Education for peace: A case study of the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa

The philosophical assumption of the role of education is one that seeks social transformation. In consideration of this assumption, this research paper studies the Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa Model of Education and aims to answer the research question: What role does peace education play in promoting positive peace? I hypothesize that the Academy's International Baccalaureate curriculum, along with the Aga Khan Academy Strands, represent integrative forms of peace education that contribute to the development of agents of positive peace in Kenya. Since there exists limited literature on peace education programmes from Africa, and especially Kenya, this research is the first of its kind to focus on the Aga Khan Academy Programme and its relevant contribution to peace education and the development of agents of positive peace. To answer this question, this research explores and compares Betty Reardon's Comprehensive peace education framework as adopted by United Nations University for Peace (UPEACE) to the Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa educational model. Through this exploration, I test my hypothesis by examining peace-related learning outcomes that are demonstrated through student's perception and understanding of peace and their contribution to youth-led peace initiatives on campus and within their communities. To further understand the model of education at AKA and how it contributes to the development of agents of positive peace, I conducted a survey with 30 Diploma (I) students and 15 AKA teachers alongside interviews with Senior Leadership Team and selective Diploma students. I also used information present on the Academy's website to gain insight on AKA's philosophy of learning and the vision behind the establishment of the Academy. The findings of this study reveal that AKA model of peace education strongly compares to Betty Reardon's UPEACE framework and shares similar success in the development of agents of positive peace. By way of conclusion, this study confirms that through the IB curriculum and AKA strands, together with AKA's pedagogy of teaching, AKA model of education contributes to the development of agents of positive peace and suggests further research in examination of AKA model of peace education with other peace education programmes in Kenya.