Peace Education in Kenya: Tracing Discourse and Action from the National to the Local Level Kathleen Louise Zanoni University of San Francisco, [email protected]
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The University of San Francisco USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center Doctoral Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects Spring 2018 Peace Education in Kenya: Tracing Discourse and Action from the National to the Local Level Kathleen louise Zanoni University of San Francisco, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.usfca.edu/diss Part of the Education Commons, Peace and Conflict Studies Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation Zanoni, Kathleen louise, "Peace Education in Kenya: Tracing Discourse and Action from the National to the Local Level" (2018). Doctoral Dissertations. 423. https://repository.usfca.edu/diss/423 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects at USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The University of San Francisco PEACE EDUCATION IN KENYA: TRACING DISCOURSE AND ACTION FROM THE NATIONAL TO THE LOCAL LEVEL A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the School of Education International and Multicultural Education Department In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education by Kathleen Louise Zanoni San Francisco May 2018 THE UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO PEACE EDUCATION IN KENYA: TRACING DISCOURSE AND ACTION FROM THE NATIONAL TO THE LOCAL LEVEL ABSTRACT Recent Presidential elections in Kenya (2017) resulted in a contested re-run election and demonstrated the presence of systemic corruption, a culture of impunity, and a continued rift among civil society. Deep wounds were awakened during this recent election triggering past grievances from the post-election violence in 2007-08. It is critical and timely to explore various cross-sectoral peacebuilding approaches at the national and local levels to increase the capacity of individuals to act as agents of peace. However, peacebuilders often overlook the possibilities that exist within formal education to foster spaces of resistance against direct, structural, and cultural forms of violence. This vertical case study examines the manifestation of parallel peace education initiatives within the formal education sector at the national and local levels. Rooted at the local level, this mixed methods research identifies how peace education is conceptualized and put into action at the Daraja Academy, a private all-girls’ secondary boarding school. A comparative qualitative analysis examines how the national Peace Education Programme was conceptualized and identifies key stakeholders advancing this initiative. Results indicate that the Daraja Academy offers a combination of quality education for girls, gender transformative human rights education, and critical peace education to invite students to activate their innate agency for individual and collective positive social change. Through an examination of the school ecosystem at the Daraja Academy, factors enabling education for peace have been identified. At the national level, capacities for peacebuilding have been integrated into recent national curriculum reform ii efforts demonstrating a sustainable and responsive platform for schools to integrate peace education. By bringing the local and national levels together, this vertical case study presents a gendered response to inform national and local initiatives to integrate peace education into existing curricula. iii SIGNATURE PAGE This dissertation, written under the direction of the candidate’s dissertation committee and approved by the members of the committee, has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty of the School of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. The content and research methodologies presented in this work represent the work of the candidate alone. Kathleen L. Zanoni April 19, 2018 Candidate Date Dissertation Committee Dr. Monisha Bajaj April 19, 2018 Chairperson Date Dr. Shabnam Koirala-Azad April 19, 2018 Date Dr. Stephen Zunes April 19, 2018 Date iv DEDICATION I dedicate this body of work to the resilient spirit of peacemakers. Your resistance in accepting the norm and ability to dance with the moral imagination fuels my hope for a new story. *** To my father, I love you more than you love me. Forever. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I wish to express my gratitude to the protectors of peace in all her incarnations, the celebrants of the feminine spirit, and the sacred land and ancestral wisdom of Kenya. Women of Integrity, Strength, and Hope: you define resilience through a courageous aspiration to educate your mind, body, and spirit that will forever inspire my understanding of agency. Daraja teachers, administrators, staff members, volunteers, and women of W.I.S.H.: collectively your impact is felt across the world as strangers connect over their common “Daraja story” full of hope, love, and perseverance. To all the participants: thank you for your open hearts and collective dream to advance education for peace in Kenya. Thank you for sharing your story with me. Please accept this work as my way to share it back with each of you. To the inspiring team of professors and administrators at the International and Multicultural Education (IME) department: Thank you. Dean Koirala-Azad, your stories on love of sacrifice, devotion and purpose at graduation solidified every reason I elected to study under your guidance and alongside the rest of the IME community. You gave me the courage to be a “mother-scholar”, to question and recommit to stories of hope, and to be vulnerable – to be seen. Dr. Bajaj, you truly embody the principles of a peace and human rights educator. As my professor, you created a community of care and modelled a pedagogy of love mixed with academic rigor. As my mentor, you encouraged me to set higher expectations and ignited new ideas to strive towards. As my chair, you supported the development of my scholarship, patiently addressed my questions, and demonstrated a genuine appreciation for my research. Thank you for your guidance, friendship, and shared belief that humanity can and will do better. Special thanks to Dr. Zunes for your vi support, feedback, and dedication to peace studies. To all my IME professors over the years with special thanks to Dr. Katz and Dr. Fuentes for your commitment to participatory and engaged scholarship for positive social change. Finally, to the IME community: thank you for your friendship, honesty, courage, and integrity. To the original peacemaker in my life: my Mom. Thank you for your unwavering belief in each of your children. Your patience, unconditional love, and understanding heart made us each who we are today. Thank you for being with me each step of the way – I know Dad would have loved to have been by your side as I received my diploma. I also offer my sincere gratitude to my nieces, Lilian and Katherine, and their parents, Patty and Dean, for taking me in with open arms each time I travelled to San Francisco. Your home offered a place to rest my sleep-deprived brain, fuelled me with laughter, and nourished me with love. To my friends and family: Debbie, Mark, Kyle, Sarah and my dear Zanoni family, thank you for believing in me and your enduring love. As a mother-scholar, I wish to acknowledge all those who helped me along this journey. This was not a solo act. To my loving husband, Nicholas, and my two children, Akaiden and Nakaya – thank you for your patience, your cuddles, your infectious laughter, and encouragement as I completed my “determination”. Akaiden and Nakaya, if only I could share all the reasons I dedicate this work to you. These pages were written with a unique recipe of love, rich chocolate, dedication, and in the darkness as you slept. It is my greatest hope that your generation with manifest a safer, more socially just, and peaceful place to nurture your beautiful spirits. With appreciation for our caretakers and friends who lent us their loving hearts as our family worked together to achieve this goal. To the future mother-scholars: I offer you more proof that you can do it too. vii Table of Contents ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... ii SIGNATURE PAGE ........................................................................................................ iv DEDICATION................................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ vi LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... xiv LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... xvi CHAPTER I: THE RESEARCH PROBLEM ............................................................... 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 Statement of the Problem .......................................................................................................... 2 Background and Need ...............................................................................................................