The Role of Education in Peacebuilding in Kirkuk: “Secondary Education as an Example"

Abstract

Kirkuk province is often referred to as a “smaller Iraq” because of its diversity of ethnicities, communities, religions and sects. After 2003, Kirkuk became a center of conflict and instability in different stages and to different degrees. However, little academic research has been conducted on the post-2003 education system and its relationship to broader issues of conflict and peace within Kirkuk Governorate. In fact, there is no in-depth analysis of how the education system in these areas affects peacebuilding, despite education being considered an essential and effective long-term peacebuilding tool. Therefore, this research provides an analysis of the role of education in the context of peace and conflict studies, based on fieldwork. It collects quantitative data and analyzes the content of the social curriculum and topics related to the social subjects, including curriculum of national education, values and social skills in various Kurdish, Arabic, Turkmen and Syriac studies.