The Political Economy of Education Research (PEER) Network

Almost half of all children who are out of school live in conflict affected countries (at least 27 million children in 24 countries). Children in these countries are twice as likely to die before their fifth birthday and countries with conflict have some of the lowest literacy levels in the world and the largest inequalities between girls and boys, rich and poor. Good quality education can protect children in the midst of violence and provide life-saving messages concerning health and safety, as well as the knowledge, skills and attitudes to survive, recover and rebuild their society after conflict. Yet, education is often given a low priority in situations of conflict.

We know that modern conflicts can last more than 20 years and often involve multiple armed groups competing for control of government institutions [such as schools], natural resources and territory. This also means that provision of education can be highly politicised in situations of conflict and this can prevent much needed assistance reaching those who need it most - it is usually the poorest or most marginalised who suffer the worst consequences of violent conflict. Education is usually considered 'a good thing', but we know that in certain circumstances education may actually be 'part of the problem' as well as 'part of the solution'. For example, unequal access to education and distribution of education resources may fuel grievances between groups in society, particularly if they are already in conflict. Exclusion of minority voices from decision-making will cause resentment. Insensitive or politically biased education policies in terms of the language of instruction or content of the curriculum may create mistrust between different ethnic, religious or cultural groups by fuelling stereotypes, xenophobia and other antagonisms.

We therefore need to better understand the underlying political, economic and social reasons why education may sometimes aggravate conflict. This is known as Political Economy Analysis (PEA) and is highly relevant to the provision of education in conflict affected countries. However, there are problems with current approaches. There is a reliance on international consultants to undertake 'one-off' assessments that lack sensitivity to local history, politics, culture and knowledge of power-relations that are better conveyed in local languages. There is also a tendency to ignore the impact that international agencies have on national policies and practices, and the different political circumstances that operate in different parts of a country. There is often a reluctance to raise critical questions about education provision because they are too sensitive or may challenge vested interests. These severely limit the potential of analysis to improve the planning and development of socially just education systems.

The PEER Network is a three-year initiative led by four universities (Ulster, Cape Town, Nazarbayev and Sussex) aimed at improving the quality of PEA in partnership with academics, policymakers and practitioners in conflict affected countries. By the end of the project we aim to have made an impact by:

- Establishing two regional hubs of PEA expertise across conflict affected countries in Central Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa
- Bringing together 40 policymakers, practitioners and academics to develop PEA tools, knowledge and expertise
- Commissioning at least 20 research studies worth £800,000 to create locally owned knowledge bases
- Making all the tools and resources freely available online to students, researchers and practitioners
- Supporting a new generation to undertake political economy analysis of education systems in their own contexts
- Influencing change in global practice in PEA for the benefit of children and young people in conflict affected countries

The stated aim of the GCRF Strategy is to facilitate "a positive transformational impact on development research and on sustainable global development

The overarching goal of the PEER Network is to inform socially just education systems and provision for children and young people in contexts of conflict and protracted crises.

To achieve this, the PEER Network will:

- Identify new solutions to the problems of 'why good technical policies fail' through a process of endogenous knowledge production.
- Inform intelligent policy and planning decision-making that directly recognises the trade-offs inherent in activities targeting the drivers and the legacies of conflict.
- Produce sustainable solutions by building networks of social accountability at the national and regional level to monitor progress and take account of changing circumstances.
- Create regional hubs of expertise to facilitate joint analysis of political economy analysis of bottlenecks that extend beyond national borders.
- Transform the global knowledge base and increasing standardisation of global education governance response by challenging postcolonial approaches to political economy analysis.

By meeting these objectives, this research will provide benefits to the following groups:

1. Children and young people in the context of conflict and protracted crises

2. National level policymakers & practitioners seeking to make sustainable and informed choices in the context of constrained resources

3. Policymakers and practitioners working across national borders in the region.

4. International organisations involved in humanitarian aid and development who are supporting the provision of education for increasingly prolonged periods in the context of conflict and protracted crises.