“I have recovered a part of myself” Play based-education fostering protection and resilience in conflict affected communities in Mali

• In Event: Addressing urban violence through education

Abstract

Education can be a powerful entry point for protecting children affected by armed conflict. The opportunities to access humanistic quality education are threatened significantly in times of conflict, violence, and disaster, and children and youth who are most vulnerable, especially girls, are in great need of human centred education. Play is found in all cultures and is increasingly seen as a cornerstone of children’s full and healthy development. Indeed, play is often thought of as an integral part of our humanity as homo ludens the playful human (Huizinga, 1944; Sutton-Smith 1996). Unfortunately, the growing cross-cultural evidence base on the benefits of using play to learn, and general psychosocial flourishing, is often not integrated into school curricula, particularly in the Global South and is even less available to children suffering the effects of conflict and community violence (UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2012).

The proposed presentation focuses on a model of play-based education for conflict affected children, through the experience of Right To Play (RTP), a leader in play-based experiential humanistic learning. The presentation will be grounded in an ecological theory of Indigenous and endogenous understandings of play, education, human development and wellbeing (Bronfenbrenner, 1975; Cook and White, 2007; Rogoff, 2005). In defining “Indigenous”, we challenge the dichotomy of “ancient” and “modern” knowledge by recognizing and exploring ways in which Indigenous knowledge systems are dynamic and adapt to new concepts and philosophies throughout time and place (Dei, 2011; Haerkort, 2010; Semali, 1999). Thus, indigenous knowledges can be defined as under “a continuous process of experimentation, innovation and adaption” (Lebakeng, 2010, p.25-26) in which young people play a creative role.

Right To Play’s play-based methodology and approach is grounded in participatory, experiential learning and the work of educationalists such as Friere, Brown, Piaget, and Bransford. Connecting play-based learning to education in unstable environments further increases children and youth’s success in education through regular participation in active, safe learning and student-centred pedagogy. In both conflict and non-conflicts settings, sport and play activities promote children’s meaningful participation, coping skills, concentration, problem-solving, critical thinking, positive self-esteem, self-efficacy, the capacity to have fun and manage stress, and the ability to envision a future with hope. Engaging traditional leaders, teachers, parents/caregivers, and community in play and learning, and positioning children and youth in play-based peer mentorship roles, have together been shown to strengthen the holistic learning experience.

Right To Play partnered with the International Institute for Child Rights and Development (IICRD), Royal Roads University to evaluate the influence of play based education in mediating child protection and developmental outcomes in the context of the ongoing civil war and resulting community and domestic violence in Mali, West Africa. The evaluation drew on IICRD child centred, participatory action research tools processes to explore interrelationships between risk and protective factors across children’s social ecologies. The findings suggest that play is reinforcing protection and the resulting social wellbeing is contributing to children’s education in multiple ways including: enhancing mind-body connection, social bonding, learning and creative thinking to solve problems, overcoming social challenges, and fostering agency, community engagement and social activism.


The presentation will begin with an introduction to the theory and framework used, and the natural and integral place of play-based experiential learning in humanistic quality education, followed by an overview of Right To Play’s play-based methodology and approach, including highlights of Right To Play’s youth leadership clubs and its informal play-based education programs in communities in Segou and Bamako, Mali. The Segou and Bamako evaluation will be showcased, including the qualitative and quantitative results and key findings, and the integral role of the play-based, participatory action research methods that were utilized in the process. Finally, the presentation will conclude with recommendations on how play can be a powerful tool to strengthen education in contributing to peace and protection through an enhanced collective sense of shared humanity.

Authors

• Philip Cook, International Institute of Children’s Rights and Development

• Suzanne Field, Right To Play International

• Laura Wright, Right To Play