Conditions of learning for democracy and peace in Sub-Sahara Africa: Case of Nigeria

This article examines the experiences of Christian Church leaders about the contribution of peace and democracyeducation in Nigerian faith-based schools as a basis for a just and stable society. The role of education in shapingdemocracy and peace especially in ongoing conflict context is pivotal, meanwhile there is paucity of research especiallyin areas of conflict in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) (Njobati, 2021, p. 25; Burde et al., 2017, p. 620; Bajaj, 2015, p. 1–2;Krogull, Scheunpflug & Rwambonera, 2014, pp. 13–16). Existing studies mainly address wars, unstable governmentsand economy (Brunori et al., 2019, Babajide et al., 2021). This paper focuses on the case of the conflict in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria and its effects on education where schools have been attacked and children forced out of schools with girls violated (Njobati, 2021; Opara & Inmpey, 2019, p.109). Meanwhile, Christian Church organizations are playing an important role through conflict resolution and peace education (Ilo, 2015, p. 99). The qualitative research included 13 semi-structured interviews with leaders of Roman Catholic and Protestant church organizations about their experiences on how peace and democracyeducation activities in the faith-based schools is shaping learning conditions. Findings show a varied nature of the relationshipbetween conflict and learning for peace and democracy. On the one hand, peace clubs in schools are perceived to offersafe spaces for learning. On the other hand, everyday school life is still characterized by normative discipline that stirconflict and overlook the conditions of learning. Aspects such as good learning climate, critical thinking, problem solving and cooperative learning which have been established based on evidence as key elements of peace and democracyeducation (Dewey, 2024, p. XV, Burde et al., 2017, p. 620; Bajaj, 2015, p. 1–2; Krogull et al., 2014, pp. 17–72),do not feature in the pedagogical understanding of schools. The paper concludes that further professional development for church and educational leaders is needed on the global understanding of peace and democracy and how to contextualizethis for better learning and wellbeing of children in a conflict environment.