Sierra Leone are still holding on to ATR practices, it is crucial for Muslims and Christians to dialogue with ATR practitioners. If Muslims and Christians are serious about meeting and starting a process of dialogue with Traditionalists, certain practical issues have to be considered: * Islam and Christianity have to validate and accept ATR as a true religion and a viable partner in the socio-religious landscape of Sierra Leone * Muslims and Christians must educate themselves about ATR, and the scriptures and teachings of their respective religious traditions in order to relate well with Traditionalists These are starting points that can produce successful results. Although at present Muslims and Christians in Sierra Leone are finding it difficult to initiate dialogue and cooperation with Traditionalists, all hope is not lost. It is now the task of the established IRCSL to ensure the inclusion of ATR. Islam and Christianity must remember that when they came as strangers, ATR, played host to them and has played and continues to play a vital role in providing hospitality, and allowing them to blossom on African soil. / Religious Studies and Arabic / D.Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)