Legacies of Violence, Status Changes, and Perceived Education Quality in Burundian Schools: Implications for Peacebuilding through Education Access after Violence

SpeakerEmily Dunlop, Post-Doctoral Associate, Department of Government, Cornell University

Abstract:  How do changes in group status from ethnic power sharing interact with legacies of structural violence in post-war schools? How does this influence perceived education quality? Based on interviews with 114 youth in Burundi, I explore the intersection of these narratives given a power-sharing agreement and changes in group status in post-war Burundi, focusing on changes in quality. I show that despite government efforts, narratives of exclusion and interpretations of the past persist, and have become more complex. This study has implications for our understanding of the role of redressing education inequalities in the short- and long-term peacebuilding.

Bio: Emily Dunlop a Post-Doctoral Associate at Cornell University in the Department of Government. She received her PhD in International Education from New York University. Her research focuses on the intersections between political institutions, education, and perceptions of inequality in conflict-affected countries.