From Early Outcomes to Scaling in Peace Education: Evidence from Burma

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Education systems provide the potential for huge peacebuilding impact due to their ability to foster pro-peace attitudes and behaviours in a society at great scale. But how do we know well which approaches to peace education work best in different contexts and conditions? And without evidence on what works well, how do we justify the investment required to take these interventions to scale?

Efforts to scale the size and impact of peace education interventions face a common challenge: how to credibly measure outcomes relevant to peace within the limited timeframes and budgets of most programs. Traditional approaches to monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) in peace education programs typically rely on output indicators that are easy and inexpensive to track, but tell us little about the long term contributions that these programs make to peace. Impact evaluations, on the other hand, can credibly measure long term outcomes, but are relatively expensive and most relevant when there is already promising evidence that peace education interventions are working.

Based on case studies of peace education from Burma/Myanmar, this panel discussion argues that “early outcomes” — measurable changes in knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors — provide a critical middle ground, offering timely, cost-effective, and attributable insights that can guide program improvement and scaling. The first presentation will introduce the conceptual rationale and methodological approaches for measuring early outcomes in peace education. By capturing near-term changes that are predictive of longer-term peacebuilding outcomes, early outcomes offer a “sweet spot” for evaluating the effectiveness of peacebuilding programs and making the case for scaling interventions or applying them to new contexts. They allow for timely iteration, improve accountability to donors, and generate evidence that supports the scaling of peace education interventions within complex, fragile contexts.

The second presentation will provide a case study of the United States Institute of Peace’s peace education program in Burma/Myanmar, implemented between 2017 and 2023 before and after the country’s military coup plunged the country back into civil war. Using qualitative data collection, USIP’s monitoring and evaluations captured measurable shifts in participant knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors relevant to peacebuilding. Findings included:

73% of participants who initially held negative stereotypes toward other religious groups shifted to positive perceptions after training.

The proportion of participants who felt close to people of other religions rose from 44% to 81%.

86% reported feeling better equipped to address intercommunal conflict in their communities.

The program generated an estimated 18,500 new inter-communal connections, 72% of them across identity divides.
These early outcomes provided credible evidence of program impact that went beyond activity counts. They also informed program adaptation during subsequent phases, including post-coup efforts that expanded to digital platforms, integrated nonviolent action and mental health support, and fostered institutional linkages with ministries, monastic schools, and teachers’ networks.

Together, the two presentations highlight both the conceptual case and the practical application of early outcome measurement in peace education. The panel will engage with broader implications for peacebuilding and education practice:

How can MEL systems in fragile contexts balance rigor with feasibility?

Which early outcomes are most predictive of long-term peace impacts?

What role can early outcome evidence play in supporting the institutionalization and scaling of peace education?

By combining a methodological framework (IPA) with empirical evidence from a major peace education initiative (USIP), this panel demonstrates how early outcomes can anchor effective, adaptive, and scalable peace education programs. In doing so, it contributes directly to the conference theme of “Re-examining Education and Peace in a Divided World,” showing how evidence-informed approaches to peace education can foster inclusive identities, strengthen resilience, and advance sustainable peace.

Sub Unit

• Education in Conflict and Emergencies SIG

Chair

• Stephen Gray

Individual Presentations

• USIP’s Peace Education Program in Burma - Billy Ford, Southeast Asia Peace Institute

• From early outcomes to scaling - Stephen Gray