Exploring education settings as a locus for peace: African school children's experiences of identity formation and un/belonging

• In Event: From Classrooms to Communities: Education, Language, and Belonging in Peacebuilding Efforts

Proposal

Introduction
Considering the present state of the world with ongoing conflicts between Israel-Palestine, Russia-Ukraine, Sundanese civil war and more, the concept of peace is no longer limitedly defined by the absence of war; but rather expands also to encompass the presence of unsafety, and harm (both structural and physical) that affect the participation, inclusion and realization of rights of children. Furthermore, the locus for peace has expanded beyond nations in conflict to now include even social groups and cultural settings (Komatsu, 2017). Hence, Kovinthan Levi (2022) has examined the “Intersecting roles of education in conflict.” With this understanding, we argue that even educational settings are viable loci for (re-)examining the un/making of peace, particularly when concerning the participation, safety and inclusion of minority groups, such as school-aged young persons of African origin.
Peace, or lack thereof, in schools has implications for young people’s identity construction and sense of belonging since education settings can take on multiple roles, including being spaces for inclusion or exclusion; accomplices or transformers of conflict; a tool for social injustice or peace. Such tensions demonstrate that education settings can often play intersectional roles in relation to peace. Furthermore, identities such as race, gender, age and national identity can exacerbate the tension of peace and conflict, particularly for minority children and young people. While there are few studies on racial cultural experiences, such as Williams (2013) who explored schooling experiences of biracial youth, there is a dearth of literature that has centred and compared schooling experiences faced by African young people from two study settings - Africa and the diaspora.
The present paper addresses this gap with two studies with African children and young people in Malawian and Canadian school settings. We center their narratives of identity formation, belonging, family relationships, resilience, and agency to explore how they navigate the intersections and tensions of peace and conflict.

Research Questions
(i) What are the schooling experiences of African children in Canada compared with those of children and young persons with albinism in Malawi?
(ii) In what ways do these children and young people navigate identity and belonging in peace and conflicts?

Theory
A Critical Race Theory (CRT) lens facilitates the exploration of how race, power, and systemic inequality are ingrained in educational systems and beyond. Although CRT was originally formulated for legal studies, it remains relevant to education by illustrating how race and racism appear throughout the educational process and settings (Delgado & Stefancic, 2017; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995). CRT provides a lens to examine how African children’s and young people’s identities are influenced by both overt and subtle racialization, and how they navigate, confront, and reshape their identities within systems that frequently marginalize their cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

Positionality
We write as Black African female researchers—Malawian and Botswanan—who have had education experiences both on the African continent and in the diaspora. Our work is united by a commitment to child-centred research that amplifies the voices of those on the margins, particularly young Africans. The studies that bring us together explore lived experiences, social phenomena, and concepts of un/belonging and identity, by examining how these are (re-)constructed and the factors that shape them.

Modes of Inquiry
Our studies are situated in two distinct contexts: Malawi (Study1) and Canada (Study2). Both studies adopted a qualitative design underpinned by participatory visual methods (Author et al., 2025), conducted with—rather than “on” or “for” (Cook, 2020)—Black African school-aged children and young people. Study 1 applied drawing (n=9) and poetic inquiry (n=39) with 48 children and young persons with albinism (aged 3–23). Study 2, currently in progress, is using arts, crafts, and painting with children (aged 6–11) (n=4) from African immigrant families. In both studies, participatory activities were triangulated with focus groups and interviews to enrich the data and perspectives gathered.

Findings
There is a complex interaction between harmful societal forces and sources of resilience in the lived experiences of African children and young people. Derogatory labelling and name-calling at school emerge as common forms of psychological harm (Cénat et al., 2025; Okoye & Saewyc, 2021), influencing how children are racially perceived and how they see themselves. A hidden curriculum reinforces racism and/or colorism—perpetuated through media, stereotypes, myths and prevailing narratives—that normalizes negative views of African identity and skin colour, consequently subtly teaching hierarchies of worth (Adeluwoye, 2018; Chalamilla, 2024; Miles, 2019). Teachers, school administrators, and duty bearers, are sometimes also perpetrators; with reports of microaggressions and unfair treatment highlighting a contradiction between their role of guiding and protecting children contrasted with the reality of African children’s experiences. In both settings, participants faced discrimination, racism or colorism in school spaces instead of feeling safe, guided, supported, and inspired. In Canadian schools, this occurred on bus rides to school and learning spaces. While children with albinism in Malawi, faced discrimination in classrooms and playgrounds for having white skin due to albinism.
However, harms were balanced by strong expressions of identity and belonging. Children developed positive sense of self through cultural practices deeply connected to their heritage, such as using meaningful and symbolic African names. These served as daily reminders of worth and cultural roots regardless of being Black with white skin (Study1) or being Black in the “White” diaspora (Study2). In both studies, speaking in native languages at home fostered African children’s strong identities. Additionally, strong sibling and parental relationships were protective barriers, offering emotional support, a sense of solidarity, and shared pride.
These findings highlight that although structural and interpersonal biases can hurt children’s self-image and sense of belonging, positive cultural identity and close family ties offer sources of strength for resisting negative societal messages and prejudiced practices.

Recommendations
Education curriculums can better welcome marginalized voices by enabling positive family influences to shape children’s identity and belonging beyond just the home. We recommend leveraging African parents’ supportive voices by including them in school committees and associations.

Authors

• Elita Chamdimba, University of Malawi

• Kamogelo Amanda Matebekwane, University of Regina